My Workout Plan: PPL Delt-led (Block 1)

Sun, 12 Jul 2026 20:30:00 +0800

Day 1: Push A · Delt-led

#	Exercise	Sets x Reps	Remark
W1	Band Pull-apart (rear delts)	2 x 15-20	warm-up trio 1/3 — cuff prep, not working sets
W2	Cable Face Pull	2 x 12-15	warm-up trio 2/3 — light and strict, pause at the face
W3	Cable External Rotation	2 x 12-15	warm-up trio 3/3 — shoulder check: any pinch = flag it before pressing
1	Dumbbell Shoulder Press (front/side delts)	4 x 6-10	key progression lift of the block, seated
2	Smith Incline Press (upper chest)	3 x 6-10	restart weight, RPE ≤7 wk1–2
3	Cable Single Lateral Raise (side delts)	4 x 12-20	constant tension, no swing — delt gap is target #1
4	Cable Overhead Tricep Extension	3 x 8-12	long-head stretch slot
5	Cable Rope Tricep Pushdown	2 x 10-15	squeeze the lockout
6	Hanging Leg Raise (abs)	3 x 10-15	abs logged like a lift

Day 2: Pull A · Width

#	Exercise	Sets x Reps	Remark
1	Cable Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown (lats)	3 x 6-10	width slot — chest tall, no torso heave
2	Chest-Supported Row (mid-back)	3 x 8-12	chest stays on the pad, strict
3	Machine Reverse Fly (rear delts)	3 x 12-15	rear-delt shelf — baseline showed none, pause every squeeze
4	Dumbbell Seated Incline Curl (biceps)	3 x 8-12	stretch-position curl, shoulders pinned
5	Machine Curl (biceps)	2 x 10-15	back-off volume, double progression

Day 3: Legs A · Quad

#	Exercise	Sets x Reps	Remark
1	Smith Heel-Elevated Squat (quads)	3 x 5-8	key lower lift — restart load, RPE ≤7 wk1–2, film once
2	Leg Extension (quads)	3 x 12-18	quad detail, pause at the top
3	Seated Leg Curl (hamstrings)	2 x 8-12	first of two weekly ham hits
4	Standing Calf Raise (calves)	3 x 8-12	full stretch, pause, no bouncing
5	Machine Hip Adduction	2 x 10-15	accessory — quality reps, don’t chase load

Day 4: Rest + Posing

no lifting. posing practice lives here — that’s a skill with a deadline too.

Day 5: Push B · Chest-led

#	Exercise	Sets x Reps	Remark
W1	Band Pull-apart (rear delts)	2 x 15-20	warm-up trio 1/3
W2	Cable Face Pull	2 x 12-15	warm-up trio 2/3
W3	Cable External Rotation	2 x 12-15	warm-up trio 3/3 — shoulder check
1	Machine Flat Press (chest)	3 x 8-12	chest-led day: press first — restart weight, RPE ≤7 wk1–2
2	Machine Shoulder Press (delts)	3 x 8-12	second delt press of the week — machine is tendon-friendlier
3	Pec Deck (mid chest)	2 x 12-15	stretch + squeeze, constant tension
4	Cable Single Lateral Raise (side delts)	7 x 12-15	FST-7 — ~30s rest, constant tension, weekly weak-point finisher
5	JM Press (triceps)	3 x 10-15	tricep mass slot, elbows tucked
6	Cable Crunch (abs)	3 x 10-15	abs logged like a lift

Day 6: Pull B · Thickness

#	Exercise	Sets x Reps	Remark
1	Cable Lat Pulldown (lats)	3 x 8-12	close/neutral grip — width slot belongs to Pull A
2	Cable Wide-Grip Seated Row (mid-back)	3 x 8-12	thickness slot — drive elbows back
3	Cable Archery Row	3 x 12-20	unilateral — even reps both sides
4	Dumbbell Shrug (traps)	3 x 10-15	baseline read: minimal traps — pause at the top
5	Hammer Curl (brachialis)	3 x 8-12	forearm / arm-width slot
6	Cable Bayesian Curl (biceps long head)	2 x 10-15	long-head stretch curl, strict

Day 7: Legs B · Posterior

#	Exercise	Sets x Reps	Remark
1	Romanian Deadlift (hams/glutes)	3 x 6-10	hinge, not squat — restart load, RPE ≤7 wk1–2, film once
2	Lying Leg Curl (hamstrings)	3 x 8-12	second ham hit, slow negatives
3	Hip Thrust (glutes)	3 x 8-12	full lockout, pause at the top
4	Bulgarian Split Squat	3 x 8-12	unilateral — quality over load
5	Seated Calf Raise (soleus)	3 x 10-15	pause the bottom stretch
6	Machine Hip Abduction (glute med)	2 x 10-15	side-glute fullness, controlled

Weekly Volume Overview

direct working sets per week (warm-up trio and indirect work counted separately):

Muscle	Direct sets	Notes
Side delts	11	4 lateral + 7 FST-7, plus 7 pressing sets indirect — the bill for the delt gap
Rear delts	3	plus 12 light warm-up-trio sets across both push days
Chest	8	3 of them upper-chest
Back (lats + mid)	15	width on Pull A, thickness on Pull B
Traps	3	plus rows indirect
Biceps	10	plus 6 pulldown sets indirect
Triceps	8	plus 7 pressing sets indirect
Quads	9	squat, extension, split squat
Hamstrings	8	hit twice a week, never same-day heavy
Glutes	3	direct (hip thrust) — RDL + split squat indirect
Calves	6	gastroc + soleus split across leg days
Abs	6	logged like lifts

in april i published my parts split plan, and last week i closed it out with a 12-week retrospective. this post is the third piece: the rebuild.

block 1 — official name PPL Delt-led (Block 1) — starts 2026-07-13 and runs ~10 weeks to late september. it’s the first block of a longer runway: the goal at the end of it is a stage, not a mirror selfie. and this time the container did change — the parts split is out, a 6-day push/pull/legs ×2 is in. everything the retro found is built into how it runs:

delts are debt #1. every push day opens delt-first, laterals live twice a week (one of them an FST-7), and side delts get 11 direct sets — the single biggest line item in the plan.
the shoulder gets managed, not tested. every press day starts with a rear-delt/cuff warm-up trio, pressing order is tendon-neutral, and weeks 1–2 are capped at RPE ≤7. any pinch gets flagged before the working sets, not explained after.
working weights are written into the plan. every exercise carries its last known working weight, so week 1 starts from data instead of guessing.
day 4 is still not just rest. posing practice lives there, because that’s a skill with a deadline too.
stricter judging. every session logged in the same system the last 12 weeks live in; “beat last week” is checked against same-gym entries only; photos get re-shot mid-august; and week 10 (~mid-september) is the checkpoint — photos vs the july 12 baseline, delt-proxy review, and the verdict that decides whether block 2 gets written arm-biased.

the parts split taught me that a plan is a container, not a promise. this container is new — and the deadline is harder.

Training-Block on ENKR's Blog | Jing Hui PANG