Warming-up (WU) is a widely used preparation for training and competition. However, little is known about the potential mechanisms of WU on performance and on the lactate distribution in the blood compartment. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether different WU procedures affect performance and lactate distribution between plasma and red blood cells (RBCs) after maximal exercise. At three different occasions eleven subjects performed one 30 s maximal effort exercise on a cycle ergometer. Before each exercise, subjects warmed up at different intensities: 1. no WU (NWU); 2. extensive WU (EWU); 3. intensive WU (IWU). Blood samples were taken under resting conditions, after WU, and in 1 minute intervals during recovery to determine lactate concentrations [LA] in whole blood ([LA]_WB), plasma ([LA]_plasma) and erythrocytes ([LA]_RBC). Mean power output was +58 Watt (EWU) and +60 Watt (IWU) higher compared to NWU. For each WU condition [LA]_plasma and [LA]_RBC differed significantly at any time point, showing greater [LA]_plasma compared to [LA]_RBC. The maximal effort exercise caused a rapid decrease of the [LA]_RBC/[LA]_plasma ratio. [LA]_RBC reached the peak 3-5 minutes later than [LA]_plasma depending on the WU condition. The initial increments in [LA]_RBC were 10-16% lower after IWU compared to NWU and EWU. The lower increment of [LA]_RBC after IWU might be due to a “higher preloading” with lactate before exercise, causing a smaller initial [LA] gradient between plasma and RBCs. It seems that the influx decreases with increasing intracellular [LA]. Another possibility one could speculate about is, that the extracellular increase in [LA] inhibits the outflux of lactate produced by the RBC itself. This inhibited export of lactate from RBCs may lead to an intracellular lactate accumulation. But the relatively fast increase in [LA]_RBC and other investigations partly contradicts this possibility.