Subj: How to be like “The Best Built Man of the Century” with The Bill Pearl workout routine and diet.
Bill Pearl was an all-star bodybuilder and a pioneer in the realm of body sculpting. He collected many trophies throughout his long career as a bodybuilder. He was also a force in the physical culture movement and contributed greatly to bodybuilding and fitness as a hobby and a sport. In this article, I have posted a few of the workouts he would have used while training over the course of his multi-decade career.
Bill Pearl had a great physique. Great enough to win 4 Mr. Universe titles. It was natural looking and athletic (for the most part). Healthy and strong. Really strong. He was one of the strongest bodybuilders out their pound-for-pound. Franco Columbu was probably the only one stronger.
His workouts were very long. Very long. “Marathon workouts” they used to call them. There was a ton of variety, by design. The sheer amount of exercises performed at a single time was probably the most I’ve ever seen.
Let’s dive into the workouts, shall we?
There are four main workouts in this article. The first is his training routine used to train for his Mr. America win. Then there’s a section on superset workouts. Third is Bill Pearl’s Mr. Universe Workout. And, last but not least, we’ve got “Bill Pearls Best Training Routine.” Which help Pearl build 50 pounds of muscle.
The Tale of the Tape: Bill Pearl Height and Body Measurements
Bill Pearl’s stats at age 22 during competition:
Height 5’10” Weight 210lb
Shoulders 56 1/2
Waist 32
Thighs 26
Biceps 18 3/4
Neck 18
Chest 51
Hips 38 1/2
calves 17
Wrist 7 3/4
Pearl was gifted physically, there’s no doubt about that. He had a compact, powerful build. His genetics allowed him to pack on dense muscle mass.
What’s more is that he trained with tenacity, and refused to lose. The man was obsessed with training. And he stuck with it even as life threw him curve balls constantly. He would train his heart out for a competition only to end up in the hospital days before a contest due to appendixidus. He was laid up for weeks in a hospital bed. But he bounced back strong and jumped right back into training.
Another time, his training partner was drafted into the military. The two men trained well together, understood one another and fed off each others energy. Another obstacle he had to overcome to push his training to the brink.
The list goes on, but in the face of adversity Pearl rose up and hit the gym with a vengeance whenever he could. He never took his eye off the ball. He barely missed a training session – the only times being when something drastic happened. The man had an insatiable desire to compete and would often spend an hour posing each and every day after training.
The Bill Pearl Workout Routine
This is Bill Pearl’s Mr. America Training Routine designed by his coach Leo Stern.
Leo owned the gym where Bill Pearl trained. Stern put Pearl on this training program and Bill grew so big so fast that he had to buy new clothes within a few months.
This is a monster workout. Bill Pearl trained 6 days a week. Sundays were rest day where he would relax, spend time with family and attend church service.
I’ve included the exercises, sets, reps performed and the weight used each set. This is so you get an idea of how you should incrementally increase the weights each set. The weight shown here is meant to be a reference point.
Bill Pearl Workout – Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
Chin-Up behind neck, 4 sets x 15 reps
Swingbell pullover, 2 sets x 10 reps, 85lb
Close Grip Benchpress 3 sets x 10 reps, 250lb 250lb 280lb
One Arm Dumbbell Row, 3 sets x 10 reps, 105lb
Swingbell pullovers, 1 set x 10 reps, 85lb
Inclined lateral raise, 3 sets x 10 reps, 85lb, 90lb, 100lb
Bent-arm lateral raise, 2 sets x 10 reps, 100lb
Dumbbell crossovers, 2 sets x 10 reps, 40lb
Seated Military Press 2 sets x 10 reps, 145lb
Triceps kick-backs 3 sets x 10 reps, 120lb
Dumbell curl and press 3 sets x 10 reps, 50lb
Triceps extension 3 sets x 10 reps 60lb
Sit-ups 300 reps
Leg-raises 300 reps
Bill Pearl Workout – Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays
Dumbell swings, for a warm-up 10 reps x 15lb
Bent-over rows, 3 sets x 10 reps, 170lb
Pull-downs, 3 sets x 10 reps, 180lb
Swingbell pullover, 1 set 10 reps, 85lb
Press behind the neck, 3 sets x 10 reps 150lb
Breathing squats, 1 set x 15 reps, 250lb
Straight-arm pullover one set x 10 reps, 70lb
Breathing squats, one set 10 reps 285lb
Straight arm pullover one set 10 reps 70lb
Squats (45 degree angle machine), 3 sets x 10 reps 300lb, 325lb 350lb
Leg curl, 3 sets x 20 reps, 70lb
Leg extensions, 5 sets x 12 reps, 15 lb
Rise-on-toes, standing 3 sets x 30 reps, 200lb
Rise-on-toes, seated, 3 sets x 30 reps, 245lb
Sit-ups 300 reps
Leg-raises 300reps
Bill Pearl Training Notes:
Leo’s routines trained the entire body and with added focus on those muscles that were lagging behind. Pearl bulked up nearly 25 pounds with this routine.
