My friend today indicated that I should be doing warmup sets but I've never done them before. Is it really necessary to do warmup sets?
I usually row on days I do back and triceps and use the eliptical (pushing on the hand bars) on days I do chest and back. I bench press under 100 lbs and I haven't read anything about warmup sets in the books I have.
If you are young, you can get away with it.
If you did that for years while you were young (like I did), your joints will be wore out when you reach my age (44).
I always warm up, now. I wish I had warmed up more when I was younger, but I didn't really see any point to it.
For chest day, some good chest stretches help (grab a pole, twist your body, and stretch your pecs) and a couple sets of 20 using lightweight weight should go a long way.
Warm-up sets aren't absolutely necessary, no. Some people go into the gym, load up their max, and manage to avoid injury for at least a while. But warm-ups are a tremendously good idea, because they reduce the likelihood that you will pull a muscle while lifting your max. You should get warm before lifting by running or, as you do, using a rower or elliptical, then put progressively more weight on the bar before your heaviest set.
If you're benching under 100 pounds I'd do one set with the bar, then one with 75 or so, then get right to the heavy sets. If you're not lifting very much weight, perhaps because you're doing sets of 12 to 20 for bodybuilding instead of strength training, then warm-ups aren't really necessary.
It is important for you to warm up before a set. Going on heavy lifts when your muscles are "cold" raises risks of injury.
The most common injury points are the rotator cuffs. Using elastic bands with your elbows to your side and moving the hand in a left to right motion (going far enough on both sides so you feel it stretch) is very good to prevent injuries.
This is a very controversial subject and many people disagree but from personal experience in training, I MUST warm up before my workout session.
