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About this tool
Build a warm-up ramp of sets, reps and loadable weights leading up to your top working set or heavy single.
A warm-up ramp is a short sequence of sets that climbs in percentages of your top working weight while the reps come down, so the movement is rehearsed under load without adding fatigue. This calculator applies four common ramp patterns — a standard strength ramp, a heavy-single ramp, a short ramp and a hypertrophy ramp — then rounds each rung to a weight your plates can actually make, since every disc goes on both sleeves. It also totals the warm-up reps, tonnage and rough time cost.
Open Warm-Up Set Calculator on AltFTool — it loads instantly in your browser.
Pick a Ramp style — Standard strength ramp, Heavy single / max attempt, Short ramp or Hypertrophy ramp — then enter your Top working weight, Reps in the work set, Bar weight and your Smallest jump in kg or lb.
Read The ramp table listing each set's % of top, rounded weight and reps up to the Work set row, with rungs that round to the same weight as the previous set dropped automatically.
Check Warm-up sets, reps, tonnage and Estimated time in the summary rows, then press Copy result for a gym-ready set list or Reset to restore defaults.
Every rung is rounded to your smallest jump, so nothing asks for a plate you cannot make.
Steps that round to the same weight as the previous set are dropped instead of duplicated.
Shows warm-up reps, tonnage and an estimated duration before you start.
Three to five rungs is the usual range for a top set of 3–5 reps, and five or six when working up to a single. More rungs add fatigue without adding preparation; fewer leaves the first heavy set feeling unrehearsed.
A common ramp is roughly 40%, 55%, 70% and 85% of the top working weight, with reps falling from 5 down to 2. For a maximal single, add rungs near 88% and 94% and keep them to one rep so the attempt itself is the first real effort.
No. Warm-up sets are rehearsal, not training — stop several reps short on every rung. Reps drop as the weight rises precisely so the warm-up does not consume the effort you need for the working set.
Around 60–90 seconds on the light rungs is enough; the last rung or two before a maximal attempt usually needs longer, often 2–3 minutes. Rest is there to clear fatigue, so extend it as the bar gets close to your working weight.
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