Bro splits works for natural?

[cronoz22]

I have seen Charles glass advocates 1x frequency and 16 sets for big muscle groups and 12 for small

 

[Mathb33]

Bro split imo is far far far from optimal for natural people. Pretty much every top coaches will tell you that. PPL or some sort of upper / lower split would fit better. Idk much about being natty I just think it’s silly to do a 4-5 day split as a natural.

 

[cronikgains]

I've come to realize it all depends on what you can fit into your schedule. Any routine you can be consistent with. If you're truly training hard and eating right - then as a natural, a bro split will work just fine, just as full-body..

 

[rob112]

I would second some sort of split that is more than once a week. Even if your schedule means twice every 1.5 weeks. Not saying you can do good on bro split, but I just don’t imagine it being optimal based on everything I’ve seen and read.

Keep in mind if you hate other splits and do bad workouts then bro splits with great effort would be better.

 

[Jstrong20]

I train natural 99 percent of the time and prefer it. Have tried everything under the sun at some point and always come back to it.

Chest
Back/shoulders
Legs
Arms
Off
Repeat

 

[LeanEngineer]

I train natural 99 percent of the time and prefer it. Have tried everything under the sun at some point and always come back to it.

Chest
Back/shoulders
Legs
Arms
Off
Repeat

This is very similar to my split. I'll typically do Chest, Back, Biceps/Triceps, Legs/Shoulders/Forearms, Off, Repeat. For me I can sacrifice doing shoulders with legs because I feel my legs don't need as much of a punishing as other body parts. I typically can do 4/5 sets of squats at the 8 to 10 range and get a good workout in my quads and glutes. Then I will do some calf raises, leg extensions and leg curls afterwards to break down the other muscle groups. I will do shoulders such as DB side/front raises into the mix while I'm doing the leg accessories as well then move to the more compound shoulder movements after legs are finished.

 

[Resolve10]

Do they work? Obviously yes.

Are they optimal? No.

It’s way more complicated than that. Even if there was an optimal amount it would vary between muscles, individuals and probably wouldn’t be some constant that was always the same. A progressive plan that waves intensity, volume, and frequency in a smart way is better than trying to pin down a single ever changing amount to stick to.

 

[barische]

No.

upper/lower or fullbody (powerlifting, powerbuild)

 

[BBiceps]

I think it all comes down to what you like and can stick to, if that’s a bro split, full body or whatever, it’s up to you as long as you believe in it, enjoy it and can stick to it for x amount of time.

 

[MrKleen73]

Hitting the body part multiple times per week with in your natural recovery range is going to produce the most protein synthesis and gains. That being said knowing or learning how much you can recover from is not an easy task.

If you are doing everything else right, eating well, getting your rest in, and training hard you are going to make better progress that way than worrying about a split. If you aren't already doing all of that other stuff well then I would worry more about improving those areas and just working hard when you are in the gym regardless of split. It is the things nobody likes doing outside of the gym that get the most progress.

Something you might look into though for a Natty, is PHAT training by Layne Norton - It's a program that hits things twice a week, once focusing on strength ranges, and the second focusing on hypertrophy. I would say it is an excellent program for anyone trying to get bigger and stronger whether on gear or not.