Bill Pearl’s 1967 Mr. Universe Workout

Famous as one of the one champion vegetarian bodybuilders of his time, Bill Pearl was a force to be reckoned with during the 1960s bodybuilding scene. Well built, symmetrical and possessing a force last seen in the days of yore, Pearl’s physique inspired thousands of muscle fanatics to hit the weights room.

Still training well into his golden years, Pearl’s workout routines combine longevity with muscle building in an impressive way. Be warned however, this program is not for the faint of heart. Indeed, Bill didn’t win four Mr. Universes by pussyfooting around the gym floor.

With the preliminaries in mind, lets check out Bill’s workout routine for his 1967 Mr. Universe victory.

Frequency

In the first instance, Bill, like many of his compatriots, trained 6 days a week on a split body part system. What separated Bill from his competitors however was the manner in which he trained his physique. Whereas others may have done legs/shoulders one day, chest/biceps another and so on, Bill split his body in a seeming random order. Well seemingly random for the outsider. A key tenant of Bill’s training philosophy is training hard but smart, i.e. seeing what works for your body and going from there.

Diet

As discussed previously, Bill built his physique primarily through meat and dairy products, but after a scare regarding high cholesterol he switched to a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet plan. This, he has later recounted, saved both his heart health and the conditioning of his joints, thereby allowing him to train well into his ‘retirement’.

The Workout Itself

Monday, Wednesday, Friday

1. Alternate Twisting Sit-Up ~ 1 set/100 reps
2. Incline Leg Tuck ~ 1 set/100 reps
3. Incline Dumbbell Sit-Up ~ 1 set/100 reps
4. Dumbbell Bends to Opposite Foot ~ 1 set/100 reps
5. Incline Lateral Raise ~ 4 sets/8 reps
6. Close-Grip Chin-Up ~ 4 sets/8 reps
7. Bent-Arm Lateral Raise ~ 4 sets/8 reps
8. Medium-Grip Chin-Up ~ 4 sets/8 reps
9. Decline Lateral Raise ~ 4 sets/8 reps
10. Wide-Grip Chin-Up ~ 4 sets/8 reps
11. Military Press ~ 4 sets/8 reps
12. Weighted Dips ~ 4 sets/8 reps
13. Press Behind Neck ~ 4 sets/8 reps
14. Incline Barbell Biceps Curl ~ 4 sets/8 reps
15. Standing Dumbbell Lateral Raise ~ 4 sets/8 reps
16. Decline Dumbbell Biceps Curl ~ 4 sets/8 reps

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday

1. Regular Sit-Up ~ 1 set/100 reps
2. Alternate Leg Raise ~ 1 set/100 reps
3. Dumbbell Side Bend ~ 1 set/100 reps
4. Lying Leg Crossover ~ 1 set/100 reps
5. Standing Dumbbell Curl ~ 4 sets/8 reps
6. Incline Rear-Deltoid Raise ~ 4 sets/8 reps
7. Incline Dumbbell Curl ~ 4 sets/8 reps
8. Lying Rear – Deltoid Raise ~ 4 sets/8 reps
9. Bent-Over Deltoid Cable Raise ~ 4 sets/8 reps
10. Leg Extension ~ 4 sets/10 reps
11. Standing Calf Raise ~ 5 sets/15 reps
12. Hack Squat ~ 4 sets/8 reps
13. Seated Calf Raise ~ 5 sets/15 reps
14. Hamstring Curl ~ 4 sets/8 reps
15. Calf Raise -on- Leg Press Machine ~ 5 sets/8 reps

A final topic of interest regarding Pearl’s training philosophies can be found here. It’s an extract taken from a seminar with Bill in the 1980s. As you’ll see, many of the training tenants exhibited above stayed with the muscle man for decades to come.

As always, happy lifting!