The bro split is the most popular and widespread type of bodybuilding workout routine in the world. But what is a bro split, and why has it become the go-to split for advanced and competitive bodybuilders?
In this article, you’ll find answers to those questions and many more as we unravel the secrets of the bro split routine.
Bodybuilding Ballet: The Best Bro Split
In addition to a guide to the bro split workout split, you’ll also find an overview of our premier training program for muscle hypertrophy, Bodybuilding Ballet, in this article.
Bodybuilding Ballet is six weeks long and available in three versions: 4, 5, and 6 days per week. It features both free-weight training and machine-based exercises, using a wide variety of rep ranges to hit your body’s muscle fibers and make them grow.
Bodybuilding Ballet is an excellent choice for the intermediate to advanced bodybuilder looking for a training program dedicated to muscle growth. Keep reading, and you’ll learn all about this bro split workout routine, or download our workout tracker for free right now and give it a go.
What Is a Bro Split?
Let’s start with the basic question: what is a workout split?
A workout split is a way to separate your individual muscle groups into different days or on a rotating schedule over the course of a week.
During the golden era of bodybuilding, starting in the 1950s, full-body workouts were the norm. As the name suggests, full-body splits involve the entire body every training session, with athletes working out at least two or three times per week. A few early adopters were experimenting with split routines, but full-body was generally the way to go.
As the years went on, bodybuilders tried splitting their body parts into several workouts and spreading them over the week, a practice that caught on during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Some examples of training splits include the upper- and lower split and the push/pull/legs split. All these workout splits have stood the test of time and are still popular at all experience levels, from beginners to advanced lifters.
Enter the Bro Split
One of the workout splits that evolved during the 1970s and 1980s is the so-called bro split. It involves dedicating an entire training day to one or two major muscle groups and “blasting” them with high-volume strength training. An experienced bodybuilder might split their body parts into five or six workouts and work a single muscle group each training session.
Today, the bro split is the type of workout split most widely used by bodybuilders. Virtually all competitive bodybuilders use some variation of this kind of training split.1
Are Bro Splits Effective?
The short answer is yes. Numerous bodybuilders have built their physiques exclusively using a bro split. Both real-life observations and recent scientific research support the bro split style of training for building muscle and lean body mass.2
The longer answer is it depends. A bro split isn’t for everyone. For example, someone new to strength training can’t make use of a high number of sets per muscle group each workout, nor will they be able to recover from them. They would be better off working their different body parts with a higher frequency and fewer sets per workout to learn the movements.
The bottom line is that bro splits have both advantages and disadvantages. They are not the only way or even the best way for everyone to structure their training, but if they fit your training experience, schedule, and personal preference, bro splits can be the best choice to reach your fitness goals and pack on the muscle size.
Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of a bro split.
Pros and Cons of the Bro Split
Proponents of the traditional bro split love it: the pump, optimized recovery, and results. However, it’s not all roses and gains. Bro split or bro science – here are the pros and cons of this body part split.
Bro Split Pros
- When you train one or two muscle groups per workout, you can hit them with maximal intensity and focus.
- You don’t have to worry about holding back and saving energy for later on in the workout.
- Training a muscle group once weekly allows for maximal recovery time.
- You can dedicate time to all major muscle groups. When you squeeze them all into one or two workouts, it’s easy to overlook some.
- Even though a bro split usually involves plenty of sets for each specific muscle group, the workouts are time-efficient as you only have to warm up thoroughly before the first exercise.
- Many lifters enjoy the idea of training a muscle group once weekly but doing so thoroughly that day. Don’t underestimate the psychological factors of building muscle mass.
- You get a fantastic pump!
Bro Split Cons
- If you’re an inexperienced lifter, you recover faster from your efforts in the gym compared to advanced athletes. That might sound unintuitive, but as you gain training experience, you can exert yourself more, requiring more time to recover and improve. Hence, someone new to bodybuilding might get better results with a workout program focusing on a higher training frequency.
- The second half of your workouts might get filled with “junk volume” if you’re not ready for a typical bro split. Junk volume refers to sets that don’t help improve your strength or build more muscle. Let’s say you get maximal benefits from ten sets per muscle group, but you perform 20. That would mean that the second half of the workout is a waste of time and energy at best and might prolong your recovery and slow your gains at worst. Now, ten is not the optimal number of sets for everyone. Research shows that up to 20 sets are ideal for some people, like well-trained men.3
- Bro splits might be better for building your upper body than your lower body. Because you only train your legs once per week but give each upper-body muscle its own day, your upper body might respond better. Almost all upper-body muscles overlap: you train your triceps when you train chest and on shoulder day, for example. That means your upper body generally gets more attention with a bro split.
