Chris Dickerson is one of the winningest bodybuilders to ever live. He has a long list a victories at the highest levels of competition.
His trophies fill up a room. He is multiple winner of the Mr. Universe, Mr. USA, Mr. California, and the coveted Mr. Olympia, which he won in 1982.
Dickerson was late to bodybuilding game by most standards, as he didn’t start training until he was 24 years old, but once he picked up the weights he never put them back down.
(Don’t get it twisted, dear reader, it’s never too late to start training.)
It wasn’t long after stepping foot in the gym before he was sweeping competitions like nobody’s business.
After working at a job a few years post undergrad, he got into the sport of bodybuilding to stay healthy and fit. Instead of letting himself deteriorate (like many people do) he dragged himself to the gym to make his body strong and his mind sharp.
He trained hard for just a year and a half before collecting hardware at local and regional bodybuilding shows.
Once he was in his groove there was no stopping him. He’d meet up with Bill Pearl at 5AM everyday to workout. Bill was his mentor and friend who pushed him and showed him the ropes.
(Having a training partner pushes you to train hard and it keeps you accountable. A good, reliable training partner is worth their weight in gold.)
Bill Pearl’s Gym
Dickerson was ambitious – No doubt about it. The first thing he said to Bill Pearl when they met was “My name is Chris and I want to be Mr. America someday.” (Strong outta the gates. That takes brass.)
Bill responded, “You and a lot of people so let’s just take it a little bit at a time.”
Under Pearl’s tutelage Dickerson developed very fast. Bill’s philosophy worked from the ground up – building strong calves and thighs and a balanced, proportionate physique. Bill Pearl also trained from the inside out. Meaning his mindset was a competitive advantage that he used to direct his efforts and sculpt his world class physique.
As the story goes, Chris joined Bill’s gym. And as a member, Bill wrote you a workout program as part of the deal. Bill scribbled down on a piece of paper a training program and handed it to Chris.
The top line read “40 pull ups“.
Chris: “But I can only do one.”
Bill: “Then you’ll have to do 40 sets of 1.”
Which Chris did, because, in his words, “Bill made you do all the reps”.
Bill was a challenging mentor but it was probably because he saw Chris’s potential. And he was a major reason why Chris competed so quickly after he began training.
After crushing the competition and gaining world renown fame, Chris was ready for the Big Stage.
Chris Dickerson’s Mr. Olympia Workout
This is the workout he followed leading up to his 1982 Mr. Olympia victory. He trained 6 days per week for 2-3 months leading up to the competition.
Author’s note: a workout is more than sets and reps. You need to train with INTENSION and WILL yourself to grow bigger and stronger.
Put everything into each workout. Keep your pace up and pour your soul into the workout for the full 90 minutes. Make every rep count. That what matters most. Don’t just go through the motions. Be intentional with your training. Each movement is made with purpose. The later reps are moved with controlled violent aggression.
This workout routine isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s for those with a heart of a champion. So if you are ready to mold yourself into an absolute unit, this is how you do it.
Chris Dickerson’s approach here was to essentially have two workouts which he alternated between each day. Workout A was done on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. And Workout B was done on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday Workout
Each workout kicks off with direct abdominal work. Ab exercises are of a variety kind, which is great to train the core and abs in a variety of different things.
When Chris Dickerson first started training his stomach was, self admittedly, smooth and soft. That wasn’t ‘t the case when he took the stage. His abs were chiseled.
Twisted Leg Raises – 1 set 50 reps each side. Can be performed hanging or in a Power Tower.
Hip Rolls – 100 reps Hip rolls to warm up the lower lumbar muscles and lower back. Done laying flat on ground.
Double Leg Cross-Overs – 100 reps Lay on your back on the ground
Twisting Sit-Ups – 100 reps Just what they sounds like
Leg Raises – 100 reps performed laying on bench or hanging from a pull up bar
Bent Knee Leg Raises – 100 reps hanging from a chin bar
Seated Military Press – 4 sets of 6-10 reps
Lying Rear Delt Circles – 4 sets of 6-10 reps. These are way tougher than they look and quickly became one of my new favorite shoulder exercises.
Standing Dumbbell Press – 4 sets of 6-10 reps. Stand and PRESS.
Lying Rear Delt Raise – 4 sets of 6-10 reps. Phenomenal for your rear deltoid development.
One Arm Dumbbell Row – 4 sets of 6-10 reps. Pull your elbow back as far as you can for maximum lat contraction. Let the weight sloooowly pull your arm all the way toward the ground for a good stretch.