Bill trained six times a week during the final six weeks, and would work the upper body every other day (Monday, Wednesday and Friday). He would then work legs on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, as well as some parts of the upper body that needed extra attention.
Some days Bill would go light and chase the pump. These were the days when he was feeling tired or just couldn’t focus on training. This is normal, and nice to see that even champions have their days.
This is the routine Bill Pearl used leading up to the Mr. Southern California competition, the Mr. California contest, and the Mr. America contest.
The poundages he used were very light in the weeks leading up to the show. His primary concern was to concentrate on hardening the muscle and bringing out muscle definition.
Bill Pearl Superset Training:
Bill Pearl would often work Supersets into his training.
Variety is key to keep making progress and to keep things interesting. You should mix up your training routine from time to time. Your muscle get too comfortable and need to be trained from different angles, speeds, and durations. When the routine gets stale you can deploy some of Bill Pearl’s superset suggestions below.
Supersets are two exercises performed back to back with no rest in between. The exercises can train the same muscle group, or opposing muscle groups as you will see in the examples below.
All of the following can be combined to create an absolutely soul crushing upperbody workout.
1. Chest Superset: Chest Flyes and Incline Presses, 4 sets of each. Alternate the repetitions from 6 to 12 with every other set for added variety. (Example: 12 BALs, 6 IP, 6 BAL, 12 IP, 12 BAL)
2. Back superset: Barbell Row and Lat Pulldown, 3 sets of each. Perform 10 reps rowing and 8 reps of lat pulldowns.
3. Shoulder superset: Alternate sets of Press Behind Neck and Lateral Raises, Seated or standing. perform 3 sets of each. Alternate the reps from 8 to 10 (Ex: 10 PBNs, 8 Lrs, 8 PBNs, 10 Lrs, 10 PBNs)
4. Arm superset: Alternate sets of tricep kick backs with dumbbells and Seated Dumbell Curls, 3 sets of each. Reps are as follows: 10 Kbs, 8 Dcs, 8 Kbs, 6 Dcs, 10 Kbs, 8 Dcs
5. Arm superset 2: Alternate sets of Triceps Pullover to Press and Dumbell Curls, 3 sets of each. Reps are as follows: 10 Tps, 8 ADCs, 8 Tps, 6 ADCs, 10 Tps, 8 ADCs.
6. Arm superset 3: Alternate sets of Triceps Extensions and Preacher Curls, 2 sets of each. Eight reps for triceps and 10 reps for curls.
Bill Pearl’s Training Routine for Mr. Universe
What follows is Bill Pearl’s training split for the 1961 Mr. Universe. It’s 6 days a week. 3 days upper body and three days targeting lower body.
You will also notice that he added in quarter mile sprints. Running that distance at full speed is great conditioning. It’s an efficient way to train your cardiorespiritory system, burn fat, as well as create an iron mind.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Incline Laterals 4 sets 85lb adding 5lb per set 10 reps
Bent Arm Laterals 4 sets 85lb adding 5lb per set 10 reps
Dips on parallels 4 sets 55lb adding 5lb per set 10 reps
Press Behind Neck 4 sets 140lb adding 5lb per set 10 reps
Seated Dumbell Press 4 sets 80lb adding 5lb per set 10 reps
Seated Side Laterals 4 sets 30lb adding 5lb per set 10reps
Dumbell Shrugs 4 sets 100lb adding 5lb per set 12 reps
Incline Curls 4 sets 55lb adding 5lb per set 10 reps
Standing Curls 4 sets 55lb adding 5lb per set 10 reps
Biceps Curls Lying 4 sets 50lb adding 5lb per set 10 reps
Barbell French Press 4 sets 110lb adding 5lb per set 10 reps
Triceps Exercise on Lat Machine 4 sets 120lb adding 5lb per set 10 reps
Tricep Exercise Dumbells Lying 4 sets 55lb adding adding 5lb per set 10 reps
Side Bend Compound 25lb – 100 reps
Leg Raises 2 sets – 100 reps
Sit-ups 2 sets – 100 reps
Run a quarter mile full blast
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
Wide Grip Chins 5 sets – 12 reps
Medium Grip Chins 5 sets – 12 reps
Close Grip Chins 5 sets – 12 reps
Stiff-Leg Deadlifts 5 sets – 10 reps
Forearm Curls 5 sets – 40 reps
Reverse Forearm 5 sets – 20 reps
Squats 6 sets – 12 reps
Leg Curls 5 sets – 12 reps
Straight-Arm Pullovers 4 sets – 12 reps
Calf Raises 30 sets – 15 reps
Trunk Twists & Side Bends 1 set – 100 reps
Leg Raises 2 sets – 100 reps
Sit-ups 2 sets – 100 reps
Run a quarter mile full blast
“Bill’s Best Training Routine”
This is the routine that Bill used to bulk up 50 pounds. It’s a grueling training routine, but it gets results. Anyone that subjects themselves to this routine for a decent amount of time will get bigger and stronger, as long as they eat appropriately. It’s impossible not to.