- Keeping your training intensity high throughout the workout can be challenging. After blasting your quads with a dozen sets, doing even more leg work might feel daunting, and the quality of those sets could suffer.
- Bro splits take a lot of time. You need to be prepared to spend four to six days a week in the gym. Not everyone has that kind of time to dedicate to lifting.
Does Training Frequency Matter for Building Muscle?
Once you’re past the beginner stage of weightlifting and have learned the movements and primed your body for regular resistance training, you get similar results whether you train a muscle group once or six times per week.
A decade or so ago, bro splits fell out of favor, and high-frequency workout routines were the rage. Indeed, research at the time suggested that training each major muscle group twice weekly is superior to once a week.4
However, in recent years, numerous additional studies have been published on the topic, exploring a variety of different strength training frequencies. Today, there is “strong evidence that weekly resistance training frequency does not significantly or meaningfully impact muscle hypertrophy when volume is equated,” according to the latest systematic review and meta-analysis.2 In simpler terms, it doesn’t matter how many times you train a muscle group each week as long as you perform the same number of total sets.
Presenting Our Bodybuilding Bro Split Routine: Bodybuilding Ballet
Bodybuilding Ballet is our premium training program for building muscle and is the epitome of a bro split. It allocates an entire training day to one or two body parts and allows for maximal stimulation and recovery of those specific muscle groups. The result is the ideal hypertrophy-specific workout routine.
Bodybuilding Ballet is six weeks long and available in three versions:
- Bodybuilding Ballet – 4 Day Bro Split
- Bodybuilding Ballet – 5 Day Bro Split
- Bodybuilding Ballet – 6 Day Bro Split
The five-day version of Bodybuilding Ballet is the original and default program, but you can also train four or six days per week according to your preferences.
The program is designed to build muscle, not necessarily maximize your strength gains. Don’t worry; you will increase your muscle strength with Bodybuilding Ballet, but muscle hypertrophy is the main goal.
Read more about different bodybuilding splits:
>> The 10 Best Bodybuilding Splits: a Complete Guide
Who Is the Bodybuilding Ballet Bro Split for?
Bodybuilding Ballet is not a beginner workout plan. It is intended for the moderately advanced bodybuilder and above. You’ll need training experience to take advantage of the program. It likely takes a year or more of regular strength training to develop the required tolerance for the high training volume of Bodybuilding Ballet.
We have several training programs suitable for the beginner in StrengthLog, including our Barbell Training Program for the Beginner and the bodybuilding-oriented Bodybuilding for Beginners, both of which are completely free.
Let’s take a closer look at the specifics of the Bodybuilding Ballet bro split.
Training Volume and Training Frequency
Bodybuilding Ballet is a high-volume training program. You can expect plenty of sets for all different muscle groups, and the workouts, especially for the back and legs, are pretty challenging.
On the other hand, you work each major muscle group only once weekly, so you have plenty of time to recover before you annihilate it again.
Even though you only have one dedicated training day for each muscle group, you don’t have to worry about working them too infrequently. There is plenty of overlap between muscle groups in many compound movements.
For example, your quads are involved when you deadlift on back day, your triceps do their fair share of the work on chest and shoulder day, and your biceps pull their weight on back day, just to mention a few examples.
Even though Bodybuilding Ballet is a “bro split” training program, you still stimulate muscle protein synthesis in all your muscle groups several times per week.
Bro Split Training Volume: How Much of a Good Thing is Too Much?
When it comes to training volume for muscle hypertrophy, more sets are better, up to a point. Once you go beyond that point, you’ll find yourself unable to recover properly. Adding even more sets won’t lead to more significant muscle growth, just impaired recovery.
If you haven’t been lifting for long, the training volume of Bodybuilding Ballet is far beyond that point. You’ll benefit more from a training split like StrengthLog’s Upper/Lower Body Split Program. Once you build your volume tolerance up, you benefit the most from Bodybuilding Ballet. If you can’t recover appropriately from high-volume, high-intensity training, you’re not getting the most out of it.
Current research suggests that 12–20 weekly sets per muscle group might optimize muscle growth for trained young individuals.4 Most workouts in Bodybuilding Ballet have you doing more sets than that. Isn’t that overkill? Not necessarily. The participants in the studies that the suggestion is based on were reasonably trained but not bodybuilders. Almost no studies look at a higher total volume, and advanced bodybuilders may benefit from even more sets.
