Bro Split Review: How Effective for Muscle Growth?

Bro split workout routines are often knocked by some in the science-based fitness community, mainly on the basis of research showing that a higher training frequency works better for muscle growth.

In truth, body part splits can be a highly effective way to build muscle, particularly once you’ve moved past the beginner stages of training.

Today, I want to look at the benefits and drawbacks of the bro split, so you can decide if they’re a good fit for you and your goals.

What is a Bro Split?

The bro split, also known as a body part split, typically refers to a training schedule that involves hitting the major muscle groups directly once a week.

Although you might train between 4 and 6 times a week, each workout focuses on just one or two specific muscle groups. As a result, the number of sets you do for each muscle in any given workout is relatively high.

With a full-body workout, for example, you might do 3-5 sets for each muscle in a single workout. 

An upper-lower split, where you train your upper body and lower body on separate days, might involve a slightly higher volume of training, somewhere in the region of 6-8 sets for each muscle group.

But with a bro split routine, you’ll be doing a lot more volume, often upwards of 10 sets per muscle group. to compensate for the fact each muscle is being trained less often.

5-Day Bro Split Workout Routine

While there are plenty of different ways to set up a bro split workout routine, here’s one example of what a 5-day bro split might look like:

• Monday: Chest
• Tuesday: Back 
• Wednesday: Off
• Thursday: Legs
• Friday: Shoulders
• Saturday: Arms
• Sunday: Off

Chest Day

• Flat Bench Press 3 sets x 5-8 reps
• Incline Dumbbell Press 3 sets x 8-12 reps 
• Dumbbell Flyes 2 sets x 12-15 reps
• Low-to-High Cable Crossover 2 sets x 15-20 reps

Back Day

• Pull-Ups 3 sets x 5-8 reps
• Seated Cable Row 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Wide Grip Front Lat Pulldown 2 sets x 12-15 reps 
• Kneeling Cable Pullover 2 sets x 12-15 reps

Leg Day

• Barbell Squat 3 sets x 5-8 reps
• Leg Press 3 sets x 8-12 reps
• Leg Extension 3 sets x 12-15 reps
• Romanian Deadlift 3 sets x 8-12 reps
• Seated Leg Curl 3 sets x 8-12 reps
• Standing Calf Raise 4 sets x 8-12 reps

Shoulder Day

• Shoulder Press 2 sets x 5-8 reps
• Lateral Raise 2 sets x 15-20 reps
• Rear Delt Row 2 sets x 10-15 reps
• Face Pulls 2 sets x 15-20 reps
• Incline Dumbbell Shrugs 3 sets x 15-20 reps [90 seconds]

Arm Day

• Incline Dumbbell Curl 2 sets x 8-12 reps
• Dumbbell Preacher Curl 2 sets x 12-15 reps
• Hammer Curl 2 sets x 12-15 reps [90 seconds]
• Triceps Dip 2 sets x 8-12 reps
• Overhead Triceps Extension 2 sets x 10-15
• Cable Triceps Kickback 2 sets x 15-20 reps

One of the defining characteristics of a typical bro split is that each muscle is trained once a week. 

However, while the major muscle groups are trained directly once a week, some muscles can, depending on how your program is structured, end up being trained twice or even three times a week. 

On chest days, for example, any sort of pressing movement, be it the bench press or overhead press, will also hit the triceps and shoulders.

It’s the same story on back day, where the biceps and delts are also going to see some action. That’s because rows, pull-ups and pulldowns work the rear deltoids and biceps as well as the back. 

In other words, if you’re working your shoulders and arms on different days to your chest and back, the deltoids, biceps and triceps will end up being trained more often than once a week.

How To Progress Using A Bro Split

You’ll notice that the workouts use rep ranges, such as 5-8 or 8-12, rather than a fixed number of reps in each set.

On chest day, for example, the prescription for the bench press is 3 sets of 5-8 reps.

The idea is that you select a weight that allows you to perform at least 5 reps in each set, but no more than 8.

Every time you go to the gym, you try to do more reps than you did the workout before. Once you’re able to do 8 reps in every set, increase the load for the following workout.

It’s a form of progression known as the double progression method. Here’s an example of how it might look in practice:

Workout 1

• Set 1: 100 pounds x 8 reps
• Set 2: 100 pounds x 7 reps
• Set 3: 100 pounds x 5 reps

Workout 2

• Set 1: 100 pounds x 8 reps
• Set 2: 100 pounds x 7 reps
• Set 3: 100 pounds x 6 reps

Workout 3

• Set 1: 100 pounds x 8 reps
• Set 2: 100 pounds x 8 reps
• Set 3: 100 pounds x 7 reps

Workout 4

• Set 1: 100 pounds x 8 reps
• Set 2: 100 pounds x 8 reps
• Set 3: 100 pounds x 8 reps

Workout 5

• Set 1: 105 pounds x 7 reps
• Set 2: 105 pounds x 6 reps
• Set 3: 105 pounds x 5 reps

As you can see, in workout four, once you’re able to do 8 reps in all 3 sets, you add load in workout five and repeat the cycle. 

