Bill Pearl is a legendary American bodybuilder who managed to win the title "Mr. Universe" 5 times. Being at the zenith of fame in the 50-70s of the last century, he became an idol for many bodybuilders, including the young Arnold Schwarzenegger. After retiring from professional bodybuilding, Pearl began to train beginner athletes and published several books on building his own body.
Childhood, first training
Bill Pearl, whose photo is presented in the article, was born back in 1930 in the American town of Prineville (Oregon). He was the youngest of three children of Harold Pearl and Mildred Pesley. The boy's parents owned a small restaurant in which he had to help them from early childhood.
When Bill was 8 years old, he saw a circus poster of a strong athlete and realized that he wanted to be like him. From that moment on, the boy began to dream of steel muscles. Do sports in a small townthere was no place, so Pearl began to train strength with the help of improvised means. The boy's first dumbbells were cans of corn and green peas, and the barbell was a sack of potatoes. Bill trained during the working day in the utility room of his father's kitchen, recording the results of the classes in a special diary.
In the early 1940s, Harold Pearl sold the restaurant and bought a brasserie. American laws forbade underage children from working in liquor establishments, so Bill and his brother and sister were exempted from working in the kitchen. Now the boy had a need to look for other ways to improve his physical strength. Believing that hard work would help him build muscle, he dug ditches and worked at a construction site.
Introducing the Barbell
At the age of 14, Pearl got a 50-pound barbell, which he acquired with his friends Al and Pete. The guys trained 3 times a week in Bill's father's garage. Gradually, Al and Pete lost interest in bodybuilding, and the bar was at the complete disposal of Pearl. The future "Mr. Universe" approached the classes with all responsibility. He studied special literature, ordered bodybuilding trainings by mail, made his own bench for the press, purchased dumbbells and additional pancakes for the barbell. Bill Pearl made a real gym in his house. The guy spent weight training every day, trying not to miss a single lesson. In addition, at school he went to swimming, football andfight.
At the age of 16, Bill began attending a professional gym in his city and interacting with local bodybuilders. Two years later, during a trip to California, Pearl saw Olympic bodybuilding champion Tommy Kono. The meeting with him made such a strong impression on the guy that after returning home he began to train even more.
First participation in competitions
In 1950, Pearl volunteered for the army. He was sent to a military airfield in San Diego (California), where in his spare time he visited the gym of the famous bodybuilder Leo Stern. Acquaintance with the famous athlete and coach had a huge impact on the future fate of the young bodybuilder.
Stern noticed Bill's great potential and advised him to try his hand at professional competitions. On his recommendation, Pearl in 1952 submitted his candidacy to participate in the competition of bodybuilders "Mr. San Diego", where he took an honorable third place. Leo Stern was incredibly proud of his pupil and allowed him to train in his gym at any time. The next year, the 23-year-old guy wins the international amateur contest "Mr. Universe", having won several smaller competitions in front of him. Bill Pearl gets world fame, he begins to give interviews and participate in photo shoots.
The life of a bodybuilder in the mid-50s-early 70s
Demobilized in 1954, Pearl moves to Sacramento and on the accumulated over timeservice in the army money founds a network of sports clubs. After some time, the bodybuilder sells his business and, having moved to Los Angeles, opens a gym there. He continues to take part in bodybuilding competitions and during 1956-1971 he won the title of "Mr. Universe" 4 more times. The last time he won at 41 years old, destroying the myth that you can only become a champion in bodybuilding when you are young. At this time, he weighed almost 110 kg and was in his best physical condition.
Coaching
Having passed the fifth decade, "Mr. Universe" decides to retire from professional sports and focuses on coaching. Bill Pearl trained several thousand weightlifters in his Los Angeles gym. The training, developed by the legendary athlete, helped Chris Dickerson, Dennis Tinerino and David Jones become champions. Pearl tried to imitate Arnold Schwarzenegger, who in the 60s made his first successes in professional bodybuilding.
Move to Midford
Despite the large number of pupils, in the late 70s, Pearl began to experience financial difficulties and was forced to sell his club in Los Angeles. In 1980, he buys a ranch in Midford, Oregon, and moves there with his wife Judy, who, like him, is a professional bodybuilder. Pearl could not sit idle for long. After a while, he opens a gym in Midford and starts coaching again.
Features of athlete nutrition
It's hard to believe, but the man with steel muscles Bill Pearl is a vegetarian with many years of experience. By switching to a plant-based diet in 1969, he was able to achieve his best physical form. Pearl was convinced that the complete rejection of meat and fish allows the athlete to cleanse the body of toxins and build muscle faster. By his own example, he debunked the myth that a person needs animal protein to gain and maintain muscle mass. Pearl has repeatedly stated that there is nothing valuable in meat for a bodybuilder's body. The protein necessary for building muscle is present in plant foods, as well as in milk and eggs. The athlete did not refuse the last two products, believing that they only benefit the body. Supported by Bill Pearl in his taste preferences and his wife Trudy. She, like her husband, has been following a vegetarian diet for many decades.
Although Bill Pearl is a vegetarian, he recommends that bodybuilders choose food based on their own culinary preferences. He is sure that it is important for an athlete to find the most optimal diet for himself and stick to it throughout his life. If the bodybuilder is in great shape and has no he alth problems, then he can not change anything in his own nutrition system.
The bodybuilding legend considers ordinary drinking water to be the best remedy for aging. As long as it is present in the body in sufficient quantities, a person will feel young, strong and hardy.
Pearl and steroids
The bodybuilder has a negative attitude towards steroids and does not approve of their use by weightlifters. He had experience in the use of such drugs at the very beginning of his professional career and was limited to a short period. The use of steroids allowed the bodybuilding legend to make rapid progress in physical fitness, but he did not like the way they affect his well-being and emotional background. Abandoning them at a young age, he never returned to using them. Pearl claims that his muscles are pumped up in a mostly natural way. He criticizes bodybuilders who build muscle with the help of pharmacological drugs. Bill Pearl isn't thrilled with modern weightlifting records set by doping, and he misses the days when bodybuilding was a fair sport.
Athlete's Books
Pearl's training philosophy is reflected in his bodybuilding and fitness literature. In total, the athlete published 6 manuals dedicated to improving his own body. His most popular book is "Get Stronger". Bill Pearl describes in it weight-bearing exercises to strengthen various muscle groups and build muscle. The work was published in the USA in 1986 and has since become a reference book for modern bodybuilders.
85-year-old Bill Pearl now lives on his ranch in Midford and, despite his advanced age, remains in excellent physical shape. Regular training, a vegetarian diet and the right position in life allowed this legendary bodybuilder to maintain good spirits and good he alth until old age. Today, he owns three gyms, consults for bodybuilding magazines, and writes occasional sports articles.
