Warm-Up Calculator for Powerlifting
Enter your working weight to get warm-up sets from the empty bar, with the plates for each side. By default it uses the Starting Strength rule of four even jumps; you can switch to your own percentages.
| Set | Weight | Reps × sets | Plates per side |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 45 lb | 5 × 2 | empty bar |
| 2 | 105 lb | 5 × 1 | 25 + 5 |
| 3 | 160 lb | 3 × 1 | 45 + 10 + 2.5 |
| 4 | 220 lb | 2 × 1 | 45 + 35 + 5 + 2.5 |
| Work sets | 275 lb | – | 2 × 45 + 25 |
Four jumps of 57.5 lb: (275 − 45) ÷ 4, each weight rounded to the nearest 5 lb. Plates from 45, 35, 25, 10, 5 and 2.5 lb, no collars.
How to calculate warm-up sets: the Starting Strength rule
The Starting Strength FAQ puts the rule in one line: “Take the difference between the empty bar and your working weight, and make four relatively even jumps between the two.” Its examples start with the empty bar for 2 sets of 5, then single sets of 5, 3 and 2 reps; the calculator uses the same reps. By hand:
- Subtract the bar from your working weight: 275 − 45 = 230 lb.
- Divide by 4 to get one jump: 230 ÷ 4 = 57.5 lb.
- Add one, two and three jumps to the bar: 102.5, 160 and 217.5 lb.
- Round each to a weight you can load: 105, 160 and 220 lb. The fourth jump lands on 275.
In kilograms it works the same way. With a 20 kg bar and 140 kg work sets, (140 − 20) ÷ 4 = 30 kg, so the warm-ups are 50, 80 and 110 kg. The calculator rounds to the nearest 5 lb or 2.5 kg, the smallest jump the 2.5 lb and 1.25 kg plates allow.
Why the Starting Strength examples differ from its rule
The same FAQ lists 135, 185 and 235 lb for 275 lb work sets and 60, 75 and 85 lb for 95. Those are not even jumps: from the bar to 275 they rise by 90, 50, 50 and 40 lb. Applied as written, the rule gives 105, 160 and 220 for 275, and 60, 70 and 85 for 95.
This calculator follows the written rule, so for 275 lb its first warm-up after the bar is 30 lb lighter than the example. If you prefer the example's bigger early jumps, enter them as your own percentages.
Warm-ups from your own percentages
Choose “Your percentages” to enter up to four sets as percentages of your working weight, each with its own reps. Every weight is rounded to the nearest 5 lb (2.5 kg) and kept between the bar and the working weight; 0% gives the empty bar and 0 reps drops the set.
The starting values (40%, 60%, 80% and 90%) are examples only. No named warm-up scheme could be traced to a primary source that defines its percentages, so none is built in.
Plates per side come from a common gym set of 45, 35, 25, 10, 5 and 2.5 lb, or the IPF competition discs (25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5 and 1.25 kg), with no collars. Your gym's plates may differ.