By Joe Beckert STACK.com
Using ramp-up sets is the best way to make your workout warm-ups meaningful for strength movements. The idea is that you complete your warm-up sets with minimal rest while increasing the load and keeping the reps low or decreasing as you progress. Not only is it a great way to warm up, it allows you to be dynamic with lighter weights as you progress to your work sets. Nothing primes your system like a ramp-up set.
You may have actually done this type of warm-up inadvertently in the past without knowing it, but I’m here to provide instruction so you can get the most out of ramp-up sets in the future.
Benefits of Ramp-Up Sets
- Increase overall volume and training density because of the amount of work you can do in a short time.
- Help you gauge how the weight feels that day.
- Enhance neural output and activation.
- Enable you to focus on form with sub-max weight.
- Increase rate of force development.
Ramp-up sets will prepare you for constant work with heavy loads on a frequent basis with the goal of progressively getting bigger, stronger and more explosive. As a weightlifter (and athlete), you should evaluate your warm-up to push through plateaus and break away from the monotony.
Ramp-up sets can be used for efficient warm-ups in addition to dynamic warm-ups to pack on muscle and increase force development. In the video player above, a lifter is warming up with 225 pounds on a Hang Clean and doing a few sets to give you an idea of what it looks like and to show that it can also be used for Olympic weightlifting movements.
Keys to Effectively Using Ramp-Up Sets Correctly
- Keep the intensity (load) low to ensure good bar speed.
- Beware of pre-fatigue before your work sets. This can alter your performance if done improperly.
- Keep the amount of sets in the ramp-up to a minimum.
- Don’t use too big of an increase.
- Apply this technique to any heavy lift you do in a workout. You can ramp up more than once.
Sample Ramp-Up Set
- 50% x5
- 60% x3
- 65% x2
- 70% x1
Source: http://www.stack.com/2015/09/11/improve-your-workout-warm-up-with-ramp-up-sets/
