Shoulders in PPL: Strategic Placement, Anatomy, and Training Tips

When to do shoulders in push pull legs?

Effectively integrating shoulder training into a Push-Pull-Legs (PPL) split involves strategically placing direct deltoid work on either your "Push" day to capitalize on pre-fatigue, your "Pull" day to emphasize posterior deltoids, or distributing the work across both days for balanced development and recovery.

Understanding the Push-Pull-Legs (PPL) Split

The Push-Pull-Legs (PPL) split is a popular and effective training methodology that divides your body into three distinct training days based on movement patterns:

• Push Day: Focuses on pushing movements, primarily targeting the chest, shoulders (anterior and medial deltoids), and triceps.
• Pull Day: Focuses on pulling movements, primarily targeting the back (lats, rhomboids, traps) and biceps, with some posterior deltoid involvement.
• Legs Day: Targets the lower body, including quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.

This structure allows for high training frequency for each muscle group (often twice per week) while providing adequate recovery, making it efficient for muscle growth and strength development.

The Shoulder Complex: Anatomy and Function

The shoulder is a complex ball-and-socket joint, renowned for its mobility. Its primary movers, the deltoid muscles, are comprised of three distinct heads:

• Anterior Deltoid: Located at the front of the shoulder, primarily responsible for shoulder flexion (lifting the arm forward) and internal rotation.
• Medial (Lateral) Deltoid: Located on the side of the shoulder, primarily responsible for shoulder abduction (lifting the arm out to the side).
• Posterior Deltoid: Located at the back of the shoulder, primarily responsible for shoulder extension (pulling the arm backward) and external rotation.

The rotator cuff muscles (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, subscapularis) also play a crucial role in stabilizing the shoulder joint and assisting in various movements, often working synergistically with the deltoids.

Shoulder Involvement on "Push" Day

On a typical Push Day, your anterior and medial deltoids are heavily engaged as synergistic muscles in compound pressing movements:

• Barbell Bench Press (and variations): Primarily targets the chest, but the anterior deltoids are highly active, especially in the top range of motion.
• Overhead Press (Barbell or Dumbbell): A foundational shoulder exercise that directly targets all three deltoid heads, with significant emphasis on the anterior and medial heads. Triceps are also heavily involved.
• Dips: While primarily a chest and triceps exercise, the anterior deltoids contribute significantly to the pushing action.

Given this inherent involvement, the anterior deltoids often receive substantial indirect work on Push Day. Adding excessive direct anterior deltoid volume (e.g., front raises) may lead to overtraining or muscular imbalance if not carefully managed.

Shoulder Involvement on "Pull" Day

On a Pull Day, the posterior deltoids are the primary deltoid head engaged, often as synergists or direct movers in pulling movements:

• Rows (Barbell, Dumbbell, Cable, Machine): Whether horizontal or vertical, rowing movements heavily recruit the posterior deltoids, rhomboids, and trapezius muscles.
• Pull-ups/Lat Pulldowns: While primarily targeting the lats and biceps, the posterior deltoids assist in stabilizing the shoulder and contribute to the pulling motion.
• Face Pulls: An excellent and highly recommended exercise for directly targeting the posterior deltoids and improving shoulder health.

The posterior deltoid is often an underdeveloped muscle head compared to the anterior and medial deltoids, making dedicated work on Pull Day (or another day) crucial for balanced shoulder development and injury prevention.

Strategic Placement of Dedicated Shoulder Work

When structuring your PPL, there are several effective strategies for placing direct shoulder work:

• 1. Integrate into Push Day:

  • Rationale: The anterior and medial deltoids are already warmed up and pre-fatigued from heavy pressing, making it efficient to add isolation work. This approach often focuses on medial and posterior deltoids to balance the work from compound presses.
  • Pros: Time-efficient, capitalizes on existing muscle activation.
  • Cons: Potential for excessive fatigue, especially for anterior deltoids. Requires careful volume management.
  • Example: After overhead presses, perform lateral raises and then bent-over reverse flyes or face pulls.

• 2. Integrate into Pull Day:

  • Rationale: This is an excellent opportunity to specifically target the posterior deltoids, which are often neglected. It also provides a good opportunity to perform exercises like face pulls that contribute to shoulder health and posture.
  • Pros: Ideal for balancing shoulder development by prioritizing the posterior head.
  • Cons: Less common for comprehensive shoulder work (anterior/medial delts are less involved on this day), but effective for specific needs.
  • Example: After rows and pull-downs, perform bent-over reverse flyes, face pulls, and perhaps some light lateral raises.

