5 day workout split: a bro split, or upper/lower plus push/pull/legs

Five training days is where the split argument gets loudest. One side trains a muscle group a day, the layout lifters call a bro split. The other side fits upper/lower and push/pull/legs into one week so every muscle is trained twice. This page writes both weeks out and adds up what each gives every muscle.

It assumes you've counted your days. If five isn't certain, which workout split starts from the days you have, and the push/pull/legs routine and the upper/lower plan are the six-day and four-day versions of the pieces used here.

The two weeks side by side

The bro split gives each muscle a session of its own. The hybrid trains chest, back, shoulders and arms on the upper day and again on push or pull, and legs on the lower day and again on legs day. Put the two days off wherever your week has gaps.

Week one: the bro split

Sets and reps are practical starting points in the ranges the other plan pages use, not study findings: "4 × 6–10" is four sets of six to ten reps, each ending with two or three reps left. The big lifts go first; the ACSM's 2009 position stand recommends that strength programs put large-muscle and multiple-joint exercises before small-muscle and single-joint ones.¹

Legs is the long day, 16 sets; the rest run 10 to 14. Want a fuller chest or back day? Chest and tricep and back and bicep pair the muscles instead.

Week two: upper/lower plus push/pull/legs

Upper and lower open the week with heavier, lower-rep work; push, pull and legs follow at higher reps. Same notation as above.

What each week adds up to

Count the hard sets each muscle gets in the week. A 2026 meta-regression of 67 studies found the strongest support for counting a set that trains a muscle only indirectly as half a set,² so presses count half toward the triceps and rows and pulldowns half toward the biceps, as in the arm workout. Calves and glutes aren't in the table.

Both weeks put chest, back and shoulders at ten or more, the line the ACSM's 2026 stand draws: it found muscle growth enhanced by ten or more sets per muscle group a week.³ The difference is where the sets sit. The bro split puts all ten chest sets in one session; the hybrid splits them over two and gives back, shoulders and legs more sets in total. New to lifting? 6 to 10 sets per muscle is plenty, so drop a set from each exercise before adding anything.

Once a week or twice?

A 2016 meta-analysis of ten studies found that, with training matched, training a muscle twice a week built more muscle than once, and inferred that major muscle groups should be trained at least twice a week.⁴ The 2019 update pooled 25 studies and found no significant difference between higher and lower frequency once volume was equated; for a given volume, its authors wrote, you can choose a frequency by preference.⁵

The newer numbers side with the update. The 2026 meta-regression of 67 studies found the effect of frequency on muscle size compatible with negligible, while strength gains rose with frequency, with diminishing returns.² A 2018 meta-analysis of 22 studies found strength gains rose with frequency overall, but not once volume was equated.⁶ The ACSM's 2026 stand's primary recommendation is lifting with high effort at least twice a week, with all major muscle groups engaged.³

None of these studies tests a bro split against a hybrid week. The closest, a 2024 meta-analysis of 14 studies and 392 people, compared split with full-body routines and found similar strength and muscle growth when volume was equated.⁷ So for muscle, the weekly sets matter more than the layout; for strength, more days per muscle help a little. As a practical reading, the hybrid is the safer pick if heavier lifts are a goal.

When five days makes sense

The ACSM's 2009 stand recommends two to three training days a week for novices, three to four for intermediates and four to five for advanced training.¹ Five is a choice for people with some training behind them, not a requirement: the 2018 strength review's practical reading is that higher frequencies can be used to fit in more volume.⁶ New to lifting? Start with the first four weeks or the full-body plan.

Which week to run

• The bro split if you like one focus per session and a lot of work on the day's muscle. The cost: a missed session is a missed muscle for the week.
• The hybrid if you want every muscle twice and a second leg day. The cost: more exercises to learn.

Common mistakes

• Running five days on a four-day life. Do the session you missed next, not the one the calendar says.
• Every set to failure. The ACSM's 2026 stand found training to failure didn't change muscle growth,³ so stop with a couple of reps left. (How to judge reps left.)
• Training through pain. Sharp pain is not soreness. If you have an injury, a medical condition or a medical question, talk to a doctor before you change how you train. I'm a fitness coach, not a doctor.

Common questions

Is a 5 day split good for beginners?

Not as a first plan; the ACSM's 2009 stand puts novices at two to three days a week.¹ Start with three full-body days.

Bro split or push/pull/legs?

A bro split trains each muscle once a week; push/pull/legs trains each twice but needs six days, and on five it runs as a rolling rotation (the routine page). The hybrid above is the other way to fill five days with twice-a-week training.

Can I do a 5 day split with two leg days?

The hybrid week does: lower on Tuesday, legs on Friday, a day between.

Do I need five days to build muscle?

No. With volume equated, the 2019 meta-analysis found no significant difference between training a muscle more or less often, so more days mainly fit more sets.^5,6

If you'd rather not plan it alone

A split on a web page doesn't know which five days you have or which of these lifts your gym makes hard to get to. Coaching is the version where your workouts live in Trainerize, the split is built around the days you actually have, and a weekly call looks at the week you just had and rebuilds the next one. Coaching to build muscle explains how that works, and apply tells me about your week. Otherwise: pick one of the two weeks, put the five days in your calendar and start with Monday.