# Warm-up sets: how to write them, how to log them, and why they stay out of your numbers

Updated: 2026-08-23
Published: 2026-08-23
Canonical page: https://methodapp.net/warm-up-sets
Homepage: https://methodapp.net/

Warm-up sets prepare a lift and should be recorded, but they are not a strength expression and should not move your numbers. This guide covers writing them into a plan, logging them, and exactly how Method keeps them out of analytics.

> **In short.** A warm-up set gets you to the first working weight ready to lift it well. Log it, label it as a warm-up, and keep it out of the numbers. In Method, warm-up is its own set type in the prescription and in the log; warm-up sets are excluded from estimated 1RM, from records, and from muscle coverage, and they are not used as the source for suggested loads. Method has no warm-up calculator; you write the loads.

## What a warm-up set is for

A warm-up set raises tissue temperature, rehearses the movement, and lets you feel the bar before the weight matters. It is preparation. It is not an attempt to express strength, and that is the reason it should be recorded differently from a working set.

The general case for warming up is well supported. A systematic review and meta-analysis of 32 studies found a warm-up improved performance in 79 percent of the criteria examined, with little evidence of harm [1]. The specific case for ramping sets before lifting is less settled. In one crossover study, 15 men performed four sets to failure of bench press, squat, and arm curl at 80 percent of 1RM after no warm-up, a specific warm-up, an aerobic warm-up, or both, and the total repetitions did not differ between conditions [2]. Read that as a reason to warm up for readiness and technique rather than for extra reps, and to keep the warm-up proportionate.

## Writing warm-ups into a program

A simple pattern that covers most lifts:

| Slot in the session | Typical warm-up |
| --- | --- |
| First heavy compound (squat, bench, deadlift, press) | Two to four sets ramping from light to just under the first working weight, reps falling as load rises, for example 8, 5, 3, 1 |
| Second compound in the same pattern | One or two sets, since the tissue is already warm |
| Accessories and machines | Often none, or one light set to find the setting |

Write the warm-ups into the prescription so the session opens with them in place. In Method, each set carries a set type, and warm-up is one of them alongside working, backoff, drop, failure, and custom. Give warm-up sets their reps and, if you like, rest; leave the load blank if it depends on the day, or write it if the lift is stable.

Method does not have a warm-up calculator and does not derive warm-up loads from your working weight. You choose them. Many people use round fractions of the first working set and adjust by feel.

## Logging warm-ups

On iPhone, warm-up sets appear in the session like any other set with their type shown. Tick them as you go. The rest timer runs for whatever rest is written on the set, so a short rest on warm-ups keeps the timer honest. If you add a set during the session that was not prescribed and it is a warm-up, set its type to warm-up so it is classified correctly.

Logged warm-ups are part of the completed record and appear in the session history and in the CSV export with `setType` of `warmup`.

## Why warm-ups stay out of the numbers

Three of Method's analytics explicitly skip warm-up sets, for the same reason. They are not strength expressions.

- **Estimated 1RM.** Only working, backoff, failure, and custom sets with weight and reps produce an estimate. Without the exclusion, a day cut short after the warm-ups would put a 60 kg warm-up on your bench series as that day's number. See [estimated 1RM](/estimated-1rm).
- **Records.** A strength PR is judged against working sets. A warm-up cannot set or break a record.
- **Muscle coverage.** Effective sets count completed working sets. Warm-up and drop sets are excluded. See [muscle coverage](/muscle-coverage-effective-sets).

Suggested loads also ignore warm-ups as a source. The suggestion for your first working set comes from your most recent eligible working or backoff set for the exercise, never from a warm-up, so the number reflects what you actually lifted for work.

## Drop sets get the same treatment

A drop set is performed after fatigue, so its reps overstate weakness if read as a fresh set. Method treats drop sets like warm-ups in analytics. They are logged, visible, and exported, and excluded from estimated 1RM, records, and coverage.

## When a warm-up becomes a working set

If you planned 100 kg for 5 as a warm-up and it turned out to be the hardest set of the day, change its type to working before you save. The type is the only thing that decides how the set is counted, so getting it right is worth the tap.

## Common questions

### Should I log warm-up sets?

Yes, if you want the session record to be complete and the rest timer to run for them. Mark them as warm-up sets. Method records them and keeps them out of estimated 1RM, records, and muscle coverage.

### Do warm-up sets count towards sets per muscle?

Not in Method. Muscle coverage counts completed working sets only. Warm-up and drop sets are excluded.

### How many warm-up sets do I need?

Enough to arrive at the first working weight moving well and no more. For a heavy compound lift, two to four ramping sets is common; for a later accessory, often none. Write the number that fits the lift and the slot in the session.

### Can Method calculate my warm-up weights?

No. Method has no warm-up calculator. You write the warm-up sets into the prescription, or add them during the session, and enter the loads yourself.

## References

1. Fradkin AJ, Zazryn TR, Smoliga JM. Effects of warming-up on physical performance: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2010. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19996770/
2. Ribeiro AS, Romanzini M, Schoenfeld BJ, Souza MF, Avelar A, Cyrino ES. Effect of different warm-up procedures on the performance of resistance training exercises. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 2014. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25153744/

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