Scott Wilson was an American IFBB Pro bodybuilder who primarily competed in the 1970s and 1980s era of bodybuilding. He is remembered for his insanely hard training routine, incredible musculature, and one of the best triceps and shoulders in the sport’s history. This is his complete profile, biography, competition history, and diet.
Scott Wilson (Bodybuilder)
Born: August 6, 1950
Birthplace: San Diego, California, USA
Residence: California, USA
Nickname: Scott
Height: 5′ 10″ (178 cm)
Weight: 212 lbs (96 kg)
Arms: 20″ (51 cm)
Scott Wilson Biography
Early Life
Scott Wilson was born on August 6, 1950, in San Diego, California. He took up weight training in his garage at a young age, with any weights he could get his hands on. At one point, his mother won bicycles for Scott and his siblings on a game show, and Scott sold those bicycles to buy more weights.
As a teen, Scott played football and wrestled in high school, and still holds the school record for “fastest pin” (11 seconds). After graduating from high school. Scott joined the United States Marine Corps.
Bodybuilding Career
After finishing his time at the US Marine Corps Wilson was dared to compete at an amateur bodybuilding show in 1974. His love for lifting and fitness training had helped him build a muscular physique which helped tremendously at this point and Scott Wilson was able to edge past the competition to win the show.
This performance gave him the moral boost to pursue a bodybuilding career. There was no looking back after this as Wilson went on to become a successful professional bodybuilder in the subsequent years.
After a year of training, Scott Wilson further improved his physique to be able to compete against the best bodybuilders of his generation. he next competed at the 1974 AAU Mr. California and emerged victoriously to earn the IFBB Pro Card.
Scott’s combination of size and symmetry made him one of the top competitors in the world from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. His shoulders and triceps were considered the best in the business.
Although Wilson was one of the best bodybuilders of his generation, he could not translate his attributes into competitive success. His close associates and training partners claim that he hated posing and never practiced it in the gym. He refused to indulge in posing practice even when his teammates tried to persuade him to do it.
In 1976, Wilson won the WBBG Pro Mr. America and scored his first IFBB Pro win at the 1981 Mr. International. In the 1980s he competed in some of the most prestigious bodybuilding competitions and added the 1983 IFBB Grand Prix Portland victory to his resume.
In the later years of his bodybuilding career, Scott Wilson achieved top ten finishes at Master’s Olympia competitions. He retired from competing after the eighth-place finish at the 2000 IFBB Master’s Olympia.
Life after retirement
In his final days, Scott lived in northern California with his wife Vy and three sons (Scott, Michael, and Erik). He passed away on May 6, 2018, after a long battle with skin cancer.
Competition History
Bodybuilding
- 1973 Amateur Mr. San Diego – 1st place
- 1974 AAU Mr. California – 1st place (Earned IFBB Pro card)
- 1975 AAU Mr. America – 6th place
- 1975 AAU Mr. America – 3rd place
- 1976 WBBG Pro Mr. America – 1st place
- 1978 NBA Natural Mr. America – 5th place
- 1979 NBA Natural Mr. America – 3rd place
- 1980 IFBB Mr. International – 2nd place
- 1981 IFBB Canada Pro Cup – 7th place
- 1981 IFBB Mr. International – 1st place
- 1983 IFBB Grand Prix Denver – 6th place
- 1983 IFBB Grand Prix Portland – 1st place
- 1983 IFBB World Pro Championships – 5th place
- 1984 IFBB Canada Pro Cup – 6th place
- 1984 IFBB World Grand Prix – 6th place
- 1984 IFBB World Pro Championships – 9th place
- 1985 IFBB Night of Champions – 14th place
- 1986 IFBB Los Angeles Pro Championships – 10th place
- 1986 IFBB World Pro Championships – 12th place
- 1987 IFBB Night of Champions – DId not place
- 1988 IFBB Grand Prix US Pro – 4th place
- 1988 IFBB Niagara Falls Pro Invitational – 8th place
- 1988 IFBB World Pro Championships – 6th place
- 1994 IFBB Masters Olympia – 11th place
- 1998 NABF North Carolina Super Natural – 2nd place
- 1999 IFBB Masters Olympia – 10th place
- 2000 IFBB Masters Olympia – 8th place
Powerlifting Record
- Bench Press – 263 kg (580 lbs)
- Squat – 340 kg (750 lbs)
- Deadlift – 333 kg (735 lbs)
Scott Wilson Workout
Scott Wilson is highly respected within the bodybuilding industry for his incredibly intense training routine and warrior mentality. At the peak of his bodybuilding career, Wilson trained seven days a week and took one full weekend off every two weeks to allow his body to recuperate and recover from the training stress.
