Skip to content

Bro split workout

The bro split gives every major muscle group its own day: chest, back, shoulders, arms and legs, five days a week. Each session goes deep on one area with plenty of sets, and that muscle then rests a full week.

Below is the complete 5 day program with every exercise, set, rep range and rest time, and the weekly sets each muscle gets.

Days a week
5
Session
40–60 min
Level
Intermediate
Workouts
5

Equipment: barbell, dumbbell, bodyweight, cable, machine, EZ bar.

Schedule: 5 days a week

  1. Mon Chest
  2. Tue Back
  3. Wed Delts
  4. Thu Arms
  5. Fri Legs
  6. Sat Rest
  7. Sun Rest

Bro Chest

About 50 minutes, 5 exercises

ExerciseSets × repsRest
Bench Press (Barbell) Chest4 × 6–103 min
Incline Bench Press (Dumbbell) Chest3 × 8–122 min
Chest Dip Last set to failure Chest3 × 8–122 min
Cable Crossover Chest3 × 12–151 min 15 s
Pec Deck (Machine) Chest2 × 12–201 min

Bro Back

About 50 minutes, 6 exercises

ExerciseSets × repsRest
Pull-Up Last set to failure Lats3 × 6–102 min 30 s
Bent-Over Row (Barbell) Upper back3 × 6–102 min 30 s
Lat Pulldown (Cable) Lats3 × 8–122 min
Seated Cable Row Upper back3 × 10–121 min 30 s
Straight-Arm Pulldown (Cable) Lats2 × 12–151 min
Shrug (Dumbbell) Traps2 × 10–151 min

Bro Shoulders

About 40 minutes, 5 exercises

ExerciseSets × repsRest
Shoulder Press (Dumbbell) Shoulders4 × 8–122 min
Lateral Raise (Dumbbell) Shoulders4 × 12–201 min
Lateral Raise (Cable) Shoulders3 × 12–201 min
Face Pull (Cable) Shoulders3 × 15–201 min
Reverse Fly (Dumbbell) Shoulders2 × 12–201 min

Bro Arms

About 45 minutes, 6 exercises

ExerciseSets × repsRest
Bicep Curl (EZ-Bar) Superset Biceps3 × 8–121 min 30 s
Close-Grip Bench Press (Barbell) Superset Triceps3 × 6–101 min 30 s
Incline Curl (Dumbbell) Superset Biceps3 × 10–121 min 15 s
Overhead Triceps Extension (Cable) Superset Triceps3 × 10–121 min 15 s
Hammer Curl (Dumbbell) Superset Biceps2 × 10–151 min
Triceps Pushdown (Cable) Superset Triceps2 × 10–151 min

Bro Legs

About 60 minutes, 6 exercises

ExerciseSets × repsRest
Squat (Barbell) Quads4 × 6–103 min
Romanian Deadlift (Barbell) Hamstrings3 × 8–122 min 30 s
Leg Press (Machine) Quads3 × 10–152 min
Leg Extension (Machine) Quads2 × 12–151 min
Seated Leg Curl (Machine) Hamstrings3 × 10–151 min 15 s
Standing Calf Raise (Machine) Calves4 × 10–151 min

Sets per muscle per week

On the 5 days a week schedule. A muscle that only assists counts as half a set. About 10 to 20 hard sets a week is the range most research supports for growth.

  • Shoulders 29.5
  • Chest 16.5
  • Triceps 16
  • Biceps 14
  • Upper back 11.5
  • Lats 11
  • Hamstrings 9.5
  • Quads 9
  • Calves 7.5
  • Glutes 5
  • Traps 4.5
  • Lower back 3.5
  • Forearms 2.5

How to progress

Start each exercise with a weight you can lift for the bottom of its rep range with two or three reps to spare. Keep that weight until you reach the top of the range on every set, then add the smallest jump you can (about 2.5 kg or 5 lb) and build the reps back up. This is double progression: reps first, then weight.

Rest the full time on the big lifts, and stop a set when your form breaks down. If a lift stalls for three or four sessions in a row, take a lighter week or swap the exercise for a close variation.

Why it gets a bad name, and why it still works

The bro split is often dismissed because each muscle is trained only once a week. But growth tracks the number of hard sets a muscle gets each week more than how they are spread out, and this version gives chest, back, shoulders and arms more than 10 each. Its real cost is that a missed day means a muscle goes two weeks without training, so it suits lifters with a steady schedule.

Making it work

Push the big lift at the start of each day hard, and treat the isolation work as volume: controlled reps, close to failure. Because arms and shoulders are also worked on chest and back days, keep the rest days on the weekend, after legs.

Questions

Does a bro split work?

Yes. Studies that match weekly sets find training a muscle once a week grows it about as well as twice. What makes a bro split work is enough hard sets per muscle and adding weight or reps over time, the same as any program.

Bro split or push pull legs?

Push pull legs trains each muscle twice a week on 6 days, a bro split once a week on 5. Push pull legs spreads the work out, so each session is shorter and fresher; a bro split gives each muscle one long, focused session. Pick the one you will enjoy and stick to.

Is a bro split good for beginners?

Not ideal. Beginners improve fastest by practising the main lifts often, which a once-a-week split does not allow. Start with a full body program and move to a split after a few months.

What if I can only train 4 days?

Merge two days: train shoulders and arms together, or fold arms into chest and back day. Or pick an upper lower split, which is built for 4 days.

Related

Start this program free

This program is built into SigmaGains: browse programs, add it, and every exercise, set, rep range and rest time is filled in. Each set shows what you lifted last time, and the app flags a lift that has stalled. No ads, no subscription, no account needed.

Start tracking free