• 3. Distribute Across Push and Pull Days:

  • Rationale: This strategy offers the most balanced approach, allowing you to hit each deltoid head specifically without excessive fatigue on a single day.
  • Push Day Focus: After compound presses, add direct work for anterior and medial deltoids (e.g., front raises and lateral raises).
  • Pull Day Focus: After back work, add direct work for posterior deltoids (e.g., bent-over reverse flyes, face pulls).
  • Pros: Optimal for balanced development, better recovery between specific deltoid head training, allows for higher quality work.
  • Cons: Spreads direct shoulder volume, requiring careful planning to ensure sufficient overall volume.

• 4. Integrate into Legs Day (Less Common in Strict PPL):

  • Rationale: If you modify your PPL to a 4-day or 5-day split (e.g., PPL Rest PPL), or if you incorporate a dedicated "Upper Body" or "Shoulder/Arm" day, Legs Day can sometimes serve as a fresh day for upper body work. However, in a strict 3-day PPL, this is less common as the focus is solely on legs.
  • Pros: Allows you to hit shoulders when they are freshest, potentially leading to higher intensity.
  • Cons: Interrupts the PPL flow, may not be ideal for recovery if you are hitting shoulders twice weekly.

Recommendations for Optimal Shoulder Training in PPL

The best approach depends on your individual goals, recovery capacity, and current shoulder development.

• Prioritize Posterior Deltoid Development: Regardless of where you place it, ensure you're giving adequate attention to the posterior deltoids. These are crucial for shoulder health, posture, and preventing imbalances often caused by over-reliance on anterior deltoid training.
• Manage Volume and Intensity: Since your anterior and medial deltoids get significant work on Push Day, be mindful of additional direct volume. If you perform heavy overhead presses, you might only need 1-2 additional sets of lateral raises or front raises.
• Listen to Your Body: Pay attention to signs of overtraining, especially in the shoulder joint, which is susceptible to injury. If you experience persistent pain or poor recovery, adjust your volume or frequency.
• Exercise Selection:
  • Anterior Deltoid: Overhead Press (primary), Dumbbell Front Raises (secondary).
  • Medial Deltoid: Overhead Press (primary), Dumbbell Lateral Raises (highly effective isolation).
  • Posterior Deltoid: Bent-Over Reverse Flyes (Dumbbell or Cable), Face Pulls, Rear Delt Rows on Pec Deck.
• Progression: Apply progressive overload principles to your shoulder exercises—gradually increasing weight, reps, or sets over time.

Sample PPL Split with Shoulder Integration

Here are two common and effective ways to integrate shoulder work into a PPL split:

Option A: Shoulders Primarily on Push Day (with Posterior Emphasis)

• Day 1: Push
  • Compound Presses (Barbell Bench Press, Dumbbell Incline Press)
  • Shoulders (Medial/Anterior focus): Overhead Press (Barbell/Dumbbell), Dumbbell Lateral Raises
  • Triceps Isolation
  • Optional Posterior Deltoid: Light Bent-Over Reverse Flyes or Face Pulls if recovery allows.
• Day 2: Pull
  • Back (Deadlifts, Rows, Pull-ups/Pulldowns)
  • Shoulders (Posterior focus): Face Pulls, Bent-Over Reverse Flyes
  • Biceps Isolation
• Day 3: Legs
  • Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Calves

Option B: Shoulders Distributed Across Push and Pull Days

• Day 1: Push
  • Compound Presses (Barbell Bench Press, Dumbbell Incline Press)
  • Shoulders (Anterior/Medial focus): Overhead Press (Barbell/Dumbbell), Dumbbell Lateral Raises
  • Triceps Isolation
• Day 2: Pull
  • Back (Deadlifts, Rows, Pull-ups/Pulldowns)
  • Shoulders (Posterior focus): Face Pulls, Bent-Over Reverse Flyes
  • Biceps Isolation
• Day 3: Legs
  • Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Calves

Conclusion

The most effective placement for shoulder training within a PPL split hinges on a nuanced understanding of deltoid involvement in compound movements and your specific training goals. For most individuals, distributing direct shoulder work across both Push and Pull days provides the best balance, ensuring all three deltoid heads receive adequate attention without excessive fatigue. Always prioritize proper form, listen to your body's recovery signals, and adjust your programming as needed to achieve balanced development and maintain shoulder health.