Indeed, if you look at many high-level bodybuilders, you’ll find that they perform significantly more sets than 20 per muscle group per week. Very few studies look at the training volume of advanced bodybuilders. However, a 2018 study showed a dose response for the number of sets, with 30 and 45 weekly sets for the upper and lower body, respectively, being superior to lower training volumes.5
Learn everything you need to know about training volume:
>> Training Volume: How Many Sets for Strength and Muscle Growth?
Weight Selection and Progression
When you start the program, you’ll enter your current estimated 1RM in the exercises, and the app will calculate your training weights. Several of the compound exercises in Bodybuilding Ballet, including the bench press, squat, and deadlift, are based on the percentage of your 1RM. Be sure to use your current estimated 1RM, not your all-time best (unless they are the same), or you’ll find the sets very challenging to complete.
>> The Best 1RM Calculator: Calculate Your One Rep Max
We leave the weight selection for other exercises, including most isolation exercises, to you. You’re good to go as long as you perform the specified number of reps and challenge your muscles.
During the first three weeks of the program, your progression will mainly be in the form of a gradual increase in training volume. Starting with week four, you’ll also increase training intensity week by week.
When Bodybuilding Ballet calls for the same number of reps in a given exercise week after week, try to increase the weight you’re using when you can. If the final repetition is doable, increase the weight a little next week. That is called progressive overload and is one of the crucial elements of gaining size and strength. By forcing your muscles to do something they are not used to, you force them to grow bigger and stronger.
If you can’t increase the weight from workout to workout, don’t worry. That’s something only beginners to strength training can do. Bodybuilding is a long-term endeavor, and gains take time.
Training to Failure
When using a load of 80 % or more of your 1RM, I suggest terminating your sets a couple of reps before muscular failure. Heavy loads recruit all motor units in your muscles without you having to go to failure, meaning you can do more sets without getting overly fatigued and compromising recovery.
You’ll use lighter weights and perform more reps when doing isolation work. If you want to train to muscle failure, here’s your chance. Terminate the majority of your sets a rep or two from failure, but feel free to go all the way occasionally, maybe in the last set or two of each isolation movement.
Read more about training to failure:
>> Training to Failure: Implications for Recovery, Strength and Muscle Gains
Deloads and Recovery
The program might be six weeks long, but you don’t reach your bodybuilding goals in six weeks. After completing one cycle of Bodybuilding Ballet, you can either take a deload week to let your body recover or jump right back into week one again if you feel up for it.
Because the training volume and intensity of Bodybuilding Ballet increases weekly, returning to week one is something of a built-in deload. Your body will have adapted to the gradually increased training volume, and starting over will feel like a welcome respite from the hard work.
Bodybuilding Ballet – Bro Split Program Overview
To look like a bodybuilder, you have to train like a bodybuilder. Let’s take a closer look at the three variants of Bodybuilding Ballet. You can see the exact set, rep, and % of 1RM configuration in your StrengthLog app.
If you want to try the app and give any of the three Bodybuilding Ballet programs a whirl, download it for free using the buttons below.
Bodybuilding Ballet – 4 Day Bro Split
This version of Bodybuilding Ballet is perfect if you can’t be in the gym more than four times per week but still want to train like a bodybuilder. The total training volume is comparable to the program’s five- and six-day versions but slightly slimmed down to keep the workouts from becoming overly long.
Workout 1 – Chest & Biceps
- Bench Press
- Incline Dumbbell Press
- Dumbbell Chest Fly
- Push-Up
- Barbell Curl
- Dumbbell Curl
- Preacher Curl
Workout 2 – Legs
Workout 3 – Shoulders & Abs
- Dumbbell Shoulder Press
- Overhead Press
- Dumbbell Front Raise
- Dumbbell Lateral Raise
- Reverse Dumbbell Flyes
- Face Pull
- Hanging Leg Raise
- Cable Crunch
- Ab Wheel Roll-Out
Workout 4 – Back & Triceps
- Deadlift
- Pull-Up
- Barbell Row
- Seated Row
- Dumbbell Row
- Dumbbell Shrug
- Back Extension
- Close-Grip Bench Press
- Barbell Standing Triceps Extension
- Tricep Pushdown
As you can see, the workouts are pretty meaty. If you can’t spend that long in the gym, check out the five- or six-day versions of Bodybuilding Ballet instead.
You can plan your three well-deserved rest days to fit your schedule. Train four days in a row and rest three, do a “two days on, one day off, two days on” deal with the weekend off, or any other combination of training and rest days you can think of.
Bodybuilding Ballet – 5 Day Bro Split
This is the original version of Bodybuilding Ballet and a balanced mix of training volume and frequency.
