According to one embodiment, a wireless communications device includes a low-density parity check (LDPC) decoder configured to receive a codeword associated with a parity check H-matrix. The LDPC decoder includes multiple processing elements coupled to a memory for storing the parity check H-matrix comprising R rows and C columns. Each processing element is configured to perform LDPC decoding on different rows of the H-matrix during multiple sub-iterations. A first portion of the processing elements are configured to process certain rows in an upward direction in the H-matrix relative to other rows and a second portion of the processing elements are configured to process other certain rows in a downward direction in the H-matrix relative to the other rows.