Are Warm-Up Sets Overrated? New Research Questions a Gym Tradition
For decades, warm-up sets have been treated like an unquestionable rule in strength training. Walk into almost any gym and you’ll see lifters gradually building up to their working weight: empty bar, light set, medium set, then finally the “real” work begins. It’s considered standard practice for performance, safety, and mental preparation.
But a growing body of research is beginning to challenge one specific belief: that warm-up sets meaningfully improve lifting performance.
A recent study published in Frontiers in Physiology found that certain warm-up protocols failed to improve explosive performance beyond the effects of a general warm-up itself. The findings add fuel to an ongoing debate in sports science: are traditional warm-up sets actually helping performance, or are many lifters simply following ritual and habit? (PubMed)
The answer is more nuanced than social media headlines suggest.
What Exactly Are Warm-Up Sets?
Warm-up sets are lighter sets performed before your working sets. For example, before bench pressing 100 kg, a lifter might perform:
20 kg × 10 reps
60 kg × 5 reps
80 kg × 3 reps
before beginning their actual working sets.
The idea is simple: prepare the muscles, joints, and nervous system for heavier effort.
Traditionally, warm-up sets are believed to:
Increase force production
Improve movement efficiency
Enhance neural activation
Reduce injury risk
Improve confidence under heavy loads
Most experienced lifters perform them automatically without questioning their effectiveness. But science is now examining whether they truly improve measurable performance outcomes.
The New Research
One of the most discussed recent papers on this topic came from researchers at the German Sport University Cologne. The study investigated something known as post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE), a theory suggesting that specific warm-up activities can temporarily improve athletic performance. (PubMed)
Researchers tested several warm-up protocols before explosive jumping tasks. Surprisingly, they found that additional activation strategies did not improve performance beyond the effects of a normal warm-up.
In simpler terms: once participants were generally warmed up, adding extra performance-focused warm-up methods provided little to no additional benefit.
Around the same time, another resistance training study involving trained lifters compared:
no warm-up sets,
one warm-up set,
and two warm-up sets
before exercises like bench press and leg press.
The results were unexpected. Researchers found no meaningful improvements in:
repetitions performed,
total training volume,
fatigue,
or perceived effort.
In some cases, the data even suggested strong evidence against warm-up sets improving lifting performance for moderate-load hypertrophy training. (Men's Fitness)
That doesn’t necessarily mean warm-ups are useless. But it does challenge the assumption that more warm-up sets automatically lead to better performance.
Why This Matters
Time efficiency matters more than ever in modern fitness culture.
Many lifters spend 15–30 minutes ramping up before their actual workout begins. If those extra sets do not significantly improve performance, that time investment becomes questionable — especially for people training primarily for muscle growth rather than maximal strength.
This is particularly relevant for:
busy professionals,
casual gym-goers,
and hypertrophy-focused lifters.
If your goal is simply to stimulate muscle growth with moderate loads, the evidence increasingly suggests that extensive warm-up routines may not be necessary.
For some people, a few lighter reps may be enough.
But There’s a Catch
The biggest mistake would be interpreting these studies as “warm-ups are pointless.”
That is not what the research says.
Most studies showing minimal performance benefits are examining:
trained individuals,
moderate loads,
controlled exercises,
and short-term outcomes like reps completed or jump height.
That is a very specific context.
The findings do not necessarily apply to:
beginners,
maximal attempts,
Olympic lifting,
powerlifting,
highly technical movements,
older adults,
or injury-prone individuals.
A lifter attempting a one-rep max squat is operating in a completely different environment compared to someone performing 10-rep hypertrophy sets on a machine leg press.
In elite strength sports, warm-up progression remains nearly universal for a reason.
Performance vs. Readiness
One reason warm-up sets may still exist despite limited performance improvements is psychological readiness.
Many lifters simply feel better after warming up.
The process can:
improve focus,
reduce anxiety,
reinforce technique,
and mentally prepare athletes for heavy loads.
Sports performance is not purely physiological. Confidence matters.
Even if warm-up sets do not increase total reps or volume in a laboratory setting, they may still help lifters feel more coordinated and prepared under the bar.
And that alone can influence performance in real-world training.
The Injury Prevention Question
This is where things become controversial.
A common belief is that warm-up sets reduce injury risk. Surprisingly, direct evidence for this is weaker than many people expect.
Some experts argue that warm-ups improve tissue temperature, movement quality, and joint lubrication, all of which theoretically reduce injury risk. Others point out that high-quality evidence directly proving this in resistance training is limited.
That said, absence of strong evidence is not the same as evidence against warm-ups.
In practice, many coaches still recommend warm-up sets because they allow athletes to gradually expose tissues to increasing loads rather than jumping immediately into maximal effort.
This is especially important for:
compound lifts,
older lifters,
fatigued athletes,
or people returning from injury.
Even if performance improvements are small, the potential downside of rushing into heavy lifting may not be worth it.
The Real Problem: Excessive Warm-Ups
Interestingly, the research may not be attacking warm-up sets themselves, but rather excessive warm-up volume.
There is a major difference between:
doing 1–2 efficient ramp-up sets,
and performing 20 minutes of unnecessary fatigue-inducing preparation.
Many lifters accidentally turn warm-ups into mini workouts.
Too much volume before working sets can:
reduce energy,
create fatigue,
and lower training quality.
The current evidence seems to suggest that minimalist warm-ups may work just as well for many lifters.
Instead of:
five warm-up sets,
extensive stretching,
and long activation circuits,
a simpler approach may be sufficient:
a few lighter reps,
gradual exposure to load,
and starting the workout.
Different Goals Require Different Warm-Ups
The ideal warm-up likely depends on the training goal.
For Hypertrophy Training
If your goal is muscle growth with moderate weights:
extensive warm-up protocols may not improve outcomes,
and minimal ramp-up sets could be enough.
This aligns with recent findings showing little difference in performance between warm-up conditions. (Men's Fitness)
For Maximal Strength
For heavy squats, deadlifts, or bench press attempts:
warm-up progression still makes practical sense,
especially for nervous system preparation and technique rehearsal.
Very few elite powerlifters skip warm-up sets entirely.
For Athletic Performance
Explosive sports involve more complexity.
Research on PAPE and explosive performance is mixed. Some athletes respond well to activation strategies, while others see little benefit. Individual response appears to matter significantly. (PubMed)
So, Should You Skip Warm-Up Sets?
Probably not completely.
But the new research does suggest many lifters may be overdoing them.
A reasonable takeaway is:
warm up enough to feel prepared,
but avoid unnecessary fatigue.
For many experienced lifters, especially during hypertrophy-focused sessions, that may mean:
one or two quick ramp-up sets,
instead of elaborate warm-up routines.
The science does not support the idea that endless warm-up sets automatically improve performance.
At the same time, warm-ups are highly individual. Some people feel excellent jumping straight into work sets. Others perform noticeably better after a structured progression.
The best approach is likely practical rather than dogmatic.
If extensive warm-ups help you feel stronger, more focused, and more confident, they may still be worthwhile. But if you are spending half your session preparing to train, the latest evidence suggests you may not need nearly as much as you think.
References
Rappelt L, Held S, Wiedenmann T, Micke F, Donath L. Post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) protocols do not further increase jumping performance beyond warm-up effects: findings from three acute randomized crossover trials. Frontiers in Physiology. 2024. (PubMed)
The Manual. Do warm-up sets improve your weightlifting performance? Researchers find out. 2025. (The Manual)
Men’s Fitness. Study: Warmups Don’t Improve Resistance Training Performance. 2025. (Men's Fitness)