Bro split workout guide and free spreadsheet

Intermediate · 5 days a week · Ongoing, in blocks of 8 to 12 weeks · One muscle group per day bodybuilding split

A five-day split that gives chest, back, shoulders, legs and arms a day each. It is easy to run and fun to train, but it hits each muscle once a week, and research leans toward twice.

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How Bro split works

The bro split trains one muscle group per session and repeats the cycle every week. A common layout is chest on Monday, back on Tuesday, shoulders on Wednesday, legs on Thursday and arms on Friday, with the weekend off. Each muscle gets all of its weekly sets in one hard session, then has six days to recover.

Because the whole day goes to one area, you can pile on exercises and sets without fatigue from other muscles getting in the way. A typical session is three or four exercises of three or four sets each, starting with a heavy compound lift and finishing with isolation work. Sets of 6 to 12 reps are common.

No one wrote this program down, and versions differ. Some put legs last, some split back from rear delts, some give arms a day and some fold them into the chest and back days. The in-app Bro Split templates are one reasonable version: chest, back, shoulders, legs and arms, with sets and reps as in the table.

Our templates carry the main lifts only. Dips, pull-ups and lateral raises are good fits for the chest, back and shoulder days, but they are not tied to a typed weight, so add them as your recovery and gym time allow.

The schedule

Train on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or any other days with rest between. Every set uses the same weight, the one you can lift for the written reps.

Chest

Lift	Sets and reps
Bench press	4 x 8
Incline bench press	3 x 10

Back

Lift	Sets and reps
Deadlift	3 x 5
Barbell row	4 x 8

Shoulders

Lift	Sets and reps
Overhead press	4 x 8

Legs

Lift	Sets and reps
Squat	4 x 8
Romanian deadlift	3 x 10
Leg press	3 x 12

Arms

Lift	Sets and reps
Barbell curl	4 x 10
Close-grip bench press	4 x 10

Progression and stall rules

These progression rules are our suggestion

The bro split is a format, not a published program, so no source gives a rule for adding weight. The rules below are ours. The spreadsheet adds a small jump each session only so you can see the loads move.

Double progression

Work inside a rep range, for example 8 to 12 on the main lifts. Stay at one weight until every set reaches the top of the range with a rep or two in reserve, then add the smallest jump you have and drop back to the bottom of the range.

Take the last set close to failure

With each muscle trained once a week, a hard final set costs little recovery. Leave one or two reps in reserve on the earlier sets and go to or near failure on the last set of each exercise, except the deadlift, which you stop a rep or two short.

Deload when the bar stalls

If two sessions in a row get worse on the same lift, or your joints ache, take about 10% off the bar for a week and cut a set from each exercise. Then build back up.

Weekly volume

Work sets per lift, counted from the schedule above (warm-ups not included).

Lift	Sets per week
Bench press	4
Incline bench press	3
Deadlift	3
Barbell row	4
Overhead press	4
Squat	4
Romanian deadlift	3
Leg press	3
Barbell curl	4
Close-grip bench press	4

Who it suits

A good fit

Lifters with a year or more of consistent training who like a simple, predictable week and want to concentrate on one body part at a time.
People who can train five days but only get to the gym on set days, and who enjoy long, focused sessions more than short, frequent ones.
Lifters who want a short-term specialization or a change of pace. Training a muscle once a week can still build size, especially if recovery is your limit.

Look elsewhere if

Beginners. You can grow on far less work, and a muscle trained once a week gets fewer chances to practice the lifts. A full-body or upper/lower plan teaches technique faster.
Anyone who misses sessions often. Miss chest day and that muscle goes ten days without training, not three.
Lifters chasing a bigger squat, bench or deadlift. Strength skills respond to frequent practice, and this plan gives each lift one slot a week.
Anyone short on gym time who wants the most muscle per hour. Splits that hit each muscle twice can get more from the same total sets.

Common mistakes

Doing too many junk sets in one session

Twenty sets for one muscle in a day sounds hard, but the late sets in a long session often add little and wear you out. Pick the best three or four exercises and push them.

Going to failure on the heavy compound lifts every week

Deadlifts and squats taken to failure make the next several days worse. Keep a rep or two in reserve on the big lifts and save failure for the last set of the isolation work.

Skipping legs

Leg day is easy to drop, and it is a single weekly day for the largest muscles in the body. If you tend to skip it, move it earlier in the week.

Training arms on a day when the rest is already fried

Close-grip bench and curls come on the last day, and by Friday your elbows and shoulders have been working all week. Keep the load moderate and the reps controlled.

Never revisiting the frequency

If your progress stalls after a few months, the fix is often adding a second weekly exposure for lagging muscles, not more sets on the one day. The research favors twice a week, so a second weekly hit is the first change to try.