Close Grip Chin Ups – 4 sets of 10+ reps
High Pulley Row – 4 sets of 6-10+ reps
Lat Pull Downs – 4 sets of 6-10+ reps
Incline Barbell Prone Rows – 4 sets of 6-10+ reps
Dumbbell Incline Laterals – 4 sets of 6-10+ reps
Bench Press – 4 sets of 6-10+ reps (Apparently Chris wasn’t too keen on the regular bench press but did it from time to time.)
Bent Arm Laterals – 4 sets of 6-10+ reps (AKA Chest Flies)
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday Workout
Twisted good mornings – 1 set 50 reps each side. Very, very light – use a broom stick of length of PCV pipe to warm up your trunk.
3/4 dumbbell side bends – 1 set 50 reps each sideGrab a heavy dumbbell in one hand, stand up straight, and lean to the side as far as you can. Contract your obliques to pull yourself back up.
Kneeling Back Kicks – 1 set 50 reps each side. Great exercise for lower back, gluten, hamstrings, and the whole posterior chain for that matter. Also improve balance.
3/4 Barbell Side Bends – set 50 reps each side. Yoke a barbell over your shoulders like you’re about to do a squat. Take a wide stance and stand up tall. Bend slowly to one side, then the other.
Incline Hip Raise – 1 set 100 reps with as little rest as possible. Lay on a decline bench with your head on the high side. Grab hold where you can and perform a leg raise. At the top of the leg raise lift your hips off the bench high into the air as you can. A killer ab exercise.
Dumbbell or Pulley Tricep Press – 4 sets of 6-10+ reps
Parallel bar dips – 4 sets of 6-10+ reps
Seated French curls – AKA French Press
Tricep Pull downs – 4 sets of 6-10+ reps
Leg extensions – 4 sets of 6-10+ reps
Front Squats – 4 sets of 6-10+ reps
Thigh bicep Curls (Leg Curls) – 4 sets of 6-10+ reps
Hack Squats – 4 sets of 6-10+ reps
E-Z Bar standing curls – 4 sets of 6-10+ reps
Seated Dumbbell Curls – 4 sets of 6-10+ reps
Incline Dumbbell Curls – 4 sets of 6-10+ reps
Concentration Curls – 4 sets of 6-10+ reps
Chris Dickerson: Genetic Calves Myth Buster
Being a beginner is good because you have nothing to unlearn. He started with no abs one smooth belly.
Chris Dickerson is a shining example of why the genetics excuse for having small calves is a joke.
Some argue that calves are genetic saying black guys have small calves. Well, check out Chris Dickerson’s calves and get back to me on that.
Maybe his calves were huge because he played soccer growing up. Who knows, either way the evidence is clear: train your calves and they’ll grow.
Chris Dickerson Calve Routine
This routine was done as needed. Several times a week usually. Here’s how it goes:
First perform 15 reps of calve raise on the Seated or standing machine. Each rep is full contraction at the top and full stretch at the bottom.
Take 5 second after the set to shake it off and move some blood through the calf muscles. Then immediately do 8-10 more reps, shake it off, then another 8-10 reps followed by burn reps to failure.
Stretch each calve with the machine, first booth calves then each calve individually. Hold each stretch for 30+ seconds.
Escape from the calf machine and massage your calves for a minute to get your blood flowing. Then get on a block of wood and do calf raises, just bodyweight, and perform slow, controlled reps. Stretch at the bottom and full contraction at the top. perform as many reps as possible.
Chris Dickerson Diet
Ate on average four meals a day. Starting with breakfast of four whole eggs and lots of water to hydrate after his slumber. He swallows a few vitamins of B-complex pills, vitamin C and a handful of liver tablets.
First and foremost he cut out sugars. Focus on all natural Whole Foods. And learn as you go. Just get started and improve a little bit each day. Don’t stress out too much about it. If you’re stressing out you need to get a better handle on your approach.
Give yourself time to learn and adapt. Be disciplined but don’t be overly harsh on yourself, m especially as a beginner. As long as you go to bed smarter than you woke up, you’re going in the right direction.
Early to bed early to rise
Prioritize your sleep. Chris Dickerson lived an active social life he hung out with friends and partied and all that jazz. But he was in bed by 9 to get 8 hours beauty sleep to attack his 5am workout.
Moral of the story: You can be social and still control your own destiny. Don’t have to stay out late just show up.
Keep your mood light and weights heavy. Too much stress kill ya. Keeping it light makes training and life much more enjoyable.
That’s all for now, see ya.
[…] Bill Pearl’s challenging mentorship pushed Dickerson to achieve rapid success. The mindset and competitive advantage played a crucial role in sculpting his world-class physique. Read more […]