An Ode to the Bro Split

[booboo222]

I’ve been training with free weights at home for about 8 months. I started out with an upper / lower / PPL split 5 days a week that worked great for ~6 months of newbie gains and then plateaued. I’m 42, tend to go all out to failure most sets, and because of that was getting pretty run down, especially doing Tuesday squats / deadlifts after a huge leg hypertrophy day on Saturday.

I switched to a high volume 5 day bro split and growth and progression has completely taken off. Part of this is no doubt due to a novel stimulus, but I think there are other factors at play. This is what I think is going on:

The three things you need to achieve growth are a calorie surplus, a sufficient stimulus, and sufficient recovery. Since the first is unrelated to the split you’re running I’ll leave it aside. For the other two, you are guaranteed to achieve those in a bro split. If you annihilate 1-2 muscle groups with twenty sets, they are going to be stimulated. If you wait a week to work them out again, they are going to be recovered.

Now, is this fully “optimized”? Probably not. Is there some junk volume in some of those sets? Undoubtedly. Are some muscles recovered enough to lift after 4-6 days instead of 7? For sure. But with the ULPPL I wasn’t sure I was getting great hypertrophy stimulus on the strength-focused U/L days, and wasn’t sure I was fully recovered at times either. The bro split has gotten me, if not optimized, probably 80% of the way there. It’s effective and idiot-proof, which is great for an older newb. It’s also taught me the pace at which different muscles recover, which will be really helpful when I change the split again at some point. Plus it’s just fun as hell. I imagine I’ll work in some bro splits for the rest of my lifting days. Curious to hear others’ thoughts or experiences with it…

 

[dawn16]

@booboo222 I used a bro split for years, getting plenty big and strong in the process. People need to worry less about optimal (which is a moving target and never fully knowable at any given time) and worry about doing something that will keep them engaged and consistent. As long as you’re hitting certain basic boxes (in terms of movement selection, frequency, and volume/intensity) and training consistently, with effort, and eating accordingly, you’re going to grow. It’s funny, every time a bro split comes up in this sub, the OP cautiously states “I know it’s not optimal…” and then a bunch of people chime in that bro splits are fine, even awesome.

 

[uniqueperception]

@dawn16

People need to worry less about optimal (which is a moving target and never fully knowable at any given time) and worry about doing something that will keep them engaged and consistent.

Very well put. I do not care about optimal this or suboptimal that. Find a workout routine you enjoy that keeps you in the gym and you're already miles ahead of where most people will ever find themselves. The gains will come. Unless you're a professional or competitor (and frankly, even if you are) then all that matters is that you're enjoying your training and your routine makes sense for your own personal schedule.

 

[533th3r]

@dawn16 I just feel like after 3-4 exercises for a single muscle group it's absolutely fried. I simply can't imagine doing 6 exercises for chest on a single day and be productive after the first 8-10 sets. I know a bro split is alright and it helps people focus on training hard. It's just that most people change to something else where they can get more frequency for some muscle groups. Especially things like calves and arms can really benefit from the increased frequency in my opinion

 

[dawn16]

@533th3r 6 exercises for chest is insane, IMO. I’d do something like chest and tri’s, hitting 3, maybe 4, chest movements, then 2-3 triceps movements and be done. I honestly think the need for frequency is overstated for hypertrophy if you’re training hard enough.

 

[blabla123456]

@dawn16 This [sup].[/sup] Years ago I was heavily influenced by Dorian Yates. This reminds me of the Shadow. On the bro split note, I use it. But I'm a bit older and maybe set in my ways. Regardless, I enjoy it. If enjoyment helps you stay consistent, don't worry about optimal splits so much.

 

[brokenhearted82]

@533th3r On Bro splits it's 3 or 4 exercises, personally I do 4, first the heavy compound, incline and flat bench, Barbell or dumbbell I switch it up. Then decline and flys (pec deck). Depending on time I will also hit biceps for 3 exercises. I actually prefer biceps on chest day cuz my tris are usually smoked.

 

[tp243]

@dawn16 As Stan Efferding says compliance is the science

 

[andy0]

@dawn16 Do you mind giving a brief example of how you ran your bro splits? (Rough # of exercises, sets, etc)

 

[leena2016]

@booboo222 I think that just one thing that people can miss when they change from a UL or PPL or similar to a bro split is the question of how they'd perform on a split training each muscle twice every 8-12 days. Going from 2X a week to 1X a week is a big switch & it's possible that it could get you closer to 'ideal' but it's also possible that the personal sweet spot for you is actually in-between one & two times a week.

 

[533th3r]

@leena2016 This is very underrated in my opinion! I follow a 6x per week program, but it usually takes me about 8-9 days to finish. If I'm too sore to work out I just take an extra day off. It makes the split asynchronous, but I don't need a specific day to train a certain body part. I just train whatever is up next. Usually my legs aren't recovered after 3 days and I'll take a day off before leg day.

 

[booboo222]

@leena2016 That’s a great point. How would that work from a split design perspective? PPL but 4 or 5 days a week?

 

[leena2016]

@booboo222 Oh there's probably a dozen iterations of how it could work. What you said is one of them. Another example is a split which trains your entire body over two days, done with 3 workouts a week, so 1.5X frequency per muscle group. Or an Arnold Split done fewer than 6 days a week. Lots of options.

 

[needheaven]

@booboo222 Everything can work, you'll probably get tired of the bro split eventually and think something else is great until you get bored of that too.

 

[weiss0980]

@needheaven This. There’s a honey moon phase with every new routine

 

[cheung]

@booboo222 People care so much about splits, I think it’s kinda crazy. Any split that make some sort of sense can be good. Personally I just run whatever split I have time for. Right now it’s UL split 4 days a week. If I have more time then I tend to go with Arnold split, which is a bro split. But PPL is good too if you have time to lift 6 days a week. If you’re really short on time, full body split 2-3 days a week is also great. Every split can work. It’s what you do in the gym and how your nutrition and sleep is locked in that makes a difference.

 

[dawn16]

@cheung I completely understand trying to get the most out of workouts.

What I don’t understand is all the extra “talk” is all about. Like, just go and workout when you feel like it. It doesn’t matter if it’s twice a week or 6. Eat good, get protein, progressive overload every workout, whether it’s reps or weight, don’t be afraid to go to failure, get some sleep and be done with it. I think about lifting about 2 hours a day. The prep an hour before I lift and an hour during my lifts and I’m back to… life.

Since everyone here is supposed to be natural, regardless how you workout it’s going to take YEARS to get where you want. Just do the basics and you will see results.

 

[supern0va]

@booboo222 You have to listen to your body. I switched to a modified “bro split” which is very similar to Dorian Yates routine. In my opinion, the overarching question is “are you making progress?”. If the answer is yes, then your split is fine.

 

[formerly_a_saul]

@booboo222 My body responded so much better to the bro split than PPL. Different people’s bodies react differently. I think the bro split isn’t optimal but it’s the inefficiency in the workout that ensures high recovery times and high dosages for certain muscles, especially triceps. Lots of time to recover, lots of dose, lots of muscle.

 

[booboo222]

@formerly_a_saul Nice. I am still figuring it out but I feel very much like the extended recovery just works well for me personally.