Your sample week

For each lift, enter: Weight you use for your working sets. The weights below update as you type. Your numbers stay in your browser and are not saved. The numbers shown are an example lifter.

Units

Bench press

Incline bench press

Deadlift

Barbell row

Overhead press

Squat

Romanian deadlift

Leg press

Barbell curl

Close-grip bench press

Chest

Bench press
Set	Reps	Weight (lb)
1	8	135
2	8	135
3	8	135
4	8	135

Incline bench press
Set	Reps	Weight (lb)
1	10	105
2	10	105
3	10	105

Back

Deadlift
Set	Reps	Weight (lb)
1	5	225
2	5	225
3	5	225

Barbell row
Set	Reps	Weight (lb)
1	8	115
2	8	115
3	8	115
4	8	115

Shoulders

Overhead press
Set	Reps	Weight (lb)
1	8	85
2	8	85
3	8	85
4	8	85

Legs

Squat
Set	Reps	Weight (lb)
1	8	185
2	8	185
3	8	185
4	8	185

Romanian deadlift
Set	Reps	Weight (lb)
1	10	155
2	10	155
3	10	155

Leg press
Set	Reps	Weight (lb)
1	12	270
2	12	270
3	12	270

Arms

Barbell curl
Set	Reps	Weight (lb)
1	10	65
2	10	65
3	10	65
4	10	65

Close-grip bench press
Set	Reps	Weight (lb)
1	10	95
2	10	95
3	10	95
4	10	95

The spreadsheet

The file has three sheets: your numbers, the full week with every weight as a formula, and a progress table that carries the weights forward. It opens in Excel, Numbers and LibreOffice. The weights in the link below use the numbers you typed above.

Download the .xlsx

Open it in Google Sheets

Download the .xlsx file above.
Go to Google Drive and choose New, then File upload, and pick the file.
Double-click the uploaded file and choose Open with Google Sheets.
Choose File, then Save as Google Sheets so you can edit it.

Want the weights to follow you into the gym? Create a free account and the program loads into Train for you.

How it compares

Bro split vs Upper/lower split

Upper/lower trains each muscle twice a week in four days. With the same weekly sets, the research favors this, and it is easier to catch up after a missed session. The bro split trades that for a more focused session on each muscle. Read the Upper/lower split guide.

Bro split vs Push pull legs

Push pull legs runs the same three sessions twice for a six-day week, so each muscle gets two exposures. It asks for a sixth training day, while the bro split keeps the weekend free. Read the Push pull legs guide.

Bro split vs Arnold split

The Arnold split pairs chest with back, and shoulders with arms, and repeats the cycle twice in six days. It trains each muscle twice a week, which the research favors, at the cost of longer sessions and a heavier recovery load. Read the Arnold split guide.

Load Bro split into Train and log each session against the plan.

Start it in Symmetric Strength

The workouts in Train are a simplified version of this program, with one rep count per lift. Use the schedule above for the exact sets.

Common questions

What is a bro split?

A bro split is a five-day routine where each day trains one muscle group, most often chest, back, shoulders, legs and arms. Each muscle trains once a week. The name is gym slang, and no one person created it.

Is the bro split effective?

It builds muscle, but it is probably not the most efficient way to do it. A 2016 meta-analysis found that training a muscle twice a week produced more hypertrophy than once a week when weekly sets were matched. Stronger by Science reads the gap as small, especially for trained lifters. If you enjoy it, do the work and recover well, you will still grow.

Is the bro split good for beginners?

Not really. Beginners gain from practicing the big lifts often, and the bro split gives each lift one session a week. A full-body or upper/lower plan teaches the lifts faster and still fits three or four days.

How many sets per muscle per week on a bro split?

There is no fixed number, since the format varies. The in-app templates run 7 working sets for chest and back, 4 for shoulders, 8 for arms and 10 for legs, all in one session. Treat that as a base and add sets slowly as your recovery allows.

Can I hit each muscle twice a week on a bro split?

Yes, with small changes. Move some indirect work earlier in the week, for example an extra set of rows on shoulder day or lateral raises on arm day, or switch to a two-way upper/lower split.

How do I fit a sixth day?

Use it to repeat your weakest muscle, or to bring the weekly sets of a lagging area up. Keep that day lighter than the first hit of the week so you recover.

Know where you stand

Before you start, check how your lifts compare on the strength standards, estimate a max with the one-rep max calculator, or score your total with the DOTS calculator.

Sources and credit

The bro split is a common bodybuilding format with no single creator, so no one is credited for the exercises. This guide uses the in-app Bro Split templates for sets and reps, and cites published research on training frequency. We have not copied any program or article.

Checked October 13, 2026. Symmetric Strength is not affiliated with any single coach or author, because the bro split has no single creator. Program names are used only to identify the programs.