Yes, for performance. A review that pooled 32 high-quality studies found that warm-ups which went beyond stretching led to better performance in 79% of the measures tested, with little evidence of harm2. What the research does not show is that a warm-up changes injury rates, because that is not what these studies measured.
What was studied
A warm-up here means a few minutes of easier movement before the hard effort. It can be general (light cycling or jogging to raise body and muscle temperature) or specific (lighter versions of the exercise you are about to do, such as a few easy sets of the lift).
The central paper is a systematic review with meta-analysis. A systematic review gathers every study on a question that the authors can find. A meta-analysis then pools their results. Fradkin and colleagues searched three research databases from 1966 to April 2008 for human studies of warm-ups and performance2. They kept only warm-ups that included something other than stretching, so the review is about moving, not only holding stretches2.
Two assessors scored each study independently on a 10-point quality scale. The 32 studies that reported enough data all scored 6.5 to 9, with a mean of 7.62.
| What | Number |
|---|---|
| Studies pooled | 32 |
| Search window | 1966 to April 2008 |
| Quality scores | 6.5 to 9 of 10 (mean 7.6) |
| Measures where warm-up helped | 79% |
| What was measured | performance, not injury |
We could read only the abstract of this review. It does not list which sports, which warm-ups or how large each gain was, so this article does not either.
In plain terms: 32 decent studies, one question, and the answer was mostly yes.
What the studies found
The headline number is 79%. Across the performance measures the 32 studies tested, warming up came out ahead in 79% of them2. The authors also found "little evidence to suggest that warming-up is detrimental" to people playing sport2.
Share of performance measures where warming up came out ahead · %
Note what the 79% counts. It is a share of measures (a sprint time, a jump height, a strength score), not a share of people or of studies. It tells you how often a warm-up helped, not by how much.
Lifting-specific studies are smaller, but they point the same way.
- Adding a general warm-up. Thirteen trained people tested their leg-press one-rep max (1RM, the most weight they could lift once) twice: once after only a specific warm-up of two lighter sets, once after 20 minutes of easy cycling plus the same two sets. Their 1RM averaged 8.4% higher after the combined warm-up3.
- How heavy the warm-up set is. Fifteen men with at least six months of training did the same session three times, each after a different warm-up: 15 reps at 40%, 10 reps at 60% or 5 reps at 80% of their ten-rep max. The 80% warm-up gave more total training volume across the session than either lighter option6.
In plain terms: in lifting studies, a warm-up that includes some general movement and at least one fairly heavy, low-rep set was linked to more weight lifted or more work done.
Why it might work
The mechanism most studied is temperature. In a small 1979 lab study of four men, the authors changed muscle temperature between 30 °C and 39 °C and measured performance at each level. Dynamic strength, power, jumping and sprinting all rose by about 4–6% for each 1 °C of muscle temperature, and maximal isometric (static) strength fell about 2% per 1 °C of cooling1.
A later review of warm-up science lists more candidates: faster oxygen uptake at the start of exercise, changes in how the nervous system recruits muscle, and a short-lived boost in force after heavy efforts, called post-activation potentiation4. The same review points out that early warm-up studies often had few participants and measured body changes more than performance4.
These are mechanisms, not outcomes. They explain why a warm-up could help. The performance studies above are what show it did.
What it does and does not mean
It does not mean more is always better. One study found no gain from a heavier "priming" set: in 14 trained men, a set of three reps at 90% of 1RM before squats to failure did not add total reps or total volume-load over the usual warm-up, though it gave more volume-load in the first set5. Across the whole session, the usual warm-up did as well.
It does not mean warming up is about injury. The 32-study review measured performance2. Claims about warm-ups and injury rates need their own studies, and they are not what we cite here.
It does not mean stretching is the warm-up. The review excluded warm-ups made only of stretching2. Whether static stretching before lifting helps or costs strength is a separate question, covered in should you stretch before lifting.
