Lifting · plan v4 · from 2 Oct 2026
Arms first, three days a week
Mon push + arms · Wed legs · Fri pull + arms — mornings before work. Phase: cut (retain everything, grow arms slowly). Running 50–70 km/week.
Weekly arm volume
Compound sets aren't double-counted as isolation work — but they aren't worth nothing either. The fractional total weights each compound set at 0.5, and it's the number the ceiling is judged against. Unchanged since v2.
| Muscle | Direct sets | Exposures | Compound support | Fractional | Was |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elbow flexors | 12 Mon 5 · Wed 2 · Fri 5 | 3 | Chin-Up 3, Row 3 | 15.0 | 6 direct, 2 exposures |
| Elbow extensors | 8 Mon 3 · Wed 2 · Fri 3 | 3 | Dips 3, Incline Press 3, OHP 3 | 12.5 | 6 direct, 2 exposures |
Extensors get fewer direct sets on purpose: nine heavy pressing sets already land on the triceps,
and dips are close to direct work for them. The flexors have no such support, which is why they got the
bigger increase.
Room to escalate — corrected in v3. Flexors have room to ~16 direct (≈19 fractional): 2 sets a week at a time, held 3–4 weeks. Extensors are already at ceiling at 12.5 fractional — the old figure here (~10–12 direct) counted isolation work only and was wrong for it. Don't add direct triceps sets without removing pressing volume. Past that, in a deficit and at this running volume, added sets buy fatigue, not growth.
Room to escalate — corrected in v3. Flexors have room to ~16 direct (≈19 fractional): 2 sets a week at a time, held 3–4 weeks. Extensors are already at ceiling at 12.5 fractional — the old figure here (~10–12 direct) counted isolation work only and was wrong for it. Don't add direct triceps sets without removing pressing volume. Past that, in a deficit and at this running volume, added sets buy fatigue, not growth.
Monday — push and arms
~70 min. 23 sets.
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incline Dumbbell or Barbell Bench Press | 3 × 6-8 | 2-3 min | Main press, 1-2 RIR |
| Seated Dumbbell Overhead Press | 3 × 8-10 | 2 min | |
| Weighted Parallel Bar Dips | 3 × 8-12 | 2 min | Torso upright = triceps-biased. Add load once bodyweight is easy |
| Overhead Cable or Dumbbell Triceps Extensionarms | 3 × 10-12 | 90 s | Moved from Friday. Long head under stretch, 0-1 RIR |
| Incline Dumbbell Biceps Curlarms | 3 × 8-10 | 90 s | Arm behind the torso — long head under stretch. The value is the bottom of the rep — don't cut the stretch short. Exposure 1, 0-1 RIR |
| Hammer or Cross-Body Curlarmsnew | 2 × 10-12 | 75 s | Brachialis — the neglected half of arm thickness |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 3 × 12-15 | 60-90 s | |
| Hanging Leg Raisecut first | 3 × 12-15 | 60 s |
Wednesday — legs, heavy plus runner-specific
~95 min. Unchanged except the arm finisher. This session serves the running as much as the lifting — don't trim the durability work to make room for arms.
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell Back Squat | 3 × 3-5 | 3 min | Hold ~95 kg, 2 RIR |
| Trap Bar or Conventional Deadlift | 2 × 3-5 | 3 min | Hold ~140 kg |
| Bulgarian Split Squat (dumbbells) | 2 × 8 / leg | 90 s | Single-leg loading |
| Nordic Hamstring Curl | 3 × 5 | 2 min | Or Romanian Deadlift 3 × 6-8 |
| Standing Barbell or Machine Calf Raise | 3 × 8-10 | 90 s | Gastrocnemius |
| Seated Machine Calf Raise | 3 × 10-12 | 90 s | Soleus — highest-value addition |
| Seated Leg Extension | 2 × 10-12 | 90 s | 3-second eccentric, patellar tendon |
| Hip Abduction Machine | 2 × 12-15 | 45 s | |
| Hip Adduction Machine | 2 × 12-15 | 45 s | |
| Tibialis Raise (wall or machine) | 2 × 15-20 | 45 s | Shin splint prevention |
| Cable Biceps Curlcut firstnew | 2 × 10-15 | 60 s | Arm exposure 3 |
| Cable Triceps Pushdowncut firstnew | 2 × 10-15 | 60 s | 0-1 RIR |
The arm finisher is the designated cut-first block, every time.