Workout 1 – Chest & Abs
- Bench Press
- Incline Dumbbell Press
- Dumbbell Chest Fly
- Push-Up
- Hanging Leg Raise
- Cable Crunch
- Ab Wheel Roll-Out
Workout 2 – Back
Workout 3 – Shoulders
- Dumbbell Shoulder Press
- Overhead Press
- Dumbbell Front Raise
- Dumbbell Lateral Raise
- Reverse Dumbbell Flyes
- Face Pull
Workout 4 – Legs
Workout 5 – Biceps & Triceps
- Barbell Curl
- Dumbbell Curl
- Preacher Curl
- Close-Grip Bench Press
- Barbell Standing Triceps Extension
- Tricep Pushdown
With one more weekly training day, you spread your muscle groups out more, and the workouts aren’t as time-consuming. Instead of combining major muscle groups, you focus on one per workout, and your arms get a dedicated day. The only training day without modifications is leg day. You likely don’t want to do any more work after leg day anyway.
You can plan your training week and rest days to fit your schedule. Spread your rest days out over the week or train five days in a row and then take two off, for example, during the weekend. It’s up to you.
You can time your rest days to bring up a lagging muscle group. Let’s say you’re having difficulty getting your back to grow. Schedule a day of rest before your back day and another day after. That way, you’re rested when it’s time to train back, allowing you to hit it with maximum intensity and then optimize recovery and grow the next day.
Bodybuilding Ballet – 6 Day Bro Split
If you prefer shorter workouts but want to train almost every day, the six-day version of Bodybuilding Ballet is for you.
Workout 1 – Chest
Workout 2 – Back
Workout 3 – Shoulders
- Dumbbell Shoulder Press
- Overhead Press
- Dumbbell Front Raise
- Dumbbell Lateral Raise
- Reverse Dumbbell Flyes
- Face Pull
Workout 4 – Quads & Glutes
Workout 5 – Biceps & Triceps
- Barbell Curl
- Dumbbell Curl
- Preacher Curl
- Close-Grip Bench Press
- Barbell Standing Triceps Extension
- Tricep Pushdown
Workout 6 – Hamstrings & Abs
Some significant changes in the six-day version of Bodybuilding Ballet include splitting the leg day into a quads & glutes day and a hamstring day with abs on top. The workouts are relatively short and sweet, and most people feel this is the most laid-back version of the program, even though you’re in the gym six days per week.
You can rest whichever day of the week fits your schedule.
What About Calves?
Some people have naturally big calves without training them directly, while others find it extremely hard and a waste of time to train calves because they simply don’t respond. You see this phenomenon even among professional bodybuilders.
If you want to train calves, feel free to add them to the workout of your choice. Calves recover fast, so you might even want to train them twice weekly if you have the time, energy, and dedication.
Our suggested calf workout looks like this:
- Standing Calf Raise: 3 sets x 8 reps
- Seated Calf Raise: 3 sets x 15 reps
- Heel Raise: 2 sets x 30 reps
- Eccentric Heel Drop: 3 sets x 10 reps/side
Read more about the workout in our calf training guide:
>> How to Train Your Calf Muscles: Exercises & Workout
This workout is free in the StrengthLog app.
Follow Bodybuilding Ballet in StrengthLog
Want to give Bodybuilding Ballet a go? You won’t regret it. Combined with adequate recovery and proper nutrition, Bodybuilding Ballet is the ultimate workout routine for muscle growth for the experienced trainee.
It’s available exclusively in our workout app StrengthLog .
While this program requires a premium subscription, StrengthLog itself is entirely free. You can download it and use it as a workout tracker and general strength training app – and all basic functionality is free forever.
It even has a bunch of free programs and workouts. However, our more advanced programs (such as this one) are for premium users only.
Want to give premium a shot? We offer all new users a free 14-day trial of premium, which you can activate in the app.
Download StrengthLog for free with the buttons below:
Good luck with your training!
>> Click here to return to our list of training programs.
References
- Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: June 2013 – Volume 27 – Issue 6 – p 1609-1617. Training Practices and Ergogenic Aids Used by Male Bodybuilders.
- J Sports Sci. 2019 Jun;37(11):1286-1295. How many times per week should a muscle be trained to maximize muscle hypertrophy? A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining the effects of resistance training frequency.
- J Hum Kinet. 2022 Feb 10;81:199-210. A Systematic Review of The Effects of Different Resistance Training Volumes on Muscle Hypertrophy.
- Sports Medicine Volume 46, Pages 1689–1697 (2016). Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
- Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019 Jan; 51(1): 94–103. Resistance Training Volume Enhances Muscle Hypertrophy but Not Strength in Trained Men.
