Though it’s true that most folks who are utilizing so-called “body part” splits (AKA bro splits) tend to have bodybuilding-focused goals, it’s very possible to utilize this same methodology with bodyweight exercises, creating a calisthenics bro split of sorts.
What’s more is that we’ll see very similar levels of hypertrophy gains, as long as exercises are properly loaded and the appropriate amount of volume is used (10-20 sets per week, per body part).
A calisthenic bro split is a workout schedule where different major muscle groups are targeted on separate days, using basic bodyweight exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, and squats. The most typical format for a bodyweight bro split looks like this:
What follows is a bodyweight-only bro split program I put together for folks who love the pump. After all, research shows that when we equate the volume from one program to another, manipulating only frequency, the results are largely the same.
We’ll discuss the particulars of how to make it work later. For now, let’s just lay out the program itself:
For the workout below, we'll focus on training each muscle group once per week. This means that we can't get cute! Full effort in your work sets, approaching failure on each set while still leaving a repetition or two in the tank.
Since this is a bodyweight routine, we'll be utilizing a lot of compound exercises. This is a good thing, but don't forget which muscle you're intended to target with each exercise.
For all of the workouts below, I recommend resting around 1-2 minutes between sets.
Monday’s chest workout is simple. We’ll be targeting the upper chest first (since it’s a lagging body part for most people), and following it with multiple sets of dips to hit the lower chest:
Note that this particular variation of a decline push-up is very specific – so much so that I wrote an entire article on how to hit the upper chest with push-ups. Go give that a read if you’d like to know the specifics.
Tuesday’s calisthenic back workout will be similar: we’ll utilize the big two when it comes to back training: pull-ups and inverted rows.
Our pull-ups will target the lats, obviously. I say “varied grip” above because I’d typically do 1-2 sets with a particular grip and then switch to another grip. So, you could do two sets with a wide grip, two sets with a shoulder-width grip, and one or two sets with a neutral grip.
The inverted rows should be done in a reverse plank position with the feet elevated 10-12 inches. Note that you don’t have to elevate the feet, it will simply make the exercise harder and more effective. As you tire out, feel free to do your last few sets with your feet on the floor.
Wednesday’s calisthenic shoulder workout will focus on the three heads of the deltoid, and we’ll start with the hardest muscles to target (the rear delts) and work our way forward:
If you’d like to learn more specifics about the technique of each exercise, I’ve written an entire article on calisthenic shoulder workouts. Go ahead and give that article a read.
In particular, learning to use inverted rows to target the shoulders was a real game changer for me. The technique looks funky, but the result is a sort of bodyweight upright row without any of the risks associated with normal upright rows. Trust me – give them a try!
Thursday’s leg workout will be the trickiest, since it’s generally very difficult to target the very strong muscles of the legs without adding weight. However, this workout works if you do it correctly:
With our single leg movement, the Bulgarian split squat, make sure to start with the weaker side, then match the number of reps with the strong side.
In this workout, we’re using time limits since it’s not typical to reach muscular failure on leg exercises without external weight – we will be relying on accumulated fatigue by going for time limits.
On Friday, we focus on the arms using a simple antagonistic superset. Since the biceps and triceps oppose one another, we can increase the total number of sets per muscle group:
Note that if you don’t have a suspension trainer or an upright to attach a towel or rope to, then go ahead and do chin-ups instead, focusing on a mind-muscle connection with the biceps.
Obviously, the primary goal of this style of training split is to build muscle. They can get a lot of flak in favor of the higher frequency split models that are in vogue at the moment, and they exist on the polar opposite end of the spectrum from full-body plans like heavy, light, medium calisthenic plans.
That being said, there’s actually research showing that they work well if they’re implemented properly. The key is to hit the proper volume of work while focusing on a good mind-muscle connection with the target muscle groups for the day.
Implement the following pointers to get this split to provide good muscle growth:
There’s a reason that body part splits were the main training modality amongst the bodybuilders of the 90’s (and even today, in many cases). If you’re focused on hypertrophy, then a bro split is an excellent option because it allows you to smash the target muscle.
This split is also an excellent option for folks who simply love getting a pump in the target muscle and then ending the workout. While I love my full-body circuits, it’s rare to truly smash an individual muscle within those workouts.
If you’re someone who’s motivated by the pump, then go ahead and do a bodyweight bro split!
For someone whose schedule is very consistent, and they know they can reliably work out five days per week, a bro split can work out great. You’ll be consistently hitting each muscle group once per week with 10-20 good work sets, and the gains will come rolling in!
I think the main drawback of a bro split is that you really can’t skip workouts. If you do, you’ll be going two full weeks without hitting a certain body part, meaning your growth will be uneven.
Therefore, if your schedule is up in the air sometimes, this may not be the best split for you. For people whose schedules are subject to sudden change, I almost always recommend full-body splits. That being said, even a two times per week frequency split like an upper / lower split or push, pull, legs makes more sense in this case.
If you’re interested more in general fitness than hypertrophy, I would recommend doing something more along the lines of full body calisthenic splits or weighted vest circuit training, since these splits tend to lead to more metabolic stress through the whole body and tend to get the heart pumping much harder.
4. Not great if you don’t have five days per week to work out
If you’ve only got three days per week to work out, I would almost certainly recommend against a bro split since you’ll be going nine or 10 days between hitting a certain body part.
If this were the case, I would ditch the bro split in favor of a more traditional full-body, three day per week routine.
If you’ve got four days per week to work out, then the upper / lower split tends to work out the cleanest.
While you can theoretically make progress on the split above for many months at a time, you’ll eventually want to increase the stress in order to continue to see progress.
I would recommend the following format of progressive overload if you’re planning to use this split in the long term:
Using this plan, with appropriate deloads, will leave you feeling fresh on week 8 and ready to start tearing into the exercises once again.
If you simply want to get a certain lagging body part to grow, then simply take the workout above that applies to that body part and implement it in a higher frequency model like an upper / lower split or push, pull, legs.
For example, if a certain lifter simply wishes to build broader shoulders with calisthenics, this could be accomplished easily like this:
If you know you can reliably work out 6 or 7 days per week, then you could easily perform this bro split in a circuit like this:
This would, of course, lead to you not doing the same workouts on each day each week. However, this isn’t necessarily a problem since you’ll just do whichever workout is next on the list.
I make no apologies for my love of using a weighted vest to transform basic bodyweight routines into full-blown lifting sessions.
If you desire to add resistance (or you're consistently getting more than 25 repetitions per set on a given exercise), then adding a weighted vest is one of the simplest ways to bring your repetitions down and jack the muscular tension back up.