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If your second set feels way better than your first working set, your warm-up failed.
That first set should be your best shot. You're freshest. Muscles aren’t tired. Nervous system’s firing clean. That set builds the most tension, gives you the biggest strength and muscle-building benefits, and sets the tone for the whole session.
But if it feels like a half-rep disaster? You didn’t prep right. Let’s walk through what actually works.
Nothing fancy. Bike, rower, incline walk, or jump rope. You just want to get warm and raise your heart rate a bit.
Why it matters:
Skip this and everything feels slower than it should.
Let’s say you’re squatting. Your warm-up should look like... squatting.
Start with the empty bar. Focus on clean reps, tight positioning. Then build the weight in small steps. The goal here isn’t to get tired—it’s to fine-tune your technique and teach your body the movement under load.
This is where a lot of people go wrong. They jump straight from the bar to 70% of their work weight and wonder why that first working set feels like garbage. Don’t skip steps.
Every set should prep your nervous system for the one after it. You’re not just warming up muscles—you’re warming up intensity.
Here’s an example if you’re working up to a 275 lb squat:
Those lighter sets shouldn’t feel hard. Think of them like mental and physical checkpoints. You’re telling your body, “Here comes more.” And when you finally hit that work weight, you’ll feel ready, not like you’re testing the waters.
If your second set is cleaner, faster, or stronger... you weren’t ready for the first one.
That first set is your most important one. You’re fresh, tight, and focused. You can create the most tension, which means more strength and better muscle-building. And if you’re tracking progress week to week, you need consistency. That first set is your data point.
So if you change how you warm up every week, you never really know what’s improving.
Most people don’t know how to warm up right. They either do too much and burn out early, or too little and feel stiff for half their session.
At Hardbat Athletics in Newark, Delaware, we build smart warm-ups into every strength training and personal training session. Our coaches make sure you're ready to train from set one, not wasting reps trying to find your groove.
You’ll move better, get stronger, and make faster progress—without guessing.
Ready to feel that difference? Let’s talk. Book a No-Sweat Intro and we’ll map out a plan built around your goals.
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