Full Body Vs. Bro Split: Which One Should You Do?‍

Everyone loves a bro workout. It’s unpretentious, fun, and easy to get into. 

There’s no need for fancy equipment or workout knowledge — just some dumbbells and your sweatpant-clad buddies.

But gains-wise, which is better: bro split or full-body?

Both of them are equally beneficial muscle-wise, but they have different applications. 

If you’re not sure which one is best for your training needs and goals, let’s break it down.

What Is a Bro Split?

A bro split is a split training style, meaning you train different muscles in each workout. For example, one day, you train arms, the next chest, and so on.

Bro splits are usually done by average gym “bros” who like destroying one muscle in one workout with hyper-focus and then destroying a different muscle the next. 

However, since you’re only training one muscle per workout, you aren’t going to be getting as much workload or volume compared to someone doing a full-body program.

What Is a Full-Body “Split?”

A full-body split is a more straightforward approach to muscle growth. 

Instead of splitting your time between multiple muscle groups, you spread your training time out over the entire body. 

This makes full-body splits ideal for people who want to get in and out of the gym quicker or for those who want to grow all their muscles faster. 

It can also be helpful for beginners in the gym since it’s more balanced.

While a bro-split can provide some benefits of “gym-bro culture” as you completely pump up and annihilate a muscle, a full-body split is still what most people who are just trying to look better do.

Bro Split — Pros and Cons

Bro Split Pros

As we mentioned above, bro-split training lends itself well to socializing with your gym buddies as you all are near the same exercise station destroying a muscle. 

Bro splits can be a lot of fun when you’re just working out with your friends as you’re all near the same area and comparing who can lift more. 

With a full-body program, it would be harder to do that.

Bro Split Cons

Bro-split training is less structured and would lead to slightly worse gains. 

It’s less structured since you hit a different muscle each workout, meaning you’re not developing all muscle groups simultaneously. 

Also, since you’re stimulating your muscles to grow less often, you would likely grow less.

While you can aim to include a new muscle group each workout with a bro split, there’s no real training goal aside from keeping your training interesting.

Full-Body “Split” — Pros and Cons

Full-Body Pros

Full-body training is more efficient, helping you pack more workouts into a week. 

It also helps you stay injury-free, avoiding heavy trauma to one area. 

Best of all, it leads to more constant muscle stimulation, which can help with quicker progress.

Full-Body Cons 

Firstly, full-body splits can be time-consuming because you have to take the time to exercise the whole body.

Second, you may miss out on some gains if you don’t move quickly enough between each exercise station.

Should You Choose Bro Split or Full Body?

I recommend choosing a full-body split over a bro-split since you will stimulate all your muscles more in each workout, causing you to get faster results. 

However, if you enjoy the culture of the bro-split and love lifting next to your gym buddy throughout the whole workout, a bro-split is not a bad choice.

Conclusion

There’s no right or wrong answer regarding bro-split or full-body training. 

It all comes down to what you like, how much time you have, and what your goals are. 

If you’re the average person just trying to get fitter and stronger with each workout, all in a quick manner, I recommend a full-body split as it gives you better gains for your time.

But, if you love the gym culture and the pump, go for a bro split. 

Once you get your feet wet in one type of training, you may find yourself more inclined to one training style, so try both training styles to see which one suits your style the best.

I hope this helped!

If you’re still struggling with building the habit of working out consistently, here’s an article I made that helped me go from working out for a while and then quitting to now working out daily.