Session running long, legs genuinely heavy, or a run still to come — drop
these four sets and lose nothing that matters. They're the third exposure,
not the main course. Dropping them is the plan working, not a missed session.
Friday — pull and arms
~75 min. 23 sets.
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weighted Chin-Up (supinated) | 3 × 6-8 | 2-3 min | Supinated by default now — most elbow-flexor involvement of any pull. Neutral or pronated if the elbows complain |
| Barbell or One-Arm Dumbbell Row | 3 × 8-10 | 2 min | |
| Cable or Preacher Biceps Curlarms | 3 × 8-12 | 90 s | Exposure 2 — full ROM, different position from Monday's. The complementarity argument is reasoning, not evidence; the sets count regardless. 0-1 RIR |
| Cable Pushdown or Cross-Body Extensionarms | 3 × 10-12 | 90 s | Lateral and medial head |
| Reverse Curl (EZ bar or cable)armsnew | 2 × 12-15 | 60 s | Brachioradialis and forearm — arm width below the elbow, never trained by supinated curling |
| Cable Face Pull | 3 × 12-15 | 60-90 s | Rear delt and shoulder health |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 3 × 12-15 | 60-90 s | |
| Pallof Press (cable)cut first | 3 × 10 / side | 60 s |
How to progress
Double progression: top of the rep range on every set at the target RIR, then add load and drop back to the bottom.
- Compounds — smallest available increment (2.5 kg, 1.25 kg if the gym has them). 1-2 RIR.
- Arm isolation — reps first, load second. Add a rep to one set at a time; add load only when every set is at the top of the range. 0-1 RIR, and the last set of each arm exercise can go to failure.
- Squat and deadlift — hold the loads below while running is 50–70 km/week. Maintaining a heavy triple through a build is a good outcome, not a stall.
- Running it is on you, in the gym — nothing is logged in this system. Worth mentioning back: a load that has durably moved, and anything that hurts.
What to expect in this phase
Phase label: cut. It changes what to expect, not what to do — every prescription above is the one that would be right in any phase.
- Strength should keep moving. Size probably won't. In an energy deficit, gains in lean mass are impaired while strength gains are not — the two come apart, and it's the size half that stalls.
- So the curl numbers are the live progress signal. Reps or load moving at the same RIR means the training is working, whatever the mirror says.
- A flat fortnight is normal. A flat quarter is compatible with this plan working. Don't read it as a failed programme.
- If strength has gone flat too, that's a different problem — it points at RIR drift or a missed exposure, and that one is fixable here.
The growth window widens when the phase changes. What the phase is, and when it changes, belongs to the calorie system —
this one only reads the label, and no number behind it appears on this page.
Working loads
| Lift | Working load | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell Back Squat | ~95 kg × 3-5 @ 2 RIR | Self-reported 2026-09-01 |
| Trap Bar / Conventional Deadlift | ~140 kg × 3-5 | Self-reported 2026-09-01 |
| Weighted Dips | bodyweight | Add load once 12 reps is easy |
| Chin-Up | bodyweight | Weighted when possible |
| Everything else | — | Filled in whenever a number gets mentioned |
Scheduling — what this plan must respect
- Wednesday is heavy legs, in the morning — so any Wednesday run comes after the lift and is easy-only.
- Thursday carries no quality running, the day after heavy lower-body work.
- Never heavy lower-body work the day before a long run or a race.
- Upper-body and arm work is exempt from all of it — which is the other reason arms are the right place to spend effort. Adding arm volume costs the running week nothing; adding leg volume costs it a lot.
- Race taper — the leg day comes down on the running system's schedule: last heavy lower-body session ≥7 days out, none in the final 5 days. Arm work continues.