5 Day Bro Split for a Fully Equipped Garage Gym
This is a 5-day bro split, meaning each session focuses on one muscle group and each muscle gets trained once a week, built for a garage gym that has a barbell, dumbbells, a bench, a squat rack, a pull-up bar, and a cable machine. With that much equipment, every day has real variety in how the target muscle gets worked, from heavy free weight compounds to cable isolation work.
Equipment needed
The cable machine is what makes a bro split work well at home: it adds constant-tension isolation work for chest, back, shoulders, and arms that dumbbells and a barbell can't replicate as smoothly, so each day isn't just the same lift repeated in slightly different forms.
The program
Training one muscle group per session lets you pile on more total volume and more exercise variety for that muscle in a single sitting than a broader split allows. It trades lower per-muscle frequency for higher per-session volume, an approach many experienced lifters prefer once they have the days to support it.
Day 1: Chest
Warm-up
5 minutes of light cardio to raise your heart rate, then arm circles and band pull-aparts to open up your shoulders. Finish with 2-3 ramp-up sets on your first exercise before your working weight.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell Bench Press | 2 | 8-12 | 60-90 sec |
| Dumbbell Bench Press | 2 | 8-12 | 60-90 sec |
| Incline Dumbbell Press | 2 | 8-12 | 60-90 sec |
| Cable Chest Press | 2 | 8-12 | 60-90 sec |
| Dumbbell Chest Fly | 2 | 10-15 | 45-60 sec |
| Cable Chest Fly | 2 | 10-15 | 45-60 sec |
Cool-down
A few minutes of static stretching for your chest, shoulders, and triceps, holding each stretch for 20-30 seconds.
Day 2: Back
Warm-up
5 minutes of light cardio to raise your heart rate, then arm circles and band pull-aparts to open up your shoulders. Finish with 2-3 ramp-up sets on your first exercise before your working weight.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pull-Up | 2 | 8-12 | 60-90 sec |
| Chin-Up | 2 | 8-12 | 60-90 sec |
| Barbell Bent-Over Row | 2 | 8-12 | 60-90 sec |
| Dumbbell Row | 2 | 8-12 | 60-90 sec |
| Lat Pulldown | 2 | 8-12 | 60-90 sec |
| Seated Cable Row | 2 | 8-12 | 60-90 sec |
Cool-down
A few minutes of static stretching for your chest, shoulders, and triceps, holding each stretch for 20-30 seconds.
Day 3: Legs
Warm-up
5 minutes of light cardio to raise your heart rate, then bodyweight squats and leg swings to open up your hips. Finish with 2-3 ramp-up sets on your first exercise before your working weight.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell Back Squat | 5 | 8-12 | 60-90 sec |
| Romanian Deadlift | 5 | 8-12 | 60-90 sec |
| Barbell Hip Thrust | 5 | 8-12 | 60-90 sec |
| Goblet Squat | 5 | 8-12 | 60-90 sec |
| Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift | 5 | 8-12 | 60-90 sec |
| Dumbbell Calf Raise | 5 | 10-15 | 45-60 sec |
Cool-down
A few minutes of static stretching for your quads, hamstrings, and calves, holding each stretch for 20-30 seconds.
Day 4: Shoulders
Warm-up
5 minutes of light cardio to raise your heart rate, then arm circles and band pull-aparts to open up your shoulders. Finish with 2-3 ramp-up sets on your first exercise before your working weight.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overhead Barbell Press | 2 | 8-12 | 60-90 sec |
| Dumbbell Shoulder Press | 2 | 8-12 | 60-90 sec |
| Arnold Press | 2 | 8-12 | 60-90 sec |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 2 | 10-15 | 45-60 sec |
| Cable Lateral Raise | 2 | 10-15 | 45-60 sec |
| Rear Delt Dumbbell Fly | 2 | 10-15 | 45-60 sec |
Cool-down
A few minutes of static stretching for your chest, shoulders, and triceps, holding each stretch for 20-30 seconds.
Day 5: Arms
Warm-up
5 minutes of light cardio to raise your heart rate, then arm circles and band pull-aparts to open up your shoulders. Finish with 2-3 ramp-up sets on your first exercise before your working weight.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close-Grip Bench Press | 5 | 8-12 | 60-90 sec |
| Dumbbell Bicep Curl | 5 | 10-15 | 45-60 sec |
| Barbell Bicep Curl | 5 | 10-15 | 45-60 sec |
| Overhead Dumbbell Tricep Extension | 5 | 10-15 | 45-60 sec |
| Dumbbell Hammer Curl | 5 | 10-15 | 45-60 sec |
| Cable Tricep Pushdown | 5 | 10-15 | 45-60 sec |
Cool-down
A few minutes of static stretching for your chest, shoulders, and triceps, holding each stretch for 20-30 seconds.
How to progress week to week
Once you can hit the top of the rep range for every set on this bro split plan, add weight on your barbell, dumbbells, bench, squat rack, pull-up bar, and cable machine the next session and expect reps to dip back toward the bottom of the range. That cycle of adding reps, then adding weight, is what steadily builds size over time. At an intermediate level, progress typically settles into something closer to this pattern, a small jump every week or two rather than every session.
Want this tailored to your exact schedule?
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Keep the tools free →Frequently asked questions
Does a bro split actually build muscle?
Yes, when the weekly volume per muscle is high enough and sessions are trained hard. The trade-off is frequency: each muscle gets one focused session a week instead of two, so it relies on getting plenty of quality sets in that one session. Many lifters find push/pull/legs or upper/lower a more efficient use of the same days, but a bro split is a legitimate choice if it's the one you'll stick to.
What happens if I miss a day?
With a one-muscle-group-per-day split, a missed day means that muscle waits until next week. The simplest fix is to shift the remaining days forward rather than doubling up sessions, and to accept one lighter week for that muscle instead of cramming it in.
Should I choose this over push/pull/legs?
If you can train 5 or 6 days a week and want each muscle hit twice, push/pull/legs is generally the more efficient choice. The split finder can recommend a structure from your schedule and experience level, and the blog's PPL vs. upper/lower post explains the trade-offs.