The 5 day workout split means the bro split.
Not push pull legs,
And Not upper/lower,
Think frequency and add intensity!
You will train the muscle group 1 time a week.
If you wish, you could train smaller muscle groups twice.
The Pros and Cons of the 5 day workout Split
Here are some of the positives and negatives of the 5 day workout split.Â
The pros of the 5 day Workout Split:
- Good for hypertrophy.
- Good for weight loss (frequency is key).
- A combination of compound and isolation movements (though more isolations included).
- Adequate recovery for beginners and intermediate lifters.
The cons of the 5 day Workout Split:
- Not optimal for strength.
- May not be optimal for the older demographic.
We also published:
The Best 5 Day Workout Split Program
Here is a complete program for the 5 day workout split.Â
Chest:
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Rest (Mins.)
Flat Bench Press (dumbbells or barbell - alternate everyother workout)
5 (2 warmup, 3 working sets)
15 - 6
2-5
Incline Bench Press (dumbbells or barbell - alternate everyother workout)
4
12 - 8
2-5
Weighted dips or Decline bench press (alternate every other workout)
4
12 - 8
2-3
Dumbbell or machine flyes
4
15-10
1 - 3
Cable crossover
4
15-10
1 - 2
2 Ab exercises of your choice
3 each
30-15
1 - 2
Shoulders:
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Rest (Mins.)
Delt rear raises (dumbbell, cable, or reverse pec-deck)
5
25-12
1 - 3
Delt side raises with dumbbells
4
15 - 10
2 - 3
Delt side raises with cables or machine
4
15 - 10
1 - 3
Standing up-right rows with cable or barbell
3
15 - 12
1 - 3
Machine or dumbbell shoulder presses
4
15 - 8
2 - 4
Front delt raises with dumbbells or barbell
3
15 - 10
1 - 3
Shrugs - barbbell or dumbbells
5
20-8
1 - 3
Back:
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Rest (Mins.)
Wide grip lat pulldown or pull-ups
5
15 -8
2 - 4
Barbell rows
4
12 - 8
2 - 5
Dumbbell rows or T-bar rows (alternate every other workout)
4
15 - 8
2 - 5
Cable rows
4
15 - 8
1 - 4
Narrow grip lat pulldown
4
15 - 10
1 - 3
Below the knee barbell deadlifts (quarter deadlifts)
4
12-8
2 - 5
2 calf exercises of your choise
4 each
25-15
1 - 2
Arms:
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Rest (Mins.)
Triceps cable push down
5
15 - 10
1 - 3
Standing tricep cable extension with the rope
4
15 - 8
1 - 3
Lying skull crusher (EZ barbell or dumbbells)
4
12 - 8
1 - 4
Kickbacks (dumbbells or cable)
4
15 - 10
1 - 3
Bicep dumbbell curls
5
15 - 8
1 - 3
Bicep barbell curls
4
15 - 8
1 - 4
Bicep concentration/preacher curls (machine, dumbells, or barbell)
4
15 - 8
1 - 3
Bicep hammer curls (dumbbels)
4
15 - 8
1 - 3
2 Ab exercises of your choice
3 each
30-15
1 - 2
Legs:
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Rest (Mins.)
Hamstring curls
5
15 - 10
1 - 4
Barbell squat
4
15 - 8
2 - 5
Leg presses
4
20 - 10
1 - 5
Hack squat or Stiff deadlift for hamstrings (alternate every other workout)
4
15 - 8
2 - 5
Leg extension
4
15 - 10
1 - 3
Walking lunges or Hip thrust
4
15 - 10
2 - 5
2 calf exercises of your choise
4 each
25-15
1 - 2
Adjust the volume if it’s too much. You could also add on some intensity by including supersets, cluster sets, or drop sets.
Experiment, pick, and choose.Â
A few tips to make the 5 day workout Split work for you.
- Start with quads and back after the rest day because they are large muscle groups and require a lot of energy and mental focus.
- Have a separate day for hamstrings and glutes if your legs are weak.
The schedule should look like this:
week
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Split
Legs
Chest & Biceps
Delts & Triceps
Off
Back
Glutes
Off
- Instead, you could have the days off after the legs and back workout if you need more time for recovery, as shown in this schedule:
week
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Split
Chest
Delts
Back
Off
Arms
Legs
Off
- If your arms and/or delts are weak points, increase their frequency by adding one or two exercises after the chest, delts, and/or arms day.Â
In this case, the schedule should look like this:
week
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Split
Chest & Biceps
Delts & Triceps
Back
Off
Arms & Delts (side and rear)
Legs
Off
Finally, and as you saw in the 5 day workout split program above, stick to the basic exercises, and keep it simple.
No need for swinging exercises or Mr. AthleneW (where w stands for weirdo) hula hoop exercises. Â
