Best 5 Day Bro Split Routine with Free PDF

You’ve come to the right place if you’re looking for a simple, easy-to-follow, and effective bro split routine. In this article, I’ll share a 5 Day Bro Split workout routine for beginners and intermediates who want to scale up their fitness level.

This routine is simple, but following it consistently will help you build strength and muscles over time.

What is Bro Split?

The Bro split means working out one muscle group or body part a day, for example, chest on Monday, legs on Tuesday, back on Wednesday, and so on.

It is one of the most popular split routines used by numerous gym freaks for building strength and mass around the globe.

Wonder? Why is it called bro split? Because various Youtube fitness gurus, bodybuilding magazines, and social media influencers promote this split. But it is often criticized by the science-based fitness community for being scientifically unsound.

However, it is not as bad as some people say, in my opinion. In the last couple of years, I’ve tried all kinds of routines, such as bro-split, full-body, PPL, and upper/lower split. Bro split was the least effective but can also be good if you design the program well and follow the program consistently.

Let’s see some of the major pros and cons of bro split workout training.

Benefits:

  1. It is simple and easy to follow.
  2. It allows you to focus on one body part a day, so you can efficiently train each muscle on separate days.
  3. The bro split saves your time. As you train only one muscle a day, your session may complete within 60 minutes.
  4. It won’t make you as fatigued as other training programs do where you have to train multiple muscles on the same day.
  5. The bro split is suitable for those who want to maintain strength and mass. So, if you’re going to stay in shape, you can do it.
  6. Bro-split also builds muscle mass and increases strength in young males and females. I’ve seen people gain muscle with bro split. It may be because everyone’s body responds differently because of genetics, diet, and lifestyle, so if the bro split works for you, you can stick to it.

Disadvantages:

  1. If your primary goal is to get big, bro-split isn’t for you. Because you can’t train any of your muscles twice a week with this split, while studies recommend training one body part twice a week for superior hypertrophic.1 Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2016 Nov;46(11):1689-1697. doi: 10.1007/s40279-016-0543-8. PMID: 27102172 And, in this case, you can do PPL and upper/lower split to train each muscle two times a week.
  2. The bro split can be boring for some fitness enthusiasts who want to train multiple muscles a day.
  3. Your muscles can be overtrained in bro split training if you do plenty of exercises for one muscle group. And it can harm you in the long run. So, make sure not to force your muscles too much.

Who Can Follow a Bro Split Workout Routine?

I’ve created two types of 5 Day Bro Split workout plans, one for beginners and another for intermediate and advanced muscle builders. So whether you’re a male or female, you can do one of them to improve and maintain your overall fitness.

However, if your primary goal is to beef up mass, then the other workout programs may work better for you than the Bro split.

If you’re a beginner, you should do the upper/lower or PPL split, in my opinion.

I’ve created a different workout schedule for beginners; you can check it out.

Is a 5 Day Bro Split Effective?

The 5 day bro split can be effective if it is programmed well. For example, you should primarily focus on compound exercises that strengthen the multiple muscles simultaneously, such as bench press, squat, deadlift, weighted pushups, bar dips, and pullups. Usually, the more compound exercises you do, the better results you’ll get.

Your workout sessions should start with compound workouts, and after that, you can do isolation exercises to target the muscle specifically.

You can follow the below bro split 5 Day routine for better results. I hope this program will help you improve your fitness and build strength and muscles.

Workout Summary and Description

GoalBuild and Maintain Strength and Mass
Training Type Body-part split
Program Duration8-12 weeks
Frequency5 days a week
Duration/session45-60 minutes
Suitable forMen and Women
Workout Plan forBeginner and Intermediate
PDFAt the bottom
Alternate Plans5 Day Compound Workout Routine
Upper/Lower 5 Day Split For Muscle Growth
Recommended SupplementWhey Protein Isolate

Note: You can replace some exercises in the following weeks for better results. I’ve shared myriad exercises for each muscle group on this site; you can explore them here in this category section.

Best 5 Day Bro Split Routine To Build Mass For Beginners

5 day bro split workout for beginners
  • Monday – Chest
  • Tuesday – Legs
  • Wednesday – OFF
  • Thursday – Back
  • Friday – Shoulder
  • Saturday – Arms
  • Sunday – OFF

Day 1- Chest

WorkoutSetsRepsRest
Smith Machine Flat Bench Press315, 12, 102-min
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press312, 10, 82-min
Pec Deck Fly312, 10, 890-sec
Kneeling Pushups3AMRAP90-sec
  1. Here AMRAP means: As many reps as possible.
  2. You can do the incline chest press on the machine instead of the incline dumbbell bench press. Moreover, you can also replace some exercises with another in the following weeks of the training program.

