The bro split
Five days, one muscle group each. Unfashionable, frequently mocked, and still perfectly capable of building muscle.
The prescription, in one line
5SESSIONS / WEEK
The one-muscle-a-day split trains each muscle once a week, which research suggests is slightly less efficient than twice a week for the same weekly volume. Slightly. If you enjoy it and it makes you turn up five days a week, that preference beats a theoretically better plan you skip. The honest summary: it works, it is not optimal, and consistency matters more than either fact.
Who it is for: Lifters who genuinely train five days a week and enjoy long sessions on one body part.
SOURCE·Published exercise references·EVERY MOVEMENT LINKS TO ITS OWN CARD·REVIEWED JUL 2026
How this template was assembled
- Start from the joint action, not the sensation. A muscle is credited when the action it produces is the one being resisted.
- Credit exactly one role per exercise: prime mover, or synergist and stabiliser. Nothing is listed twice.
- Rank by technical demand on a 1–5 scale — how much practice the movement needs to be done safely, not how hard the set feels.
- Order each session heavy-to-light: the movement with the most technical demand goes first, while you are fresh enough to hold the position.
- Attach the published MET category so the energy figure on every card traces back to the same table.
SOURCE·Published exercise references·ATTRIBUTION BY JOINT ACTION·REVIEWED JUL 2026
Chest
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Muscle | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell Bench Press | 4 | 6–10 | Chest | Touch the bar to the lower half of the chest, roughly in line with the base of the stern… |
| Incline Dumbbell Press | 4 | 8–12 | Chest | Keep the dumbbells slightly wider than the shoulders at the bottom and press them up and… |
| Cable Fly | 3 | 12–15 | Chest | Set both pulleys at roughly chest height, take a small step forward, and finish with the… |
| Chest Dip | 3 | 8–12 | Chest | Lean the torso forward about 30 degrees and let the elbows travel slightly wider than th… |
| Push-Up | 2 | To failure | Chest | Set the hands so that at the bottom your forearms are vertical from every angle — that i… |
Back
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Muscle | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pull-Up | 4 | 6–10 | Lats | Take an overhand grip just outside shoulder width and pull the elbows down towards the r… |
| Barbell Bent-Over Row | 4 | 6–10 | Upper back | Hinge to about 45 degrees or lower, and pull the bar to the belly button rather than the… |
| Seated Cable Row | 3 | 10–12 | Upper back | Sit tall, pull the handle to the belly button, and let the shoulder blades travel fully … |
| Straight-Arm Pulldown | 3 | 12–15 | Lats | Use a straight bar or rope with locked elbows and sweep the arms down to the thighs. |
| Barbell Shrug | 3 | 10–15 | Trapezius | Hold the bar at arm's length in front of the thighs and shrug straight up with a one-sec… |
Shoulders
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Muscle | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standing Barbell Overhead Press | 4 | 6–10 | Front deltoid | Squeeze the glutes and abs before the bar leaves the shoulders — a standing press is a m… |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 4 | 12–20 | Side deltoid | Lead with the elbows and stop at shoulder height, with the little finger no higher than … |
| Cable Face Pull | 3 | 15–20 | Rear deltoid | Set the pulley at upper-chest height, use a rope, and finish with the hands beside the e… |
| Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly | 3 | 12–15 | Rear deltoid | Hinge until the torso is nearly parallel to the floor and raise the dumbbells out to the… |
| Dumbbell Front Raise | 2 | 12–15 | Front deltoid | Raise one arm at a time to shoulder height with the palm facing down, and keep the torso… |
Legs
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Muscle | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell Back Squat | 4 | 6–10 | Quadriceps | Set the bar on the traps, brace, and sit between the hips rather than folding forward ov… |
| Romanian Deadlift | 3 | 8–10 | Hamstrings | Soften the knees once at the start and then keep that exact angle — the knees do not ben… |
| Leg Press | 3 | 10–15 | Quadriceps | Keep the lower back flat against the pad and stop the descent before the hips curl up of… |
| Lying Leg Curl | 3 | 12–15 | Hamstrings | Keep the hips pressed into the pad and pause for a beat at the top of every rep. |
| Standing Calf Raise | 4 | 12–20 | Calves | Let the heels drop below the platform for a full stretch, then rise as high as the joint… |
Arms
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Muscle | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close-Grip Bench Press | 3 | 8–12 | Triceps | Grip about shoulder width — not so narrow that the wrists hurt — and keep the elbows tuc… |
| EZ Bar Curl | 3 | 8–12 | Biceps | Take the inner angled grips so the wrists sit half-turned rather than fully supinated. |
| Overhead Cable Triceps Extension | 3 | 10–15 | Triceps | Face away from the pulley with the rope behind your head and the upper arms locked besid… |
| Incline Dumbbell Curl | 3 | 10–15 | Biceps | Set the bench to 45 to 60 degrees and let the arms hang straight down behind the torso b… |
| Rope Triceps Pushdown | 3 | 12–15 | Triceps | Pull the rope ends apart as you reach the bottom so the hands finish beside the thighs, … |
| Hammer Curl | 3 | 12–15 | Biceps | Keep the palms facing each other throughout and do not let the wrists rotate at the top. |
How to progress
Add weight when you hit the top of the range on the first two sets of an exercise. Because each muscle is trained once a week, expect slower jumps than on a higher-frequency plan.
Two rules sit above any template. First, technique does not change as the weight climbs — if the range shortens or the tempo runs away, the load has gone past useful. Second, a plan you follow for twelve weeks beats a better plan you abandon in three. Rest days are part of the programme, not a failure of it.
This plan covers 12 muscle groups as prime movers. If something is missing that you care about, add one exercise for it rather than rebuilding the whole thing.
Other workout templates
The questions that come up on the floor
Who is the bro split (one muscle a day) for?
Lifters who genuinely train five days a week and enjoy long sessions on one body part. It runs 5 days a week. and needs: full gym.
How do I progress on this plan?
Add weight when you hit the top of the range on the first two sets of an exercise. Because each muscle is trained once a week, expect slower jumps than on a higher-frequency plan.
Will this plan build muscle?
It covers 12 muscle groups as prime movers across 26 exercises. Muscle growth needs progressive overload, enough weekly volume — roughly ten to twenty hard sets per muscle — and enough protein and total food to support it. This template supplies the structure; the effort and the diet decide the outcome.
Can I swap an exercise I cannot do?
Yes. Every exercise page on this site lists computed substitutes that train the same prime mover through the same movement pattern, plus a no-equipment alternative. Swap like for like and the plan still works.
Muscle roles follow standard kinesiology references and are described by joint action rather than by gym convention — see how this site is built. Energy figures are derived from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. Every reference is named and dated on the sources page. General information only — not medical or coaching advice. Load, form and progression should be adjusted to your own experience and any injury history. When in doubt, get coached in person.
SOURCE·Published exercise references·MUSCLE ROLES ASSIGNED BY JOINT ACTION·REVIEWED JUL 2026
The people behind these sites
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This site and nine others like it are built and photographed by two people: Amit Sharma — behind the build; Geeta Patel — the poses, demonstrated. New work goes up on Instagram and Facebook before it reaches a page here.
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