Best Bro Split Workout Plan (Maximize Training Volume)

The chest day focuses on targeting muscles such as the pectoralis major (all fibers), anterior deltoid, and triceps brachii.

Here is the entire workout:

• Barbell bench press - Perform 4 sets for 5-8 reps and rest for 2-5 minutes before you recover and begin the following set.
• Dumbbell incline bench press - Complete 3 sets of 8-10 reps and rest for 3 minutes before starting the following set.
• Lean away dumbbell lateral raise - Perform 3 sets of 8-10 reps and rest for two minutes between each set.
• Cable flys - Complete 3 sets of 10-12 reps and rest for 90 seconds between the sets for maximal hypertrophy results.
• Dips - Perform 3 sets of 12 reps and rest for 2 minutes between each set to allow for sufficient recovery time.
• Push-ups - Complete 3 sets of 12 reps and rest for 90 seconds between the sets

Related: Best Chest Fat Burning Exercises

Day 2: Back

The back day focuses on targeting muscles such as latissimus dorsi, erector spinae, trapezius, and posterior deltoid muscles.

Here is the entire back workout:

• Deadlift - Perform 4 sets of up to 5 reps and rest for 5 minutes before starting the following set.
• Lat pulldown - Complete 3 sets of 10 reps and rest for 3 minutes between the sets.
• Bent over row - Perform 3 sets for 8-10 reps and rest for 2 minutes between each set.
• Single leg deadlift - Complete 3 sets of 10-12 reps and rest for 3 minutes between each set.
• Inverted row/pull-ups - Perform 3 sets of 10-12 reps and rest for 3 minutes between the sets.
• Farmer's Carry - Complete three 45-second sets and rest for as little as possible between the sets.

The shoulder day targets all three shoulder heads(lateral, anterior, and posterior).

Here is the entire shoulder workout:

• Standing overhead press - Perform 4 sets of 5-8 reps and rest for 3 minutes before starting the following set.
• Incline dumbbell bench press - Complete 3 sets of 8-10 reps and rest for 2 minutes between the sets.
• Upright row - Perform 3 sets of 8-10 reps and rest for and rest for 90 seconds between the sets.
• Reverse fly - Complete 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps and rest for 90 seconds between the sets.
• Shoulder shrugs - Perform 3 sets of 12 reps and rest for as little as possible between the sets.
• Single arm kneeling kettlebell press - Complete 3 sets of 12 reps and rest for as little as possible between the sets.

Related: How To Get Wider Shoulders: Do These 11 Exercises

Day 4: Legs

The leg day focuses on targeting lower body muscles such as the quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, adductors, and hip flexors.

Here is the entire leg day workout:

• Back squat - Perform 4 sets of 6 reps and rest for up to 5 minutes before starting the following set.
• Romanian deadlift - Complete 3 sets of 10 reps and rest for 3 minutes between the sets.
• Hip Thrust - Perform 10 reps for 3 sets and rest for 3 minutes between the sets.
• Bulgarian split squat - Complete 3 sets of 12 reps and rest for 2 minutes between the sets.
• Lateral lunge - Complete 3 sets of 10 reps and rest for 90 seconds between the sets.
• Calf raises - Perform 3 sets of 12 reps and rest for as little as possible between the sets.

On the arm day, the focus is on developing primarily upper arm muscles such as the biceps and triceps brachii.

Here is the entire arm day workout:

• Close grip bench press - Perform 4 sets of 8 reps and rest for 90 seconds between the sets.
• Hammer curl - Complete 3 sets of 10 reps and rest for 90 seconds between the sets.
• Cable triceps pushdowns - Perform 3 sets of 10 reps and rest for as little as possible between the sets.
• Zottman curl - Complete 12 reps for 3 sets and rest for 90 seconds between the sets.
• Overhead tricep extension - Perform 3 sets of 12 reps and rest for as little as possible between the sets.
• Hanging leg raises - Complete 3 sets of 10 reps and rest for as little as possible between the sets.

Related: 12 Best Arm Exercises of all Time

Yes, bro, splits work. Bro splits can be used by almost all lifters, except the ultimate beginners, because they offer enough training volume, intensity, and rest before hitting the gym hard again.

You will have enough time to recover before the next workout session, and you can focus on one particular muscle group at a time, which has proven to be the best for hypertrophy.

Muscle group-focused hypertrophy programs, such as bro splits, will target one major muscle group each day of the week.

In our previous example of the best bro workout split routine, we divided the whole week into the 5-day split.

The 5-day split emphasizes different muscle groups each following day, allowing you to enter fresh into every workout and only care about focusing on the particular muscle group at the time.

These days will not only focus on large compound movements such as squats and bench presses. They will also feature isolation or single-joint exercises to help develop muscle hypertrophy [5].

The bro splits will always pump your muscles during the actual workout.

This is because the bro splits are the local type of workout, meaning you will target the specific muscle group each following workout.

When you hit a specific muscle group long enough during the training, the blood flows more to the particular area, making the pump look better.

It Hammers Upper Body

Bro splits are hard on beginners, and they often hammer their bodies due to increased weekly training volume.

However, if you incorporate proper and sufficient rest and nutrition, you can easily recover for every following workout session.

This is what produces the best results over time.

"Building a lean, muscular physique complete with peaked biceps and a ripped midsection isn’t as easy as those 1970s movie training montages make it seem — it takes a lot of time, steadfast dedication, and sacrifice."

- Anthony O'Reilly, Certified Personal Trainer

A 5-day workout split is excellent for strength development but not quite for maximal strength development.

This is because you must have at least one strength workout 72 hours after the first, which is not true with our split routine.

However, you can add workouts or change the order or quantity of exercises in each workout as you get experienced to fix this and exercise the same muscle group more times in a week.

This is not advisable for novice lifters or intermediaries who just started with the bro splits.

If you want to develop maximal strength, you should pick the basic workouts like chest/biceps, back triceps, and leg split, which you can perform two times a week to make 48 to 72 hours of rest before exercising the same muscle group again.

Too Much Isolation, Too Little Compound

Sometimes, if you pick the wrong exercises, you may experience a lack of building strength and functionality with bro splits.

However, if you follow the program described above, you don’t have to worry since I included compound and isolation exercises to develop your body holistically.

Remember to always put the compound exercises at the beginning of your workouts because they are more taxing for your nervous system.

Respectively, leave the isolation and single-joint exercises for the end of the workout since they require less energy and are less complex to execute.

The best way to progress bro splits is to use the principle of progressive overload.

Progressive overload means increasing the number of reps, sets, and overall training volume or frequency to build more strength and hypertrophy.

This means you must always raise the bar for the following workout if you expect any progress to be made.

In addition, the easiest way to use progressive overload is to increase the external resistance for each exercise, each following workout.

After some time, you will need to deload to recover, and then you should raise the bar again for each subsequent training.

I advise constantly increasing the external resistance for 3 weeks and then deloading for one week. This is called the 3/1 progressive overload cycle and is the best for beginners.

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