Warm-ups feel like one of those unquestioned parts of training life. Most coaches ask clients to do one, most athletes roll through one automatically, and every gym floor has its own interpretation of what “getting ready” looks like. Yet when you look closely at how people actually warm up during resistance training, habits vary widely. Some lifters swear by long preparation phases, others jump straight into their working sets. You also see coaches who stay loyal to structured sequences and others who improvise based on the client or the hour of the day.
A new study by Neves and colleagues (2025) opens a useful window into this world. It explores how athletes and strength and conditioning coaches warm up and re-warm up during resistance training. For personal trainers designing programmes every day, this research gives a clearer picture of what people currently do and what might be worth updating in practice.
Warm-ups Are Everywhere, but the Details Are Messy
Neves et al.’s survey included 106 participants from Portugal, covering athletes, strength and conditioning coaches as well as individuals who work in both roles. One of the first things that stands out is just how universal the warm-up has become. More than 94% of respondents completed a warm-up before lifting. The pattern was consistent across men and women and across different training backgrounds.
What people actually did during the warm-up varied, but most of the group used a combination of general and specific elements. A typical structure included a few minutes of low-intensity aerobic work, mobility or dynamic movements, and then a series of rehearsal sets with reduced load. This sits closely with what many PTs already learn in a personal trainer course focused on practical programme design.
Research backs this blended approach. Fradkin et al. (2010) demonstrated that warm-ups combining temperature-raising activities with progressive specificity support better jump, sprint and strength outputs. Ribeiro et al. (2020) also found that specific warm-ups using submaximal loads help prepare the neuromuscular system before heavier work.
Duration was interesting too. The majority selected the 5–10 minute range. Shorter options and anything beyond 15 minutes were far less common. That pattern echoes what many PTs experience with real clients. That is, people want to feel ready but they rarely want to spend long chunks of time preparing.
The Warm-up That Fades Faster Than Expected
The research community has known for a long time that warm-ups help increase muscle temperature, improve blood flow and prime neural pathways before intense work. Bishop’s work in the early 2000s showed clear links between increased temperature and improved force production. The issue is how quickly those effects fade. Once a warm-up stops, the benefits begin to drop off within minutes. Faulkner et al. (2013) found that spending too long inactive after a warm-up can reduce power output during cycling sprints, purely because muscle temperature starts falling again.
This decay becomes relevant in resistance training. Long rest periods are part of many strength protocols. You also get practical interruptions on the gym floor, such as coaching adjustments, waiting for equipment, partner rotations or natural pauses in small-group sessions. Even a short delay alters readiness. That gap is exactly where re-warm-ups become useful.
Re-Warm-Ups
Despite the physiological logic, Neves et al. found that only 17% of respondents used re-warm-up strategies during lifting sessions. The majority reported avoiding them simply because they did not feel they were needed or had never considered using them. This gap creates an opportunity for trainers to rethink session flow.
Re-warm-ups do not need to be complex. Studies in team sports often use short bursts of mobility, plyometrics, banded drills or light technical movements to keep muscle temperature elevated. Silva et al. (2018) showed that even a small amount of low-intensity activation work during a transition phase can help preserve explosive performance. Mohr et al. (2004) highlighted similar outcomes in football, where re-warm-ups during half-time stopped sharp drops in sprint performance.
Strength work shares the same challenge even though the context is different. Long rest periods after heavy sets create ideal conditions for temperature loss. Trainers coaching clients through 3–5 minute rests on squats, deadlifts or Olympic lifts may see more consistent performance across the session if short re-warm-up blocks are inserted between sets.
The logistic regression in the study revealed something else. Age influenced the likelihood of using a re-warm-up. Every additional year of age reduced re-warm-up adoption by around 18%. Dual-role professionals, as in those who coach and train, were far more willing to use them. This suggests that familiarity with coaching theory, combined with personal training experience, encourages a deeper understanding of performance drops between working sets.
What Trainers Can Take from the Physiology
Warm-ups assist in multiple ways. Improved tissue elasticity reduces injury risk. Increased nerve conduction speed raises coordination and power output. Better oxygen delivery improves early-set endurance. Many PTs know these principles but do not always connect them to the later parts of a session.
The moment intensity drops or inactivity sets in, those benefits fade. Resistance training involves pauses that allow this drift to happen. Trainers who understand this can design more thoughtful warm-up and re-warm-up sequences that keep clients performing well across all working sets, not only the first one.
You can also apply it to broader learning. For example, if someone studies on a nutrition coach course and explores metabolic function, they learn how temperature, substrate availability and neural readiness all influence physical output. The warm-up and re-warm-up discussion fits neatly into that physiology.
Designing a Warm-Up That Aligns with Current Evidence
The study offers insight into the routines used by participants with more and less than 10 years’ experience. Those with more experience tended to use 3–10 minutes of general activation through rowing, cycling or treadmill work, followed by dynamic mobility. Specific rehearsal sets varied based on the session type, with ranges from 30–65% of 1RM used to prepare heavier movements.