This simple double progression method can work well for most exercises, and will produce decent gains in muscle mass over several months, just as long as you stay consistent and work hard.

It’s also important to make sure that your technique remains solid from one workout to the next. Don’t kid yourself into thinking that you’ve gotten stronger, when all you’re doing is cheating on those last few reps to get the weight up.

The exact number of workouts it takes to reach this point will vary from person to person, and from exercise to exercise. It might take 10 workouts or it might take 5. But wait until you can do 3 sets of 8 reps before adding weight.

Bro Split: The Pros

There are many different ways to set up a training program. Each comes with its own benefits and drawbacks. Here are some of the pros and cons of the bro split:

A More Enjoyable Way to Train

For some, a bro split is simply a more enjoyable way to train. They thrive on the variety of training different muscles, and doing different exercises, from one day to the next.

Many people like the idea of having a chest day or a back day, where they dedicate an entire workout to just one or two muscles, mainly because it means walking out of the gym with those muscles feeling pumped up and ready to explode. 

Getting a pump is no guarantee that muscle is going to be gained any faster, but it still feels good.

Adding a large amount of muscle mass to your frame muscle requires sustained and consistent effort over a number of years. And a big part of staying consistent is actually wanting to go to the gym. 

If following a bro split makes it far more likely that you’ll do the work necessary to make your muscles grow, that’s a major benefit. A training program that’s optimal for muscle growth isn’t optimal if you don’t do it.

Shorter, More Frequent Workouts

Dividing your training across 4-6 days, rather than 2-3, can mean shorter workouts, which are often easier to fit into your day, particularly if you have a home gym set up in your garage, basement or spare room. 

Working every single muscle group in each training session means that your workout can end up lasting anywhere between 1-2 hours, which doesn’t suit everyone.

If you prefer shorter, high frequency training sessions, and you can make it to the gym on a regular basis 4-6 days a week, the bro split can work well.

Beginners are often told to avoid body part splits routines and stick with full-body workouts that involve training every single muscle group with a higher frequency.

While this isn’t bad advice, beginners will tend to grow no matter what they do, and can still make gains on a split routine that involves hitting each muscle group less frequently than three times a week.

If you prefer doing shorter workouts 4-5 days per week, some kind of split routine, be it an upper/lower split, or even a push/pull/legs split, will do the job.

Bro Splits Are an Effective Way to Build Muscle

Body part splits tend to be very popular with bodybuilders, who typically need a high volume of training to ensure that every muscle is developed to its full potential.

Many bodybuilders will often hit the gym six days a week, sometimes twice a day, simply because that’s the only way to fit in all the training they need to stimulate hypertrophy.

Even if you don’t identify as a bodybuilder, you may still have the same goals as a bodybuilder. 

By that, I mean you’re not too bothered about the amount of weight you can lift in this or that exercise, you just want to build muscle. Strength gains are an added perk rather than the end goal.

In which case, taking a bodybuilding-type approach to your training can work very well.

In recent years, a number of studies have been published to show that hitting a muscle group just once a week is still a highly effective way to build muscle. 

Back in 2019, a couple of reviews were published on the subject of resistance training frequency and muscle growth [1, 2].

The headline finding of both reviews was that resistance training frequency does “not significantly or meaningfully impact muscle hypertrophy when volume and intensity are equated. For a given training volume, individuals can choose a weekly frequency per muscle group based on personal preference.”

NOTE: By training intensity, they’re talking about the amount of weight you lift in each set, rather than intensity of effort.

Bro Split: The Cons

From a muscle building point of view, most research shows no benefit to training a muscle less often than twice a week. Chances are the gains will come more slowly compared to more frequent training.

While lifting weights 4, 5 or 6 days a week is going to be a benefit for some, not everyone is willing or able to train that often. 

If you’re only able to make it to the gym two or three times a week, for example, you’ll be better off with a full-body workout, or an upper/lower/full body hybrid.

A bro split isn’t ideal if your main goal is to increase maximal strength in a compound lift like the squat, bench press, overhead press or deadlift. 

In this case, you’ll build strength more quickly with a training program that allows for more frequent practice of whatever lift it is you’re trying to improve.

If you’re someone who needs a relatively high volume of training to make your muscles grow, trying to cram all those sets into a single workout is counterproductive, for a couple of important reasons.

Let’s say, for example, that you decide to hit each of your major muscles with a total of 16 sets per week.

Do all those sets in a single training session, and your performance is going to suffer. As fatigue accumulates, some of the sets that come later in a workout won’t involve as many stimulating reps. 

Over time, this is likely to mean that muscle ends up being built more slowly. 

What’s more, there’s only so much stimulation your muscles can respond to in any given workout. While six sets may work better than three sets for stimulating hypertrophy, it doesn’t necessarily follow that 12 sets will outperform six by the same margin.

