A good meet warm-up gets you to your opener sharp, not tired, and on time. The two things to get right are the ladder (how you build up to your opener) and the timing (when you take each warm-up).
Build the ladder from your opener
Work backwards from your opener. Most lifters take about five to seven warm-up sets, with the reps dropping as the weight rises, and the last warm-up at around 90–95% of the opener for a single.
Example for a 180 kg squat opener:
Set
Weight
Reps
1
Bar (20 kg)
5–10
2
60 kg
5
3
100 kg
3
4
130 kg
2
5
150 kg
1
6
167.5 kg
1 (last warm-up, about 93%)
Opener
180 kg
On the platform
Use the same ladder in your last few heavy training sessions, so meet day feels familiar.
The Meet Day warm-up ladder builds to your opener, with the plates for each set.
Time it from your flight
The mistake that catches most people is timing. Meets rarely run exactly to schedule, so count attempts, not minutes:
Each attempt takes roughly a minute. A flight of 12 lifters takes about 12 minutes per round.
Aim to take your last warm-up about 5–8 attempts before your opener, so you have a few minutes to rest and get wrapped or belted.
If you're early in the flight, you need to start warming up while the flight before is still lifting.
Keep an eye on the scoreboard and adjust: if the meet speeds up, skip a lighter warm-up rather than rushing the heavy ones.
The warm-up room
Warm-up rooms are busy, and you may be sharing a rack or bar with several lifters. Agree an order with the people on your rack, load plates in the order you'll need them, and have someone (a handler or friend) keep track of the flight for you if you can.
Have your loading worked out in advance. Knowing the plates for each warm-up saves time and stops mistakes when you're nervous.
Bench and deadlift warm-ups
Bench: start warming up during the break after squats. You may need fewer sets than in training because you're already warm, but don't skip the heavier singles.
Deadlift: by now you're tired. Keep the warm-up efficient: fewer, well-chosen sets, with the last single at around 90% of your opener.
Between attempts
You'll usually wait about one round between attempts. Stay warm, sit down, and don't take extra heavy singles. Your attempts are your work sets now.
How Iron Raven helps
Iron Raven's Meet Day warm-up ladder builds to your opener with the plates for each warm-up worked out, and moves you straight on to your attempts. It works offline, so poor signal in the warm-up room doesn't matter.
