Classic Physique kingpin Chris Bumstead is already laying the foundation for his next title defense in November. In a recent YouTube video, Bumstead detailed his new four-meal nutrition plan and discussed his experiences battling anxiety.
Chris Bumstead has quickly become the most successful Classic Physique Olympia of his era. In 2019, he dethroned the two-time champ, Breon Ansley. Since then, no one has challenged his dominance in the category, which has grown tremendously since its inception in 2016.
Bumstead’s journey to a fourth title was met with adversity and obstacles. For starters, he and his brother-in-law/long-time coach Iain Valliere parted ways so they could each give their own careers equal focus. At a crossroads, Bumstead teamed up with decorated guru Hany Rambod, who also coaches Mr. Olympia Hadi Choopan and Derek Lunsford.
His next roadblock took place on the Olympia stage, as Bumstead was forced to compete with a torn bicep last December. Following his decisive victory, Cbum revealed that with the help of his new coach, he was able to overcome the setback.
As a four-time Classic Physique Olympia, fans are eager to see the sport’s most popular man perform once again. He recently took part in Q & A to discuss his current season and further preparations.
Bumstead Says He’s Down to 4 Meals Instead of 6 & Shows Off New Gym Location In the Works
As part of Bumstead’s new four-meal diet, he intends to consume roughly 260 grams of protein daily, roughly 1 gram per pound of body weight.
“How many meals a day do you eat? Basic question but I’m answering this because I recently changed it. I’ve touched briefly on it in my last video but I used to always consistently push myself to eat six meals a day or at least five meals and a shake but now it’s reduced to now four meals and a shake, so I have breakfast, two meals at work, and then a shake, and then one meal before bed.
Because I’m still trying to get the same amount of protein content, I’ve just increased the amount of chicken, fish, or whatever I put in my meals. Honestly, my digestion has been so much better. The key to sleeping is not having a full belly when you go to bed,” said Bumstead.
“As I always say, there’s no perfect way to do anything, experiment with what works best for your body. But I would say a minimum of four [meals] if you’re a bodybuilder because there’s just too big of a gap between it.”
Next, Cbum offered fans an early look at his private gym, a project he hopes to have completed 18-20 weeks from 2023 Mr. Olympia.
“Here we are. This is the future home of the 2023-2024 and beyond Olympia Prep series. The Bum lifting club if you will. My private little gym. Something everybody dreams of when you start working out, having your own gym. But even more so, having a private gym.”
“Just me here if I want to train later at night, other people can come. Being at Revive, a lot of people come to visit, a lot of people come from my work and sometimes it’s hard to be there and get in the right mindset, not my music playing, so it’s just being able to control the environment and I can set my own tone to the workouts. I think it’s going to help me excel into this prep. The goal is to build this thing out 18-20 weeks from the Olympia.”
Bumstead Talks Habits, Mental Struggles, and Stress: “I’m Still Fuc*ing Battling It”
According to the 28-year-old, he suppressed his emotions for most of his life. However, he’s now learning to communicate as a means of mitigating stress and anxiety.
“That’s what I tried to do my whole life, I tried to control certain habits of mine and that’s when you’re fuc*ed. Because when you’re trying to control anxiety you have anxiety about the control you’re putting on it because anxiety is usually from putting pressure on things outside of your control. So now you’re putting more control on your anxiety and you don’t have any help over it and it creates more stress.”
“I’m still fuc*ing battling it. Learning how to relax when it comes. Accept that it’s there and not be too hard on myself. Just understand that it’s part of life whatever I’m doing there’s probably a reason it’s making me anxious because it’s probably important.”
“Also, something that took me a long time to learn and still learning is communicating about it. My whole life I’ve fuc*ing held stuff in and I didn’t feel like I should talk about my stuff and felt like I could handle it on my own and thought it would be a burden if I shared it with anyone, and that made my anxiety grow and get bigger.”
This isn’t the first time Bumstead has been open and honest about his competitive spirit. In a recent episode of the Don’t Be Sour Podcast, Cbum reflected on the burden of being a reigning champion. He hopes to leave the sport on top and the dread of losing his status as champion fuels him at each competition.
RELATED: Rich Gaspari: ‘Chris Bumstead Needs 40 Lbs to Win Open Mr. Olympia, No One Is Close to Him in Classic’
The stage is set for Bumstead to defend his title at the 2023 Mr. Olympia showdown, happening Nov. 2-5 in Orlando, Florida. Fans are excited to witness another clash with rising star, 2023 Arnold Classic winner, Ramon Queiroz.
You can watch this full video on Chris Bumstead’s YouTube channel: