Why does everyone hate the bro split? Maybe it's the name association but people love to rag on the bro split. It's been called “useless” by many a lifter, namely because you only get to train each muscle group once a week (unless you double up on certain days).
A bro split focuses on mirror muscles. It's typically bad because a lot of muscles that aren't immediately popular for aesthetics are actually immensely important in looking good, such as the legs, calves, lower back, glutes and traps.
Frequency is key! Bro Split hits each muscle once a week—great for recovery but less frequent stimulation. PPL doubles up, training muscles twice a week to keep protein synthesis buzzing and those gains rolling.
The pros are that following a Bro Split can allow you to easily focus on one major muscle group at a time and ensure that you hit each muscle group with adequate volume in each week. Oftentimes people will overlook some muscle groups like shoulders which can require a significant amount of volume to grow.
Yes. The vast majority of trainees on bro splits are natural, and they make decent progress.
Why Chris Bumstead Likes It. Professional bodybuilders, including CBum, often use a training routine called the bro split workout. This method involves training one or two muscle groups per workout, five to six days per week. With the bro split, muscle groups get plenty of attention during their designated workout.
The difference is that with a full body workout, you're training the body's major muscle groups multiple times per week (usually between 2-4 times per week, with an average of three workouts/week). Following a bro split, each major muscle group is only trained directly one time.
The bro split resulted from bodybuilding entrepreneurs like the Weiders who sought to distinguish themselves from their competition. And it partially benefitted from the introduction of anabolic steroids, which helped with this style of training possible and far more attractive to the general public.
Many fitness enthusiasts and advanced bodybuilders favor the PPL split because it allows them to target specific muscle groups with greater intensity and volume per muscle group than a full-body workout. It also provides adequate recovery time for each muscle group.
The Arnold split is a six-day workout split in which you train the chest and back, shoulders and arms, and legs twice per week. It's a muscle-building program that's designed to help you increase muscle mass and improve your physique. Because of its high amount of volume, it's only for advanced lifters.
Most guys assume it's for casual lifters who never took the time to learn how to program a proper workout split. That's not the case. 2/3rds of competitive bodybuilders use Bro Splits (study). A well-designed Bro Split can be incredibly good for building muscle, especially in your arms and shoulders.
The push/pull/legs split is probably the most efficient workout split there is because all related muscle groups are trained together in the same workout. This means that you get the maximum overlap of movements within the same workout, and the muscle groups being trained get an overall benefit from this overlap.
Is 6 day push pull legs too much? A 6-day push pull legs workout split schedule is ideal for giving each of the muscle groups adequate days of rest in between training sessions, while at the same time being able to work each area two times per week.
- Beginners: push pull legs for balanced training and faster progress. - Intermediate to Advanced Lifters: push pull legs for better hypertrophy and strength gains, Bro Split for focused training. - Time-Constrained Individuals:Bro Split for fewer days, push pull legs for more balanced growth.
Day 1: Shoulders, Triceps and Abs. Day 2: Back and Rear Delts. Day 3: Rest Day. Day 4: Chest, Biceps and Abs.
Lower/Upper/Full Splits
On that note, I love using a 3-day Lower/Upper/Full Body split with older lifters. It's probably my favorite 3 day per week plan for ALL lifters, but it works especially well when we're trying to maximize recovery and spread out the stress of doing multiple big lifts per session.
Coleman himself, it was all about hard work and dedication. He typically trained six days per week, focusing on one muscle group per day. For example, he would start his week with chest and triceps, followed by back and biceps. He would then take a rest day before hitting his legs twice a row.
PUSH-PULL-LEGS (PPL)
You can do each workout once per week (three days total) or twice per week (six days total) depending on your level of fitness, recovery abilities, and goals. Naturally, if you're a beginner, I'd say to stick with three days per week for this exercise routine.
He follows an 8-day Push-Pull-Legs training split, which usually looks something like the following: Day 1: Legs: Quad dominant. Day 2: Push Day: Chest, with a little bit of triceps. Day 3: Pull Day: Back, with a little bit of biceps.
Everything from your classic “bro split” to even training twice a day, Arnold did it. However, one of his favorite workout splits has been dubbed the Arnold split.
Low Weight, High Reps Is Good for Overall Health
HIIT workouts can also help control and improve blood glucose readings, a measure of diabetes risk. Workouts that use low weight with higher reps are also safer. If you try to lift weights that are too heavy, you are more likely to cause a muscle tear or strain.
So, as long as you're getting sufficient volume, bro splits can be effective in growing muscle and increasing strength.
Doing push ups every day is good for building upper body muscles and even strengthening your core, back, and lower extremities. You can start with 10 push ups a day and then work up to doing 50 or 100 push ups everyday. Breaking them up into smaller sets throughout the day can make it easier to start as well.
As a general rule of thumb, an upper/lower split can be more beneficial for complete newcomers, as it provides a holistic training plan that works the entire body in equal measure. The PPL split will, but its very nature, put greater emphasis on the upper body.
But most people should aim for 1 to 3 rest days per week. You can use your rest days to support recovery by doing light exercise and working on mobility. Your workout schedule may not always go as planned. So listen to your body and take a rest day when you feel depleted or have unusual aches and pains.