---
type: Article
title: "Warm-Up vs Working Sets: What to Log"
description: "Should warm-up sets count in your workout log? See how set labels change volume and records, with a worked example and downloadable CSV."
resource: https://quietgains.app/journal/warmup-working-sets-workout-log
language: en
tags: ["log warm-up sets", "warm-up vs working sets", "do warm-up sets count", "workout volume warm-ups"]
timestamp: 2026-09-24
---

# Should you log warm-up sets with your working sets?

Keep the preparation in your history without letting an unlabeled total change what your workout numbers mean.

![A woman prepares beside an empty barbell in a squat rack.](https://quietgains.app/images/journal-warmup-sets/cover-v2.webp)

AI-generated editorial illustration.

Training · By [QuietGains](https://quietgains.app/about) · Published 24 September 2026 · Updated 24 September 2026 · 6 min

Log warm-up sets if you want a complete record of your preparation, but label them separately from working sets. Then choose which category a total describes. “All completed sets” and “completed working sets” are both valid views of a log; they are not interchangeable measures.

The word “count” causes much of the confusion. A warm-up can count as a recorded activity while being excluded from a working-set total or a personal-record comparison. The label does not mean the movement had no physical effect. It tells the person reading the log what role that set had and whether it belongs in a particular summary.

## What makes a set a warm-up or a working set?

For recordkeeping, a warm-up set is a set identified as preparation for the exercise work that follows. A working set belongs to the exercise work specified in the session. Use the role assigned in your plan and what actually happened, rather than inventing a universal weight percentage that decides the category.

A light set is not automatically a warm-up. A lighter back-off set can still be a working set. The first set recorded is not automatically preparation either: earlier preparation may have happened elsewhere. Conversely, a relatively heavy preparation set does not become a working set simply because its load is high.

| Question | Useful record |
| --- | --- |
| What did I complete? | All completed entries, including labeled preparation. |
| How much working-set volume did I record? | Only completed entries marked as working sets, under a consistent calculation. |
| What belongs in a personal-record comparison? | The entries allowed by that record’s rules; check the app’s definition. |

## A worked example: six entries, three working sets

The following invented barbell bench-press log exists only to explain the accounting. Its weights, repetitions and number of preparation sets are not a warm-up recommendation. All loads mean total barbell weight, including the bar, and each row records completed repetitions.

| Completed entry | Classification and volume load |
| --- | --- |
| 20 kg × 10 | Warm-up: 200 kg. |
| 40 kg × 5 | Warm-up: 200 kg. |
| 60 kg × 3 | Warm-up: 180 kg. |
| 80 kg × 8 | Working set: 640 kg. |
| 80 kg × 7 | Working set: 560 kg. |
| 80 kg × 6 | Working set: 480 kg. |

Preparation volume is 200 + 200 + 180 = 580 kg. Working-set volume is 640 + 560 + 480 = 1,680 kg. The total across all six entries is 2,260 kg. This log contains 39 completed repetitions altogether, of which 21 belong to working sets. Write the category beside the total so it stays interpretable.

[Download the two-session CSV example](https://quietgains.app/downloads/warmup-working-sets-example.csv). The set_type column lets you filter the same raw record into an all-sets view or a working-sets view without deleting anything.

## Why changing your warm-up can change a chart

Now suppose illustrative session B has the same three working sets, but its preparation entries are 20 kg × 8 and 40 kg × 5. Those warm-ups total 360 kg, and the full session totals 2,040 kg. The all-sets number is 220 kg lower than A, while the working-set number remains exactly 1,680 kg.

An unlabeled chart might look like a decline in the main exercise work. The raw record shows something narrower: the recorded preparation changed. This example does not say the two warm-ups were equally useful, or that either should be selected. It shows why the calculation needs a named scope.

The reverse can also happen. Starting to log warm-ups halfway through a history can raise an all-sets total even when the working sets stay identical. Record the date of that logging change. If you compare only working sets, use that same filter on both sides of the comparison.

