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Warm-up set calculator.

Enter the weight and reps of your working set. We build a warm-up ramp that eases you into it, with sensible percentages, loads rounded to real plates and the plate math for each step. A single rep gets a max-attempt ramp; higher reps get a volume ramp.

Build your warm-up

Working reps
1 rep builds a max-attempt ramp; 2+ a volume ramp
Bar
Unit

Working set: 100 kg × 5 reps

Your warm-up ramp

Volume ramp

Lightest to heaviest, floored at the bar and rounded to real plates. Rest a little longer as the load climbs, and adjust to feel.

  1. 20%20 kg7 reps
    bar only
  2. 50%50 kg3 reps
    per side15
  3. 70%70 kg2 reps
    per side25
  4. 85%85 kg2 reps
    per side2552.5

How it works

From a cold bar to your first hard set.

Why warm up at all

Warm-up sets raise muscle temperature, groove the movement pattern and rehearse the load path, so your first working set feels sharp instead of surprising. They cost a few minutes and buy you better technique and a lower injury risk.

Two kinds of ramp

A single-rep max attempt needs a longer, lighter-stepping ramp that primes the nervous system without draining it, so we cascade the reps down as the bar gets heavy. A higher-rep working set needs fewer, fuller warm-up sets that approach the load without pre-fatiguing you.

Rounded to real plates

Every load is floored at the empty bar and rounded to the smallest pair-achievable plate for your unit, so you are never told to load a weight the plates in front of you cannot make. Pick your bar to match what you actually train on.

The same ramp, in the app

Ironstead seeds a warm-up ramp for every barbell working set you program, using this exact logic, then lets you tweak it and check it off set by set. The calculator is the preview; the app tracks it while you lift.

Common questions

About warm-up sets.

How many warm-up sets should I do?
Enough to reach your working load without accumulating fatigue. For a heavy single that means a longer ramp of five sets; for a volume set, three or four is usually plenty. Heavier and more technical lifts justify more; light accessory work needs almost none.
How many reps per warm-up set?
More reps when the bar is light, fewer as it gets heavy. The ramp cascades the reps down for you so the last warm-up primes the pattern without eating into your working set.
Should I rest between warm-up sets?
Keep the early, light sets brisk and take a little more rest as the load climbs, especially before a max attempt. The point is to be ready, not winded.
What bar weight should I pick?
Pick the bar you actually train on. A standard Olympic bar is 20 kg or 45 lb; many gyms also stock lighter training bars. Setting it to none is for dumbbell, machine or bodyweight work where there is no bar to floor the loads.
Does Ironstead warm me up automatically?
Yes. The app builds a warm-up ramp for every barbell working set you program with this same logic, and you can adjust it or check it off as you go, so you never have to do the math mid-session.

Stop doing warm-up math. Start lifting.

Ironstead builds a warm-up ramp for every working set you program and lets you check it off set by set, so the plan is ready before you touch the bar. Free for athletes.

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Warm-up guidance is general, not medical advice. Adjust to your own readiness, warm up thoroughly and use a spotter for heavy attempts.

Ironstead - Warm-up Set Calculator: Ramp to Any Working Weight