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.If there s a rule thatapplies in every case, I haven t seen it.But here s a general guideline Alwyn uses withhis clients (and which I ve used for years without knowing anyone else did it that way):Do one warm-up set for every fifty pounds of weight you want to lift in your firstwork set.(In the New Rules workouts, starting on page 202, we don t list warm-upsets.So every set on the chart is a work set.)As for repetitions, you want to start with roughly half the number you ll do inthat first work set, and then reduce a repetition in every subsequent warm-up set.Let s say you re going to do a set of ten squats with 150 pounds.Here s how you dwarm up:1.Warm-up set #1: 50 pounds, 5 reps2.Warm-up set #2: 100 pounds, 4 repsYou don t have to hit these precise numbers.An Olympic barbell weighs forty-five pounds, so you could simply use the unloaded bar for five reps for the first warm-up set.For the second, you could use ninety-five, since that s easy to set up it s justthe forty-five-pound bar, plus a twenty-five-pound weight plate on each side.You may wonder why you don t do a set of ten reps to warm up for a set often reps.The answer: You want your muscles to practice the movement, but you don twant to exhaust them.And high repetitions, even with light weights, do expendsome of the fuel in your muscles, which can be better used in the work sets.(Fun fact:It takes about eight minutes to restore 97 percent of the phosphocreatine in yourmuscles; this is the material that produces energy for short, intense efforts, including 68 THE NEW RULES OF LI FTI NGmost weight-lifting sets.I m not saying that lifting light weights will burn off signifi-cant amounts of phosphocreatine, but it does illustrate how carefully you have toguard it.)Now let s say you re an advanced lifter, and you re warming up for multiple setsof three reps with 300 pounds.Your strategy is similar.In this case, I m going to usethe real weights that someone would actually load on the bar, using twenty-five-and forty-five-pound plates, separately and in combination:1.Warm-up set #1: 45 pounds, 5 reps2.Warm-up set #2: 95 pounds, 4 reps3.Warm-up set #3: 135 pounds, 3 reps (that s the bar, plus a 45-pound plate oneach side)4.Warm-up set #4: 185 pounds, 2 reps5.Warm-up set #5: 225 pounds, 1 rep (that s the bar with two 45s on each side)6.Warm-up set #6: 275 pounds, 1 repYou don t have to rest any specified amount of time between warm-up sets.Alwyn says that the time it takes to change the weights and drink from your waterbottle is plenty.After the final warm-up set, take about two to three minutes, then tear into yourwork sets.And believe me, when you get to the point where you need to do six warm-up sets, you won t be in any mood to screw around.You ll make those inert hunks ofiron pay for your annoyance.Another question: Do you have to warm up like this for every exercise? I ll confessI don t.I ll warm up thoroughly and meticulously for lower-body exercises, like squatsand deadlifts.By my standards, that means about five minutes of general warm-up,about five minutes of semi-specific exercises, and whatever it takes for my specificwarm-up.Once I m finished with my heavy lifts, I ll go straight to medium- or high-repwork sets without any more warm-up.I figure my joints are lubricated, my muscles arewarm and primed for work, and any sets I do at that point should be results-oriented.(I can t remember the last time I hurt myself lifting, so I have to think it s working.)For upper-body lifts, like bench presses, I follow the same protocol for specificwarm-ups, but I don t do much in the way of general or semi-specific drills.Duringthe winter, when I m walking into the gym from the cold, I ll do a few minutes of gen-eral warm-up.But in the other three seasons, I usually go straight to the semi-specificand specific warm-ups. WARMI NG UP 69THE SEMI-CHALLENGING, SEMI-SPECIFIC WARM-UP ROUTINEHere s a five-move, semi-specific warm-up you can use before any workout:Walking lunge with6'upper-body twistPrepares your body for lunging and twisting ex-ercises; forces hip flexors, gluteals, and thigh musclesto stretch and contract while utilizing a horizontaltwist.¤' Take a long step forward with your left leg, andas you descend into the lunge position, twist yourtorso to the left.Then, without returning to thestarting position, rise and take another long stepforward with your right leg, and twist to your right.Do five to ten lunges with each leg.Lateral lunge with opposite-hand6'reach and touchFurther prepares body for lunging and twistingexercises, this time forcing inner-thigh and outer-thigh muscles to stretch and contract; utilizes a diag-onal twist.¤' Take a long step straight to the left, bendingyour left leg while keeping your right leg straight.Reach with your right hand and touch the floor onthe outside of your left foot.(If you can t reach thatfar without discomfort, just do what you can.) Riseback to the starting position, then lunge to yourright side, reaching with your left hand.Again, dofive to ten to each side. 70 THE NEW RULES OF LI FTI NGBall bridge/Russian twist6'Bridge fires rear-body muscles lower back, gluteals, hamstrings, calves, shoulder-blade muscles while stretching chest, abdominals, and quadriceps.Russian twist workstorso-rotating muscles, which were prepared in previous moves.¤' Lie on your back on a Swiss ball so your shoulders are on the ball, your heels areon the floor, and your body forms a straight line from shoulders to heels.You wantyour arms straight out to your sides and perpendicular to your body.You should feela good contraction in your gluteals and hamstrings.Hold for fifteen to thirty sec-onds.¤' Then go to a Russian twist: Your shoulders are on the ball, with your arms reachingstraight out in front of your chest and your hands together.Your knees are bent andyour feet are flat on the floor.Raise your hips, so your body forms a straight line fromshoulders to knees.Now twist your upper body to the left, with your head turning soyour eyes follow your hands.Return to the starting position, and repeat to your rightside.Keep your lower body as motionless as possible.Do five to ten reps to each side. WARMI NG UP 71Inchworm6' Wakes up torso-stabilizing muscles in midsection and upper back while stretchinggluteals, hamstrings, and calves.¤' Stand with your feet together, hands on the floor.Slowly walk your hands for-ward until your body is as elongated as you can make it, with your weight balancedon your toes and hands.Now walk your feet back up to your hands until your feet andhands are both flat on the floor again.Do five or six of these. 72 THE NEW RULES OF LI FTI NGT-push-up6'Activates front-torso muscles in chest and shoulders while working torso-stabilizingmuscles from upper to lower back [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]