## Preparation is context worth preserving

Research gives a reason to retain preparation details without treating them as working sets. In a study of 15 men with resistance-training experience, Viveiros and colleagues found that the tested warm-up conditions produced different subsequent workout-volume results. [1] The study varied both warm-up load and repetitions; it does not supply a universal logging threshold or justify copying its protocol into every workout.

Abad and colleagues also found different leg-press maximum-test results across two warm-up conditions in 13 participants. [2] That small, exercise-specific comparison supports a limited point for the log: preparation can be relevant context. It does not show that one sequence guarantees better results for everyone, or that a recorded warm-up makes a later maximum attempt appropriate.

## A reliable way to label the record

- Give each entry a set type, such as warm-up or working, instead of relying on its position or load.
- Preserve the actual weight, reps, units and completion status. A planned but uncompleted warm-up is not completed volume.
- Label the summary explicitly: all completed volume or working-set volume. Keep the rule consistent across dates.
- Keep non-set preparation as context. A few minutes of movement preparation do not need invented kilogram entries.
- Keep warm-up notes distinct from working-set effort. A rating about the final working set should not be copied onto the preparation rows.

When migrating between apps or spreadsheets, check whether the export retains the set type. If every row arrives as “normal,” do not assume the first three were warm-ups. Recover the labels only where the original meaning is known. An uncertain older row is better marked uncertain than silently reclassified to produce a cleaner chart.

## How QuietGains keeps the distinction visible

QuietGains presents a dedicated warm-up card separately from working-set rows in the live workout. Its personal-record checks exclude entries marked as warm-ups. That makes the label useful beyond appearance: a preparation entry does not become an eligible record just because its numbers are unusual.

In the app: Keep preparation and working sets visibly distinct while you train. QuietGains has a separate warm-up card and excludes warm-up entries from its personal-record checks. [Get QuietGains](https://quietgains.app/download)

## Should I delete warm-ups to keep the log tidy?

You do not need to delete useful preparation history just to calculate a working-set total. A set-type filter can produce that view while preserving the original rows. If your tool lacks that distinction, use separate sections or an explicit note, and keep the summary’s inclusion rule visible.

## Does an empty bar count as zero weight?

An unloaded bar still has its own mass. For a total-barbell-load convention, record the actual bar weight rather than zero or an assumed standard. A bodyweight movement is different again: zero added weight does not mean zero physical work. Keep the exercise and measurement convention clear.

## Can a warm-up estimate become my estimated-max record?

A formula can calculate a number from a weight and repetition count without knowing why the set was performed or how many reps remained. That is not enough to establish a maximum. Our [one-rep max calculator](https://quietgains.app/tools/one-rep-max-calculator) explains the arithmetic, and the [estimated-1RM guide](https://quietgains.app/journal/estimated-1rm-volume-rep-prs) explains the limits. QuietGains excludes warm-up entries from its own estimated-max record calculation.

For a paper or spreadsheet approach, use the [workout log template](https://quietgains.app/journal/workout-log-template) and keep set types explicit. If your programme uses a repetition-based progression rule, our [double-progression example](https://quietgains.app/journal/double-progression-workout-log) shows why the included working sets need to remain consistent.

## Sources

1. Viveiros L, Gioia K, Nasser I, et al. High-load and low-volume warm-up increases performance in a resistance training session. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies 40:1487–1491, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2024.08.004
2. Abad CCC, Prado ML, Ugrinowitsch C, Tricoli V, Barroso R. Combination of general and specific warm-ups improves leg-press one repetition maximum compared with specific warm-up in trained individuals. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 25(8):2242–2245, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181e8611b

## Read next

- [Estimated 1RM, volume or a rep PR: what changed?](https://quietgains.app/journal/estimated-1rm-volume-rep-prs)
- [Free workout log template, with a filled example](https://quietgains.app/journal/workout-log-template)
- [How to keep your workout rest timer on the Lock Screen](https://quietgains.app/journal/workout-rest-timer-lock-screen)

## Keep your next session in the same log.

QuietGains brings your previous sets into the next workout, so you can record what changed. Compare Free and Premium to find what fits. [Get QuietGains](https://quietgains.app/download). [Compare Free and Premium](https://quietgains.app/pricing).