Those with fewer years in the field tended to lean toward longer general phases and slightly different repetition structures, but the overall pattern remained consistent. Start with general activation, then dynamic mobility, followed by technical or load-specific preparation. This gives us a useful base template. We can adjust sequencing, intensity or load, but the framework remains the same.
Power sessions benefit from fast, crisp activation work. Hypertrophy days need joint readiness and steady rhythm. Strength days require specific rehearsal sets that gradually lead clients into heavier attempts. These distinctions help us as PTs personalise warm-up structures based on the intended training outcome. This model is covered in a broad range of fitness courses that already encourage individualised programme design.
The Case for Re-Warm-Ups in Strength Training
Adding re-warm-up blocks does not need to extend the session or interfere with rest. Trainers can use simple drills such as mini-band walks, light activation sets, controlled jumps, isometric contractions or unloaded movement patterns. Each keeps the system awake without exhausting the client ahead of the next working set.
This approach helps reduce the familiar performance drop that shows up around set three or four in demanding strength sessions. It also helps clients maintain technique quality because tissues stay warm and responsive. Trainers working in a busy gym or group environment can use re-warm-ups as an anchor when sessions become disrupted or equipment is limited.
There is also a motivational component. Clients often enjoy sessions that feel efficient. Re-warm-ups give structure to rest periods, which helps reduce drifting, scrolling or conversational downtime.
Bringing It All Together for Real Clients
Warm-ups are well established, but habits differ based on experience, education and personal preference. Re-warm-ups are far less common, yet the evidence supporting them is strong. Trainers who understand both phases can shape a more consistent training experience for their clients.
The takeaway from the Neves et al. study is that warm-ups are part of modern strength practice. Re-warm-ups have room to grow. Trainers who use both phases can build sessions that feel smoother, keep clients performing well and create fewer drop-offs during long or heavy sets. A structured approach that runs across the entire session, not only the first five minutes, supports better strength outcomes and a more resilient training environment.
Personal training is often about spotting gaps. Warm-ups are familiar. Re-warm-ups often sit unused. That creates a natural opening for any trainer who wants to fine-tune their programming skills and get better results for their clients. Many elements in this research are covered in continuing education or personal trainer courses aimed at strengthening practical coaching skills.
Warm-ups remain a core part of resistance training with most athletes and coaches already committed to them. The challenge appears in the middle of the session, not the start. Re-warm-ups help keep clients ready during rest periods, long breaks or environmental interruptions. Trainers who apply these ideas make each set count. This shift supports better movement quality, steadier power output and more predictable training outcomes.
As more research emerges, warm-up design will continue to evolve. For now, the principles are clear. Start with general activation, progress into specific preparation and maintain readiness with simple re-warm-up drills. These small adjustments carry meaningful benefits for client performance.
Reference
- Neves, P. P., Marques, D., Neiva, H. P., Nunes, C., Faíl, L., Ferraz, R., Marinho, D. A., Marques, M. C., & Alves, A. R. (2025). Warm-up and Re-warm-up Insights into Resistance Training: Usual Practices among Strength and Conditioning Coaches and Athletes. The Open Sports Sciences Journal, 18, e1875399X429130. Click here to review the full research article.
- Fradkin, A. J., Zazryn, T. R., & Smoliga, J. M. (2010). Effects of warming-up on physical performance: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(1), 140–148. Click here to review the full research article.
- Ribeiro, A. S., Romanzini, M., Schoenfeld, B. J., Souza, M. F., Avelar, A., & Cyrino, E. S. (2014). Effect of different warm-up procedures on the performance of resistance training exercises. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 119(1), 133–145. Click here to review the full research article.
- Bishop, D. (2003). Warm Up I: Potential mechanisms and the effects of passive warm up on exercise performance. Sports Medicine, 33(6), 439–454. Click here to review the full research article.
- Faulkner, S. H., Ferguson, R. A., Gerrett, N., Hupperets, M., Hodder, S. G., & Havenith, G. (2013). Reducing muscle temperature drop after warm-up improves sprint cycling performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 45(2), 359–365. Click here to review the full research article.
- Silva, L. M., Neiva, H. P., Marques, M. C., Izquierdo, M., & Marinho, D. A. (2018). Effects of warm-up, post-warm-up, and re-warm-up strategies on explosive efforts in team sports: A systematic review. Sports Medicine, 48(10), 2285–2299. Click here to review the full research article.
- Mohr, M., Krustrup, P., Nybo, L., Nielsen, J. J., & Bangsbo, J. (2004). Muscle temperature and sprint performance during soccer matches – Beneficial effect of re-warm-up at half-time. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 14(3), 156–162. Click here to review the full research article.
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