
Originally Posted by
GearHeaded
I think bro splits have their place for sure.. they work great for guys with superior bodybuilding genetics, and they work great for guys that require lots of peripheral recovery, and they work great for maintenance phases.
so let me explain why they work great for good genetics and guys that require lots of recovery per muscle group--
someone who is genetically gifted and naturally extremely strong is going to put way more homeostatic stress on his body and the muscle he is training then the average person. and therefore he may actually need a whole week to recover that muscle group before training it again.
heres an example-
Bob - he is s genetic freak. when he trains chest he reps out 405 pounds on bench press no problem and he reps out 160 pound dumbbells.
well thats a shit ton of load and homeostatic stress. he may only be able to train chest once per week.
Average Joe - he genetics are average.. when he trains chest he may hit a max bench set of 225 for a couple reps. he uses 65 pound dumbbells. his loads are not that high, and his chest is going to recovered in just a couple days. and therefore he can train it again very soon.
^ see the difference . a lot of 300 pound pro's use bro splits. but they fall into Bobs situation. most us average guys will get better results with more frequency..
now for maintenance.. bro splits work great. they stimulate just enough to help you keep your gains, but when only one body part is being worked out per week, they allow their joints time to heal and recover. so bro splits are great for maintenance phases and allowing for recovery.
however, for your situation. only being able to workout 3-4 days per week. a traditional bro split is likely not going to work very well. you don't have enough workouts per week to cover a traditional bro split.
I would do a multi body part split like this
workout 1 - chest, front delts, biceps, quads
workout 2 - back, rear delts, hamstring, calves
rest
workout 3 - accessory .. extra work on lats, traps, abs, side delts , etc..
workout 4 - go back to workout 1
or you could do an upper/lower split