Wilson’s ability to push the volume without anabolic assistance or over-relying on supplements amazed his peers. He structured his workouts to exactly 60 minutes of training every day. Even when he turned down the intensity a little bit, he would still take not more than four to five days off every week.
However, the intense training had little to no impact on the veteran bodybuilder’s strength, energy levels, or overall health. He successfully competed in powerlifting meets while following this spartan training routine and performed well with no issues, whatsoever. His training not only focused on inducing hypertrophy but also on building other attributes like functional strength and endurance.
Scott Wilson believed that professional bodybuilders need to have a more balanced physique as they rise through the ranks and achieve the next level of physical development. He argued that every muscle needs to be perfectly developed right from its origin to the insertion point without an exception and strongly recommended paying attention to imbalances.
Here is an example of Scott Wilson’s training routine that he followed during his bodybuilding career:
Shoulders
- Seated or Standing Dumbbell Lateral Raises – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
- Bent Over Cable Lateral Raises – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
- Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press – 1 to 2 sets of 6 to 10 reps
- Cable Upright Rows – 1 to 2 sets of 8 to 12 reps
Back
- Deadlifts – 5 sets of 5 reps
- Bent Over Barbell Rows – 5 sets of 6 to 8 reps
- T-Bar Rows – 5 sets of 6 to 8 reps
- Front or Behind-the-Neck Lat Pulldown – 5 sets of 8 reps
- One Arm Dumbbell Rows – 5 sets of 8 reps
- Barbell Shrugs – 5 sets of 8 reps
- Upright Rows – 5 sets of 8 reps
Chest
- Incline Barbell Press – 4 to 5 sets of 6 to 8 reps
- Barbell Bench Press – 4 to 5 sets of 6 to 8 reps
- Incline Dumbbell Flyes – 4 to 5 sets of 8 to 10 reps
- Pec Deck Flyes – 4 to 5 sets of 8 to 10 reps
Legs
Warm-up
- Leg Extensions – 2 to 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps
Workout
- Barbell Squats – 6 sets of 6 to 15 reps (with incremental weight, the number of reps reduces as the weight increases)
- Machine Hack Squats – 4 sets of 10 to 15 reps
- Leg Extensions – 4 sets of 10 to 15 reps
- Sissy Squats – 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps
- Lying Leg Curls – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps
- Standing Leg Curls – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps
Biceps
- Wide-Grip EZ Bar Preacher Curls – 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps
- Close-Grip EZ Bar Preacher Curls – 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps
- Standing Barbell Curls – 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps
- Incline Dumbbell Curls – 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps
- Seated Dumbbell Concentration Curls – 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps
Triceps
- Lying Barbell Triceps Extensions – 5 sets of 6 to 10 reps
- Close-Grip Bench Press – 5 sets of 6 to 10 reps
- Cable Triceps Pushdowns – 5 sets of 6 to 10 reps
Scott Wilson Diet
Not a lot is known about Scott Wilson’s dietary habits and nutritional practices. However, we do know that he recommended starting a diet fairly early in the competition prep. Wilson always cautioned that if the diet was not on point, it would be impossible to dial back in without losing muscle mass.
During the off-season, Wilson indulged in all types of food to bulk up. But competition prep was a different story. He believed that bland diets are generally more valuable when you are seeking a perfect body composition and physical appearance for a competitive show.
Scott Wilson was never too big on supplements. He completely abandoned their use after retiring from competitive bodybuilding.
To Conclude…
According to Scott Wilson’s close friends, his bodybuilding career could not reach the absolute top because of the politics involved in the sport. However, he was undeniably one of the greatest bodybuilders of his generation and put his best effort forward to build an incredible physique.
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