The bro split gives each muscle group its own day: chest, back, shoulders, arms, legs. It is the most common plan in any commercial gym, and the most argued about. This page gives you the full five-day plan with sets and reps, and a straight answer on when training a muscle once a week is fine and when it is not.
What is the bro split?
A bro split trains one muscle group per session across five days, so each group is worked hard once a week and then left alone for six days. The appeal is real: every session is short, focused, and you can throw everything at one area without worrying what it costs the rest of the week.
The criticism is also real. Research on training frequency generally favours hitting a muscle about twice a week over once, when weekly volume is matched. That said, volume matters more than frequency, and a plan you enjoy and actually finish beats a better plan you abandon. If five days of one muscle each is what gets you to the gym, run it and make the sets count.
If you want the same weekly volume spread over more frequent sessions, look at the upper/lower split or push/pull/legs.
The 5-day weekly schedule
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| Monday | Chest |
| Tuesday | Back |
| Wednesday | Shoulders |
| Thursday | Arms |
| Friday | Legs |
| Saturday | Rest |
| Sunday | Rest |
Legs on Friday is a choice, not a rule. If leg day is the one you skip, move it to Monday where your energy is highest.
The full workout
Chest
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell bench press | 4 | 6-8 |
| Incline dumbbell press | 4 | 8-12 |
| Chest press machine or dip | 3 | 8-12 |
| Cable fly | 3 | 12-15 |
Back
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Pull-up or lat pulldown | 4 | 6-10 |
| Barbell row | 4 | 6-8 |
| Seated cable row | 3 | 10-12 |
| Single-arm dumbbell row | 3 | 10-12 |
| Face pull | 3 | 15-20 |
Shoulders
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Overhead press | 4 | 6-8 |
| Dumbbell shoulder press | 3 | 8-12 |
| Lateral raise | 4 | 12-15 |
| Rear delt fly | 3 | 15-20 |
Arms
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Close-grip bench press | 3 | 8-10 |
| Barbell curl | 3 | 8-12 |
| Cable triceps pushdown | 3 | 10-12 |
| Incline dumbbell curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Overhead triceps extension | 3 | 12-15 |
| Hammer curl | 2 | 10-15 |
Legs
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Barbell back squat | 4 | 6-8 |
| Romanian deadlift | 3 | 8-10 |
| Leg press or walking lunge | 3 | 10-12 |
| Leg curl | 3 | 10-15 |
| Standing calf raise | 4 | 12-15 |
How to progress
With one session per muscle a week, every session has to count, and you get fewer chances to practise a lift. Two rules follow.
First, take most working sets close to failure — one to three reps in reserve — because a week is a long time to wait to try again. Second, add load in small steps with double progression: hit the top of the rep range on every set, then add 2.5 to 5 pounds upstairs or 5 to 10 downstairs next week.
Because you only touch each muscle weekly, a week that goes badly costs more here than on a higher-frequency plan. Log what you lifted so the comparison is a number, not a memory. The progressive overload guide covers the levers in order.
Run this split in Trackist
Trackist writes the block from six answers: goal, experience, equipment, joint limitations, training days and age. Tell it five days and a muscle-building goal and you get a plan in this shape, with the sets, rep targets and rest already decided.
Then it keeps up with you. Previous numbers sit under each cell, one line above each exercise suggests the load for today from what you lifted last time and how hard it felt, and when a session lands wrong you say so. Report the same problem twice and the coach rewrites the day; report it across weeks and the rest of the block is rebuilt. Report a joint and the movement is swapped for one that trains the same muscle, and the limitation is kept on your profile.
More on frequency and volume on the Trackist blog.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Does the bro split actually build muscle?
Yes, if the weekly volume is there and the sets are hard. Studies comparing training frequency generally favour hitting a muscle twice a week with volume matched, but the gap is smaller than the internet suggests. Consistency and effort move more than the schedule does.
How many sets per muscle should a bro split have?
Aim for roughly 10 to 20 hard sets per muscle group across the week. On a bro split that all lands in one session, which is why the plans above run 12 to 16 sets for the larger groups and leave the small ones lower.
Is a bro split good for beginners?
Usually not. A beginner improves fastest by practising the main lifts two or three times a week, which is what a full-body plan gives them. Move to a five-day split once the lifts feel automatic and you want more volume per muscle.
Can Trackist build a bro split?
Yes. Ask for five training days and a muscle-building goal and the block comes back in this shape. Everything is editable, and the plan adjusts from what you log and report as the weeks run.
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Run this plan in Trackist
Six questions, and the block is written around your gym and your week. Log every set and the load climbs from what you lifted last time. Free on the App Store, Android coming soon.