Day 2- Legs

WorkoutSetsRepsRest
Smith Back Back Squat320, 16, 122-3 min
Machine Leg Press315, 12, 102-min
Dumbbell Lunges210 x 290-sec
Leg Curl312 x 390-sec
Machine Calf Raises310 x 390-sec
  • You can do leg extensions, glute bridge, step-up, sumo squat, and Romanian deadlift in the upcoming weeks of training.

Day 3- Back

WorkoutSetsRepsRest
Front Lat Pulldown315, 12, 102-min
Barbell Bent-over Row312, 10, 102-min
Seated Cable Rowing312, 10, 102-min
Single-arm Dumbbell Rowing310 x 390-sec

Day 4- Shoulder

WorkoutSetsRepsRest
Smith Machine Overhead Press315, 12, 102-min
Dumbbell Front Raises310 x 390-sec
Dumbbell Lateral Raises310 x 390-sec
Rear Delt Machine Flyes310 x 390-sec
Cable Upright Row310 x 32-min

Day 5 – Arms

WorkoutSetsRepsRest
Barbell Skull Crusher 310 x 390-sec
Rope Pushdown310 x 390-sec
Bench Dips310 x 390-sec
Barbell Bicep Curl310 x 390-sec
Preacher Curl310 x 390-sec
Dumbbell Hammer Curl310 x 390-sec

Advanced 5 Day Bro Split Routine To Maximize Strength

best 5 day bro split
  • Monday – Chest
  • Tuesday – Legs
  • Wednesday – Back
  • Thursday – OFF
  • Friday – Shoulder
  • Saturday – Arms
  • Sunday – OFF

Monday – Chest

WorkoutSetsRepsRest
Flat Barbell Bench Press38-12 x 32-min
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press38-12 x 32-min
Decline Cable Fly310-15 x 390-sec
Dumbbell Pullover38-12 x 390-sec
Parallel Bar Dips3AMRAP2-min

Tuesday – Legs

WorkoutSetsRepsRest
Barbell Back Squat415, 12, 8, 62-3 min
Machine Leg Press315, 12, 102-min
Dumbbell Lunges210 x 290-sec
Machine Leg Curl38-12 x 390-sec
Barbell Hip Thrust38-12 x 390-sec

Wednesday – Back

WorkoutSetsRepsRest
Deadlift38, 6, 42-3 min
Pullups3AMRAP2-min
Front Lat Pulldown315, 12, 102-min
Barbell Bent-over Row315, 12, 102-min
Seated Cable Rowing315, 12, 102-min
Single-arm Dumbbell Rowing310 x 390-sec

Friday – Shoulder

WorkoutSetsRepsRest
Barbell Overhead Press38-12 x 22-min
Dumbbell Front Raises310 x 390-sec
Dumbbell Bent-arm Lateral Raises310 x 390-sec
Seated Rear Delt Fly310 x 390-sec
Barbell Upright Row310 x 32-min
Barbell Shrug310 x 390-sec

Saturday – Arms

WorkoutSetsRepsRest
Barbell Skull Crusher 310 x 31 min
Rope Pushdown310 x 31 min
Triangle Pushup 310 x 31 min
Dumbbell Kickback310 x 31 min
Barbell Bicep Curl310 x 31 min
Incline Dumbbell Curl310 x 31 min
Preacher Curl310 x 31 min
Dumbbell Hammer Curl310 x 31 min

Bro Split Routine PDF


Frequently Asked Questions

How long should Bro split workout take?

It would be best to complete one session of bro split training within sixty minutes. Training for more than an hour won’t make any difference. Moreover, it can be harmful in the long run.

What’s better between push-pull-legs or Bro split?

The PPL is better than bro-split for increasing strength, endurance, and muscles because it helps you train your major muscles group at least twice a week, which is good for gaining mass.
Bro-split can be good for you if you want to follow a simple workout schedule.

References

  • 1
    Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2016 Nov;46(11):1689-1697. doi: 10.1007/s40279-016-0543-8. PMID: 27102172
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Author
Murshid Akram
I'm an online personal trainer, fitness blogger, and fitness enthusiast. I love researching and writing about exercise and nutrition. I share science-based, practical, and logical information that can help you achieve your desired fitness goal.
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