Beyond a certain point, you end up creating large amounts of fatigue and damage (all of which takes time to recover from) without stimulating additional growth. Delayed-onset muscle soreness, or DOMS for short, can end up lasting several days.

More frequent workouts allow you to provide just the right amount of stimulation required for growth, but not so much that it interferes with your ability to recover for the next workout.

Rather than doing 16 sets per muscle in a single workout, then waiting a week to do the same thing again, you’re better off splitting that workout in two. 

That is, you’d do 8 sets in the first workout, then do the same thing again a few days later, which is the approach you take with a push pull or upper lower split. 

This gives you two opportunities to stimulate growth over the course of a week, rather than just one.

Not everyone enjoys leg days either. 

Hitting the quads, hamstrings, calves and glutes in a single workout can be brutal, which means those workouts are often cut short, or even skipped completely. 

If this sounds like you, a push/pull split may be a better option. This involves working the quads, chest, shoulders and triceps on one day, and the hamstrings, back and biceps on another.

How the Bro Split Compares to Other Workout Routines

Bro Split vs Push Pull Legs (PPL)

A push/pull/legs routine is a training program that devotes one day to upper body pushing movements (chest, shoulders and triceps), a second day to upper body pulling movements (back and biceps), and a third day to leg exercises (quads, glutes, hamstrings and calves). 

Here’s what a 6-day PPL split looks like:

• Monday: Push
• Tuesday: Pull
• Wednesday: Legs
• Thursday: Push
• Friday: Pull
• Saturday: Legs
• Sunday: Off

One of the benefits of a 6-day PPL is that you hit each muscle group twice every seven days, which creates a more favorable environment for hypertrophy.

This gives you two opportunities to stimulate growth over the course of a week, rather than just one, which is one of the main reasons I think it’s more effective for hypertrophy than a bro split.

One of the downsides of a PPL is that the muscles trained later in the workout are going to be partially fatigued.

On a push day, for example you typically train the chest first, followed by the shoulders and then the triceps.

This means that your triceps, and to a lesser extent your shoulders, are already going to be partially fatigued by the time you train them directly. 

It’s the same story on pull day. You’re training your biceps when they’re partially fatigued after working back.

Because of that, you’re not going to be able to lift as much weight, or do as many reps as you could have done had those muscles been trained when they were fresh.

You can read more about how a bro split and PPL compare here. 

Bro Split vs Full Body

A full body workout means training all the major body parts — chest, back, legs, shoulders and arms — in a single workout.

A full-body split typically involves 2-3 workouts per week, with each workout separated by at least one full day of rest.

Some high-frequency programs call for 5-6 full-body workouts a week, an approach that’s better suited to more advanced lifters, and requires a training program specifically designed for a higher frequency of training. 

• Monday: Full Body
• Tuesday: Off
• Wednesday: Full Body
• Thursday: Off
• Friday: Full Body
• Saturday: Off
• Sunday: Off

Perhaps the main selling point of a full-body split is that every muscle group is worked at least twice a week, a training frequency that works well for building muscle.

However, because you’re training every single muscle group each time you go to the gym, the workouts can end up dragging on. 

When you’re just starting out, it doesn’t take a huge amount of work to stimulate growth, so you can get away with shorter workouts.

But as the months and years go by, you’re likely going to need more work to keep the gains coming. As your set count goes up, so does the amount of time you spend in the gym. And most people don’t have an unlimited amount of time to devote to training.

That’s why most advanced lifters tend to gravitate towards split routines, where they can dedicate a single workout to 2 or 3 muscle groups.

Bro Split vs Upper Lower

With an upper lower split, you train the muscles in your lower body and upper body on separate days.

An upper body workout will normally hit your chest, back, shoulders, biceps and triceps, while the lower body workout works your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and calves.

Technically, the lower back is part of your upper body. However, because the spinal erectors are heavily involved in exercises like the squat and deadlift, which fall on lower body day, I like to train the lower back alongside the lower body.

Here’s what a 4-day upper/lower split looks like:

• Monday: Upper Body
• Tuesday: Lower Body
• Wednesday: Off
• Thursday: Upper Body
• Friday: Lower Body
• Saturday: Off
• Sunday: Off

On a 4-day upper/lower split routine, you’ve got two upper days, and two lower days. This means each muscle group is hit twice every seven days, which tends to work well for muscle growth.

Working the upper and lower body separately also allows for a higher overall training volume than you’d typically get with a 3-day full body routine.

One of the few downsides of the upper/lower split is that the workouts can take a while to get through.

On a typical upper body day, for example, you’ll need to train your chest, back, shoulders, biceps and triceps. The muscles being worked later in that training session aren’t going to receive the same level of effort as the ones trained at the start.

Final Thoughts

In summary, bro splits can certainly work in the sense that they make your muscles grow. However, most research shows that training a muscle once a week is no better than training it 2 or 3 times over the same period.

You can make gains by hitting each muscle group once, twice, three, four or even five times a week, just as long as your training program is set up properly, and you’re willing to work hard, eat right and stay consistent.