Build Muscle
Classic Five-Day Split
The five-day body-part split people call the bro split, with one thing changed: every muscle group is trained twice a week instead of once.
- Days a week
- 5
- A session
- 62 min
- Sessions in it
- 5
- Split
- Five-Day Body-Part Split, Twice-Weekly Frequency
How it runs
Chest and back run twice with different lifts, legs run twice — quad-led and hip-led — and shoulders and arms get their own day.
What you actually train
5 sessions, in order. Every movement links to how to do it.
Chest & Back A
7 movements
- Barbell Bench Press4 sets of 7 reps
- Barbell Bent-Over Row4 sets of 8 reps
Superset — no rest between these
- Incline Dumbbell Press3 sets of 10 reps
- Lat Pulldown (Wide Grip)4 sets of 10 reps
Circuit — straight through, then rest
- Dumbbell Flyes3 sets of 13 reps
- Straight-Arm Pulldown3 sets of 13 reps
- Dumbbell Shrug3 sets of 13 reps
Legs A (Quad-Led)
7 movements
- Barbell Back Squat4 sets of 6 reps
Superset — no rest between these
- Leg Press4 sets of 12 reps
- Lying Leg Curl (Machine)4 sets of 12 reps
Superset — no rest between these
- Romanian Deadlift4 sets of 9 reps
- Leg Extension (Machine)3 sets of 14 reps
Superset — no rest between these
- Standing Calf Raise5 sets of 12 reps
- Hanging Knee Raise3 sets of 12 reps
Shoulders & Arms
8 movements
- Standing Barbell Overhead Press (Military Press)4 sets of 7 reps
Superset — no rest between these
- Dumbbell Lateral Raise4 sets of 14 reps
- Face Pull4 sets of 17 reps
Superset — no rest between these
- Barbell Curl4 sets of 9 reps
- Skull Crusher (Lying Triceps Extension)4 sets of 11 reps
Circuit — straight through, then rest
- Hammer Curl3 sets of 11 reps
- Triceps Rope Pushdown3 sets of 13 reps
- Cable Crunch (Kneeling)4 sets of 12 reps
Chest & Back B
7 movements
- Incline Barbell Bench Press4 sets of 9 reps
- Pull-Up4 sets of 8 reps
Superset — no rest between these
- Dumbbell Bench Press3 sets of 11 reps
- Seated Cable Row4 sets of 11 reps
Circuit — straight through, then rest
- Cable Crossover3 sets of 13 reps
- Dumbbell Reverse Fly (Rear Delt Fly)4 sets of 15 reps
- Dumbbell Shrug3 sets of 13 reps
Legs B (Hip-Led)
6 movements
- Barbell Hip Thrust4 sets of 10 reps
- Hack Squat (Machine)4 sets of 11 reps
Superset — no rest between these
- 45-Degree Back Extension4 sets of 12 reps
- Seated Leg Curl (Machine)4 sets of 12 reps
Superset — no rest between these
- Seated Calf Raise5 sets of 13 reps
- Hanging Leg Raise4 sets of 10 reps
Why it works
- That second exposure is the whole difference. Training a muscle once and leaving it for seven days is what leaves the hamstrings and calves with almost nothing.
- Hamstrings get eighteen sets a week across two sessions and calves ten — the two that a traditional leg day has no room for.
- Chest, back and shoulders keep the volume the split is known for, at sixteen to twenty sets.
- Every set carries an effort target, and load moves by double progression rather than by feel.
- Five sessions of about an hour, so no single day has to carry a whole body part on its own.
Warm up with two or three ramping sets of the day's first lift. The two rest days are the minimum at this volume rather than a target to beat.
What to expect
Expect five sessions of about an hour, and expect the hamstrings and calves to get the attention a once-a-week leg day has no room for.
Before you start
Before you start, please read this part. Lifting is among the safest and most useful things most people can do, and there is a short list of exceptions worth checking yourself against first.
If you have a heart or lung condition, chest pain or pressure at rest or on effort, dizziness or blackouts, blood pressure or diabetes that is not currently controlled, a hernia, low bone density or osteoporosis, a joint or back problem that is flaring, or you are pregnant or within a year of giving birth, speak to your GP or a physiotherapist before starting and follow their instruction over anything written here.
Stop the set and get advice for chest pain or tightness, breathlessness out of proportion to the effort, dizziness, or a sudden sharp pain in a joint or the back.
Stop it as well for pain, numbness, pins and needles or weakness that travels down an arm or a leg, and get that seen before you load the pattern again. This programme puts a loaded bar on your back and over your chest.
Use a rack with the safety pins set at the depth you squat to, and do not bench alone without them. Nothing here is medical advice.
What you need
- Barbell
- Dumbbell
- Cable Machine
- Machine
- Bench
- Pull-Up Bar
- EZ Bar
- Back Extension Bench