Bro splits, those infamous bodybuilder programs whereby one focuses solely on 1-2 body parts each day in their work-out, have their place still amongst natty (natural i.e. steroid-free) lifters. But you wouldn't think it if the online netspurts are anything to go by. They slam bro splits as half-arsed, least effective, redundant, only benefiting those on gear the list goes on. And on. But. Does anyone remember the old saying, "don't knock it till you try it?" Well, that applies to bro splits too.
...and maybe even crossdressing.
You could be one of those people who really benefit from that type of a program. As an older lifter you may benefit tremendously from just such a program. In fact, you may be find you're one of those individuals whereby the one-size-fits-all fitness programs that are being promoted out there don't do such a good job for you, if indeed they do a good job at all. Y'know what? That's okay. We're all different. So what does a basic bro split look like? Read on.
MONDAY → Legs & abs
• Squats, flutter kicks, calf raises
TUESDAY → Chest & triceps
• BB benchpress, DB incline benchpress, DB overhead tricep (OHT) extensions
WEDNESDAY (rest)
THURSDAY → Back & biceps
• Bent-over rows, pull-ups, DB curls
FRIDAY → Shoulders & hamstrings
• Shoulder-press, deadlifts, RDLs
As you can see, you're working out four days per week and each day spent training, you're focusing on two body-parts. The benefit of this type of program is you can really go all out on each "part". Going to failure is a total option here because you're not coming round to the muscle till the following week, which is where the nay-sayers kick in: training one body-part once per week isn't enough time under tension, they say. Especially for natties. It's not as effective as (insert program of choice here) that I, we, us, this-really-important-person-I-know use.
Which on the face of it appears true -- at least, you'd assume that a bro split wouldn't be as effective as working a muscle 2-3 times per week. Thing is, I've come across people who use bro splits and have had marvellous results. They look fantastic. One guy was in his mid 60s and looked better than me in my 40s! Here's something else to add into the mix and which I repeat like a mantra through-out Iron Kiwi: we all have a genetic limit of how much muscle we can add.
When we get there, by whatever program we employ, we get there.
Which is an obtuse way of saying shit evens out regardless of the program.
ADVANTAGES OF BRO SPLITS
There are quite a few benefits to bro splits that need to be taken into account and considered. Don't be too dismissive. You may well find such a program beneficial to add to your training or even as your mainstay. So without further ado and in no particular order, some of the advantages of bro splits are as follows (note the below is by no means definitive):
• Because you're focused on 1-2 exercises, you can really hammer them. You can really focus in on a body part and not have to hold anything back for later exercises. I'd start with a compound movement, maybe two, and finish off with 1-2 isolation movements if indeed necessary. Going to failure is a total option and you develop better mind-muscle connection doing so.
• You don't have to warm-up as much. You're only hitting 1-2 body parts, remember? Once weights get uber heavy, you need to incorporate more warm-ups; if you have to do this for several compound lifts in the same work-out, that's a big increase in time. This is not the case with bro splits.
• You get plenty of rest. For us older lifters this is crucial and, because fatigue is accumulative -- it is for me anyway -- bro splits nullifies this. The flexibility of bro splits also allows you to reduce volume and intensity here and there if you need to, or just focus on one exercise when you're not feeling it.
• Contrary to popular opinion, not only are isolation movements not 100% isolationist (as in only one muscle gets stimulated because there'll always be 2-3 other muscles involved), nor do muscles get worked-out once per week: you have to take into account indirect work and the spill-over effect. If you're doing chest one day and shoulder-press three days later then triceps, chest and shoulders are actually getting stimulated twice. One is directly the other indirectly and vice versa.
• You can switch out movements and use another whilst still focusing on 1-2 muscle groups. That's pretty cool. So for someone like me working out alone at home I could do close-grip benchpress, skull-crushers, DB overhead tricep extension, diamond push-ups or any other exercise that comes to mind for triceps. I'm not tied as much to specific exercises and patterns for my musculature. Sweet.
THE RISE OF FUNCTIONAL FITNESS
Now as an aside to this, one of the most common expressions you'll hear in today's modern fitness environments is functional fitness. This concept has taken the fitness world by storm. It can be summed up thus: functional fitness is learning, developing and strengthening main movement patterns you use in day-to-day life. Think of the deadlift movement; we really do use this movement a fair bit, right? We'll often find the need to bend down and pick things up from boxes to groceries to kids. Learning the deadlift teaches us to squat down, position ourselves correctly and not over-load the spine.
Now think of the benchpress movement...
Where in life do we ever use this?
All I hear are crickets, all I see are tumbleweeds.
Why you ask? Because no job exists where you lie on your back and push heavy shit directly upward.
But y'know what? I don't care. Benchpress is probably the most pre-eminent movement for strengthening the upper body -- either that or shoulder press -- but regardless, both develop incredible strength and size. You may not use a benchpress motion in real life but the benefits it grants are obvious. What the FFFs (Functional Fitness Flunkies) espouse is that movements which are not "functional" aka used in real life, are some how detrimental. Some how they're less as in less needed, less important, less authentic, maybe even less modern.
FFFs will then regale you with how functional fitness develops balance, co-ordination, strength, power, range of motion and flexibility. Guess what? The squat alone teaches you all this and there are few movements as "functional" as squatting, just look at infants: once they learn to walk-slash-stagger upright they immediately and instinctively squat. There's one movement we in the West should never have forgotten but we did. I for one regret it but do you see my point?
Don't let new words and their enthusiastic proponents make you think traditional exercises are inadequate. Don't let new movements like Crossfit (which I personally think has done an outstanding job in promoting strength-training across the globe) make you think your strength-training goals are inadequate, the program you're using is inadequate or worse, you're inadequate. Don't buy into the hype. Strength-training is awesome for all ages and genders. How people choose to pursue this is entirely up to them. Support anyone who wishes to improve their physicality.
:: CONCLUSION
The above exemplar at page top is a good, decent starting point for a bro split. You might want to give it a go. No, you don't have to do body-parts in the above order let alone on the set days I've picked. You don't even have to do the exercises I've outlined though if anything, the gym-jocks would recommend an even higher work-load with more exercises and sets per body part, usually quoting the following while they do: "You need to hit the muscle from different angles to produce the best results. Brah."
Fuck the gym-jocks.
While we're at it, fuck hitting the muscle from different angles too.
I'm not a fledgling bodybuilder. I bet you're not either. In fact, I don't really give a shit about bodybuilding as a sport, code or vocation. Whilst I can appreciate the time, effort and knowledge base bodybuilders put in and possess, I don't want to be one. I just want to use whatever I find helpful from their particular basket of knowledge and add it to mine so I can get on with my own thing. That strikes me as a pretty sound attitude actually, and I encourage you to do the same -- especially with whatever you find useful here. Kia kaha me kia ora whanau.
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