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Bob Paris Workout

Bob Paris Bodybuilder Workout Routine

The sport of bodybuilding is constantly changing and a competitor like Bob Paris along with other great bodybuilders with near perfect symmetry like Steve Reeves and Frank Zane have unfortunately just faded into the background.

Bob Paris competed at over 200lbs of perfectly proportioned muscle mass, showing an aesthetic symmetry and balance that had not been seen since Frank Zane stood on the Mr Olympia stage. Bob was a huge fan-favourite throughout his competitive career.

His aesthetically athletic body with his schoolboy good looks put Bob on the cover of countless muscle mags across the world. Although he retired in 1991 we continued to see Bob in magazines for a few years and still do. At the time Bob Paris had been voted the number one bodybuilder by fans more than once.

Bob Paris clearly indicated when he retired from competing as a bodybuilder that he was simply not prepared to push his body away from what he calls classic proportions into carrying more than 250lbs of muscle on his body taking him into the "freaky zone".

It should be noted that Bob is also the first professional athlete to ever come "out of the closet" while he was competing, which he did on the Oprah Winfrey Show as well as in the Ironman Magazine in 1989. It was NOT a good idea, he lost sponsors, endorsement contracts and guest show appearances and even got death threats and harassed before he retired.

When discussing the style of training that Bob used when competing professionally we need to add that he was one of the first professional body-builders to do cardio before and after his weight training routine. He cut back on his cardio he did before and after training only when he retired. It also needs to be added that Bob considered his abdominals and oblique's to be like any other muscle group requiring 20 reps or less in each set.

Bob was one of the sensible athletes that did not fall for the common belief that our abdominals are just a stubborn muscle-group that cannot be over-trained. He would use strict form using a 3-on-1-off routine that he would cycle with Push-Pull-Legs (PPL) and using a 3-way training split routine, doing 3-4 movements per muscle group doing 3-4 sets of 8-20 reps.

Bob Paris would use a training split routine that looks like this:

Day 1: Chest and Shoulders, with Triceps, Abs, and Cardio
Incline Bench Presses 4 X 6 – 8 reps
Incline Flyes 4 sets 4 X 12 – 15 reps
Flat D/B Presses 3 X 6 – 8 reps
Across Bench Pull-overs 3 X 15 – 20 reps
D/B Side Raises 4 X 10 – 12 reps
Rear Pulley Crunches 4 X 12 – 15 reps
Barbell Presses 4 X 6 – 8 reps
Bench Dips 4 X 15 – 20 reps
Push-downs 4 X 6 – 8 reps
Two-D/B Kickbacks 3 X 10 – 12 reps
Hanging Leg Raises 3 X 15 – 20 reps (tri-set)
Lying Leg Raises 3 X 15 – 20 reps (tri-set)
Crunches 3 X 15 – 20 reps (tri-set)
Cardio 20 – 30 minutes

Day 2: Legs, Calves, Cardio
Leg Extensions 4 X 15 – 20 reps
Front Squats 4 X 12 – 15 reps
Lunges 4 X 10 – 12 reps (each leg)
Lying Leg Curls 4 – 5 X 12 – 15 reps (bi-set)
Stiff-Leg Deadlifts 4 – 5 X 12 – 15 reps (bi-set)
Standing Calf Raises 3 – 4 X 20 – 25 reps (tri-set)
Seated Calf Raises 3 – 4 X 12 – 15 reps (tri-set)
Tibia Raises 3 – 4 sets, 20 – 25 reps (tri-set)
Cardio 20 – 30 minutes

Day 3: Back, Biceps and Forearms
Wide-Grip Pull-downs 4 X 12 – 15 reps
Close-Grip Pull-downs 4 X 8 – 10 reps
One-Arm D/B Rows 4 X 10 – 12 reps
Half Deadlift/Shrugs 3 X 8 – 10 reps
Hyperextensions 3 X 20 – 25 reps
Incline D/B Curls 4 X 10 – 12 reps
Barbell Curls 3 – 4 X 8 – 10 reps
One-Arm Pulley-Curls 3 X 12 – 15 reps
Pulley Compounded Wrist Curls 3 X 12 – 15 reps

Day 4: Rest, Cardio
Cardio 20 – 30 minutes

Day 5: Chest and Shoulders with Triceps, Abs and Cardio
Bench Presses 4 X 6 – 8 reps
Incline D/B presses 4 X 8 – 10 reps
Cable Crossovers 3 X 15 – 20 reps
Across-Bench Pullovers 3 X 12 – 15 reps
D/B Presses 4 X 6 – 8 reps
Seated Bent-Over Lateral Raises 4 X 10 – 12 reps
Seated Lateral Raises 4 X 10 – 12 reps
Rope Triceps Push-Downs 4 X 6 – 8 reps
Overhead Pulley Extensions 4 X 12 – 15 reps
Lying French Presses 3 X 15 – 20 reps
Hanging Leg Raises 3 X 12 – 15 reps (tri-set)
Lying Leg Raises 3 X 12 – 15 reps (tri-set)
Crunches 3 X 12 – 15 reps (tri-set)
Cardio 20 – 30 minutes

Day 6: Legs, Calves and Cardio
Hack Squats 4 X 12 – 15 reps
45-Degree Leg Presses 3 sets, 15 – 20 reps
Leg Extension 4 X 15 – 20 reps
Standing Leg Curls 4 X 12 – 15 reps
Lying Leg Curls 4 X 10 – 12 reps
Leg-Press Calf-raises 4 X 20 – 25 reps
Seated Calf Raises 3 X 10 – 12 reps (bi-set)
Tibia Raises 3 X 15 – 20 reps (bi-set)
Cardio 20 – 30 minutes

Day 7: Back, Biceps, Forearms
Wide Rear Pull-downs 5 X 15 – 20 reps
Low-Pulley Rows 4 X 6 – 8 reps
T-Bar Rows 4 X 8 – 10 reps
D/B Shrugs 4 X 12 – 15 reps (bi-set)
Hyperextensions 4 X 20 – 25 reps (bi-set)
Concentration Curls 4 – 5 X 10 – 15 reps
Barbell Preacher Curls 4 X 6 – 8 reps
Zottman Curls 4 X 12 – 15 reps
Barbell Wrist Curls 4 X 15 – 20 reps

When Bob is able to hit the top rep number in his sets, he would then increase the weight used by 5 – 10 pounds. It needs to be noted that the split routine above is a lot of volume that would only cause over-training for any novice bodybuilder.

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