Bro split: the 5 day body part workout routine

What is a bro split?

The name comes from gym culture, not from a coach or a book. For decades it was simply how bodybuilding magazines laid out a training week: Monday is chest day, then a day for back, one for shoulders, one for legs and one for arms. Today people also call it a body part split workout, and the idea is the same. One session, one target, as many angles on that muscle as you can fit.

What separates it from other splits is frequency. On push pull legs or an upper lower week most muscles are trained twice. On a bro split routine each muscle is trained hard once, and indirectly on a few other days: the triceps help on chest day, the biceps on back day, the front delts on both chest and shoulder day.

• Typical length: 5 days a week, 60 to 75 minutes per session.
• Volume per session: 4 to 5 exercises and 12 to 18 hard sets for the target muscle.
• Frequency: 1 direct session per muscle per week, arms and shoulders often 2 counting indirect work.

The 5 day bro split workout plan

This is the classic layout. Legs sit in the middle of the week so the lower back has two days between back day and leg day, and arms come last on Friday, when the chest, back and shoulders have already had their own sessions.

Day 1: chest

Day 2: back

Day 3: legs

Day 4: shoulders

Day 5: arms

Every working set should end 1 to 3 reps before failure. The first exercise of each day is the heavy one, so warm up to it with two or three lighter sets. Abs fit at the end of leg or arm day: 3 sets of hanging knee raises or ab wheel rollouts is enough.

3, 4 and 6 day bro split versions

The five day version is the standard, but the same body part logic bends to other weeks. Fewer days means combining muscles; more days usually means a second arm or weak point session.

The 3 day bro split is really a push, pull, legs week with bodybuilding style volume. The 4 day bro split is the version many people with jobs actually keep, and it is the body part option in our 4 day split comparison. On a 6 day bro split, use the sixth day for whatever lags most, and keep it short: 8 to 10 sets, not another full session.

Does the bro split work?

Yes, people build muscle on it every day, and many well known bodybuilders trained this way. The question worth asking is whether it is the most efficient use of five gym days. Studies that compare training a muscle once versus twice a week, with the same weekly sets, tend to find small differences, often slightly in favour of twice a week. The bigger factor is how many hard sets each muscle gets in total and whether the weights keep going up.

That points to the bro split's real weakness: cramming a week's work into one session. Sets 13 to 18 of chest on a Monday are done tired, and the quality drops. If you split those sets over two days, each set is fresher. The guide on how often to train each muscle goes through this, and how many sets per week covers the volume side.

Who the bro split suits

• Lifters who enjoy long, focused sessions and a big pump. Enjoyment keeps people training, which matters more than small efficiency gains.
• Intermediates training mostly for looks who can reliably get to the gym five days a week.
• People with a joint issue on one day, for example a sore shoulder: it only affects one or two sessions instead of every workout.
• Not ideal for beginners. New lifters need to practise the big lifts often. Three days of a full body workout will make a beginner stronger faster than one squat session a week.

Bro split vs PPL and upper lower

Bro split vs PPL: with six days available, push pull legs gives each muscle two sessions without longer workouts, so it usually wins on paper. With five days, the gap is smaller and personal preference can decide. Bro split vs upper lower: an upper lower split does more for strength, because the bench, squat and rows are practised twice a week. The Arnold split is a third route, pairing chest with back so everything still gets two sessions.

The modified bro split

A modified bro split keeps the body part days but adds a second, smaller exposure. A common version: chest and back on Monday, legs on Tuesday, shoulders and arms on Thursday, then a lighter upper body day and a second leg day on Friday and Saturday. Another is simply to add 4 to 6 sets of chest and back to shoulder day. Either way, each muscle gets roughly two hits a week while each day still has a clear theme. If that is what you want, a 5 day split built from push, pull, legs, upper and lower does the same job with less guesswork.

How to progress on a bro split

With seven days between sessions for each muscle, you get 52 chances a year to beat last week's chest numbers. Make each one count by writing every set down and having a clear rule for when the weight goes up. Double progression fits a body part routine well:

1. Give every exercise a rep rangeUse the ranges in the tables. Start each exercise with a load you can lift for the low end of the range with 2 reps to spare.
2. Chase reps week to weekNext week, same weight, try to beat at least one set by one rep. Bench press 90 kg (200 lb) for 6, 6, 5, 5 becomes 7, 6, 6, 5.
3. Add weight when all sets reach the topOnce every set hits the top number, put the weight up by the smallest step the gym has: 2.5 kg (5 lb) on most upper body exercises, 1 to 2 kg on lateral raises and curls, 5 kg (10 lb) on squats, leg press and deadlifts.

Because each session is long, fatigue builds up over weeks. Every 6 to 8 weeks take a lighter week with half the sets; the deload week guide explains how. And if one muscle group keeps lagging, that is a sign to move to a split that trains it twice.

Common bro split mistakes

• Two press days back to back. Chest on Monday and shoulders on Tuesday tires the front delts and triceps twice in a row. Keep at least one day between them, as in the plan above.
• Skipping leg day. It is the hardest day, so it gets skipped first. Since legs only get one session, missing it means a whole week without training them. Move it instead.
• Twenty sets because more feels better. Past about 15 to 18 hard sets for one muscle in a session, extra sets add soreness more than growth. If you want a finisher, put one drop set on the last isolation exercise instead of piling on more sets.
• Random exercises each week. Keep the same main lifts for at least 8 weeks so you can see whether you are getting stronger.
• All isolation, no heavy compounds. Each day should start with a lift you can load heavy, such as a press, a row or a squat.

The exercises

Barbell bench pressChestGuideIncline dumbbell pressChest and front deltsGuideCable flyChestGuideBarbell deadliftGlutes and hamstringsGuidePull-upLatsGuideChest-supported dumbbell rowUpper back and latsGuideBarbell back squatQuads and glutesGuideLeg pressQuads and glutesGuideBarbell overhead pressFront deltsGuideDumbbell lateral raiseSide deltsGuideBent-over rear delt flyRear deltsGuideBarbell curlBicepsGuideLying triceps extension (skull crusher)TricepsGuideHammer curlBiceps and forearmsGuide

Questions people ask