It does not mean one routine is proven. The trials used different warm-ups, loads and people. None of them compared every option.
In plain terms: warming up helped performance in most studies; the details of the best warm-up are still open.
What this looks like in practice
The trials that found better lifting performance used a short general warm-up (in one, 20 minutes of easy cycling) plus specific sets of the lift itself, ramping up to a heavier, low-rep set36. That is close to what most lifters already do: a few lighter sets of the first exercise before the working sets.
How many warm-up sets and at what loads is a programming choice, and how many warm-up sets before a heavy set walks through the common ramps. An RIR ramp is a related way to build up to the first hard set. Warm-up sets do not count toward your weekly sets per muscle group.
The studies at a glance
| Study | Who was studied | Key result | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bergh & Ekblom, *Acta Physiol Scand*1 | 4 men; muscle temperature 30–39 °C | Dynamic strength and power up about 4–6% per 1 °C | 1979 |
| Fradkin, Zazryn, Smoliga, *J Strength Cond Res*2 | 32 high-quality human studies (review, meta-analysis) | Warm-up led to better performance in 79% of measures; little evidence of harm | 2010 |
| Abad et al., *J Strength Cond Res*3 | 13 trained people; leg-press 1RM | General plus specific warm-up: 1RM about 8.4% higher than specific alone | 2011 |
| Souza et al., *PeerJ*5 | 14 trained men; back squat to failure | A heavy 90% priming set added no total reps over the usual warm-up | 2024 |
| Viveiros et al., *J Bodyw Mov Ther*6 | 15 trained men; three-exercise session | Warm-up at 80% of 10RM gave more total volume than 40% or 60% | 2024 |
| Neves et al., *Sports*7 | 22 recreationally trained men; squat and bench press | Re-warming before squats (after bench) gave higher bar velocity and power | 2025 |
How the warm-up evidence built up
- 1979Muscle temperatureDynamic strength and power up about 4–6% per 1 °C (4 men)
- 201032-study reviewWarm-up ahead in 79% of performance measures
- 2011Leg-press 1RMGeneral plus specific warm-up: about 8.4% higher 1RM (13 people)
- 2024Warm-up load80% of 10RM gave more session volume than 40% or 60% (15 men)
- 2025Re-warmingRe-warm-up before squats gave higher velocity and power (22 men)
Limits worth knowing
- Abstracts only. We read the abstracts of every paper cited here. The 32-study review is closed access, so its effect sizes and the list of included studies are not used.
- Few randomised trials. The review's own authors said there were few well-conducted randomised controlled trials and asked for more2. A randomised controlled trial assigns people by chance to warm up or not, so the groups can be compared fairly.
- Small lifting studies. The lifting trials had 13 to 22 people each, mostly trained young men.
- Short-term measures. Every study measured performance in the same session. None tested whether warming up changes muscle or strength gained over months.
- No injury data. Nothing here measured injuries.
- The temperature study is tiny. Four men, and the numbers are from its abstract1.
Latest research
The newest study we opened is a 2025 trial on re-warming mid-session7. Twenty-two recreationally trained men did bench press and squats in four randomised orders, with and without a short re-warm-up before the second lift. Re-warming before squats, done after bench press, gave higher bar velocity and power than going straight in (effect sizes 0.45 to 0.62). Re-warming before bench press, done after squats, did not clearly change bench performance (effect sizes 0.10 to 0.38), although without it velocity loss and effort were higher in the third bench set7. It is one small study, but it suggests the warm-up question applies to each lift, not only the start of a session.
The short version
- Warm-ups that went beyond stretching led to better performance in 79% of measures across 32 studies.
- Small lifting trials found more strength or more volume after a warm-up that included general movement and a heavier low-rep set.
- Warmer muscle produced more force and power in lab testing, which is the leading explanation.
- These studies measured performance, not injuries, and few were randomised.
Educational overview only — not medical advice.