I’ve broken the workout down into muscle groups, but remember this is one workout that trains all the entire body.
You’ll notice something else – the bodybuilding pioneers were keen to train from the top down. They performed total body workouts starting the session with shoulders, then arms, chest and back, midsection and then the legs and calves. They believed that it was hard to get a muscle pump into the arms and shoulders after training the legs.
Bill Pearl Total Body Workout Routine
Exercise and repetitions
Shoulders
Incline laterals 5 sets 6
Bent arm laterals 5 sets 6
Decline laterals 5 sets 6
Press behind neck 5 sets 6
Military Press 5 sets 6
Lateral raise dumbells standing 5 sets 8
Arms
French press 5 sets 6
Tricep dumbells lying 5 sets 8
Tricep ex. Pulley 5 sets 8
Barbell curls 5 sets 6
Incline curls 5 sets 6
Concentration curls 5 sets 6
Wrist curls, palms facing up, seated 5 sets 20
Abdominals
Sit ups, flat board 100 to 200
Alternate leg raises 100 to 200
Side bend with dumbbell 50reps
Back
Wide Grip chins 5 sets 10
Close grip chins 5 sets 10
Shoulder shrugs 5 sets 10
Stiff leg dead lifts 5 sets 8
Neck exercise (training partner affording the resistance, usually with a towel)
Legs
Squats 5 sets 8
Hack squats 3 sets 10
Leg curls 3 sets 12
Calf raises Standing and donkey 15 sets 10
Bill Pearl Training Notes
When Bill was a young man he trained in the typical, bulk up then cut down training phases. As he got older, he reversed this approach. When preparing for competition, he would cut down early, then gradually bulk back up for competition. I believe this was to keep his weight in check and stay ahead of the game. As you get older it’s much easier to bulk up (unintentionally).
While training for his Mr. Universe competitions, he used the traditional Bulk then cut approach. In order to cut effectively, he did high reps and kept the sets the same. He’d cut down rest between sets to increase his body temperature and burn more fat to reveal his muscles.
While when he was bulking, he used a heavy weight program with lower reps and moderate sets. In order to gain dense muscle.
Bill Pearl trained calves everyday for a half hour.
How to Train When Cutting Down
Perform the same number of sets but increase the reps each set to around 20. Cut down also calorie intake, especially the wheat, flour and sugar. Use the sauna to sweat out extra weight and tighten the skin.
Bill Pearl Bulking Tips
Bill Pearl’s bulking technique can be summed up in two words:
Drink milk.
He would drink over a gallon of milk per day. This is known today as the GOMAD (gallon of milk a day) diet and is a simple and effective way for people to gain weight quickly.
He also ate 5 smaller meals per day. Like a lot of guys they wanted to feed their muscle constantly without having to stuff themselves. It was all about finding the optimum way to operate for you.
Bill Pearl’s diet consisted mostly of meat, potatoes and lots of fresh green vegetables. Meals were baked or boiled to aid in digestion. Digestion is a critical factor to how well your body utilizes the energy through the food you eat. Good digestion = good energy.
Remember to Train!
When bulking up you must train. If you don’t then you will get fat. The extra calories have to go somewhere and if they don’t get burned up during physical activity then they will store as fat.
It makes no sense to increase your chest three inches if your waist does the same. Your aim should be to have good muscular size and low body fat which is achieved through hard training and eating plenty of good, wholesome natural foods that are high in protein.
That’s all for now. Get your old school training on with this super intense, yet super effective workout compliments of Mr. Pearl.
This whole article is magazine nonsense by a ghost rider