Tag: Chris Bumstead
Chris Bumstead Reveals The ‘Most Toxic’ Steroid He Stays Away From
Canadian bodybuilder Chris Bumstead is arguably the most popular competitor of any division in the modern era. The young powerhouse has cemented his place in the history books with four Classic Physique Olympia wins in a row. In a recent interview with Chris Williamson, Bumstead revealed the ‘most toxic’ steroid he stays away from and plans to retire if his PED use begins to adversely affect his health.
Chris Bumstead first made a name for himself with his impressive muscle mass, symmetry, and proportions in the Classic Physique category in 2017. His potential was evident from the start as he took silver in his Mr. Olympia debut. After placing second again to former two-time champion Breon Ansley, Bumstead finally secured the coveted first-place trophy at the 2019 Mr. Olympia. He has fended off rising contenders with his latest victory coming at the 2022 Mr. Olympia.
Bumstead opened up on the challenges that come with being a dominant champion earlier this year. He admitted feeling a lot of pressure from the high expectations he set for himself during his early days of competition. While he intends to add the fifth title under his belt, Bumstead plans to listen to his health and body first and foremost.
Courtney King with Chris Bumstead / Instagram
‘CBum’ revealed his trainer Hany Rambod is focused on bringing a leaner Bumstead to the 2023 Mr. Olympia three months ago. He shared that Chris would usually get up to 265 pounds in the off-season but planned to cap it at 255-258 pounds this year based on his mentor’s advice.
Bumstead detailed his split with former coach and Men’s Open competitor Iain Valliere two months ago. He credited Valliere for helping him stay injury-free and for not having him use copious amounts of gear. He’s turning up the intensity in training and believes he’s in better shape than ever before looking ahead.
Chris Bumstead gave fans a look into the private gym he’s developing at his home last month. He also cut down to four meals a day instead of six. He crushed a heavy legs workout for muscle growth as well. Then, Bumstead offered a back workout regimen for maximizing gains in the off-season.
Chris Bumstead Will Leave the Sport if His Health Faltered
Chris Bumstead With Coach Hany Rambod
In a recent YouTube video, Chris Bumstead opened up on dealing with the health risks associated with PED (performance-enhancing drug) usage.
“If you’re a bodybuilder and you don’t worry about that, you’re either stupid or lying to be completely honest,” said Bumstead. “So this is something that’s definitely on the forefront of my brain but I just manage it as best as I can. You get blood work done consistently to keep your markers on.
There’s a lot of tests. Diagnostics now are absolutely insane if you want to stay healthy long term, if something is going on with you, it’s catching it early. I do a lot of diagnostics and blood work to make sure I stay healthy.”
He plans to retire if his steroid use starts to negatively impact his health.
“I’ve made an agreement with myself that when these things start to falter and they start to go down, no matter where I’m at in my career if I’m peaked, if I’m not peaked, I just need to call it. It’s not worth it to me. There’s a life after bodybuilding. Who I am is not a bodybuilder, there’s more to me than that.”
Bumstead Reveals Trenbolone as ‘Most Toxic’ Steroid He Stays Away From
‘CBum’ revealed he stays away from using Trenbolone because of the adverse side effects.
“The biggest one is tren. There’s guys who literally base their social media off that now. It’s a meme of the gym culture. I don’t even think people realize the impact these jokes and memes have on people coming up who see you constantly joking and talking about you need more of it to be better, stronger, and all this s**t. But that’s probably the most toxic thing you can put in your body. I’ve done it in the past but I don’t anymore. I haven’t touched it in five years due to just the toxicity it causes in your body. It just comes in and harms your kidneys, your liver, everything that takes your body to process it and go through it. It’s not naturally meant to be in your body. It makes you strong as f**k.”
“Another reason why I love Classic Physique is because I had a weight cap and I was close to my weight cap like three years ago, not at it. But I could’ve taken more sh*t and really tapped out to the point where I couldn’t put on any more weight or I could actually take less and force myself to work harder.”
Chris Bumstead laid out the 10 exercises he would pick from if he had no other options earlier this month. He chose a blend of compound and isolation movements to ensure all his muscle groups get taxed. Social media fitness star Jeff Cavaliere weighed in on Bumstead’s choices with his support and agreed with nine out of the 10 exercises on his list as well.
While PEDs in the sport is a sticky subject, hopefully, fans and competitors can take a lesson from Chris Bumstead, who many consider one of the best bodybuilders on the planet.
You can watch the full video below:
RELATED: Chris Bumstead Opens Up on Pressures of Being Dominant: “I’m Afraid That I’m Going to Lose”
Published: 8 July, 2023 | 12:19 PM EDT
Jeff Cavaliere Reacts to Chris Bumstead’s Top 10 List of Exercises for Life, Agrees with 9/10
Jeff Cavaliere is a fitness guru who has maintained an impressive physique since he arrived in the industry. In a video on the ATHLEAN-X YouTube channel, Cavaliere examined the 10 exercises Chris Bumstead chose to do forever if he had no other options.
Chris Bumstead took over the Classic Physique Olympia throne in 2019 after taking the honor from the then-two-time champ Breon Ansley. Since becoming a titleholder, Bumstead’s dominance in the IFBB Pro League has been impossible to ignore. He holds the all-time record for the most Classic Physique Olympia victories at four.
At his last Mr. Olympia show, Cbum won the judges over with exceptional conditioning, detail, and posing execution. He managed to take home another title despite suffering from a torn bicep in the weeks leading up to the competition. During the contest, Bumstead defeated contenders Urs Kalecinski and runner-up Ramon Queiroz in the finals.
In the off-season, Bumstead recently joined Chris Williamson for an interview regarding exercise selection. During the video, Bumstead was asked to list only 10 exercises he would perform for a lifetime. And considering his physique and overall dominance, it’s safe to say fans paid close attention to his answers.
The latest to attack the subject is Jeff Cavaliere. Cavaliere is a key figure in the ATHLEAN-X fitness company, which is known for encouraging wellness and staying fit. Cavaliere has trained celebrities, in 2006, he was the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the New York Metts and has a massive social media following. Jeff has gone to great lengths to keep fans informed and never shies away from technical discussions about exercise.
Below, you can find Jeff Cavaliere’s review of Bumstead’s exercise selections. For the majority of the list, Jeff agreed with Bumstead’s picks. In addition, Cavaliere offered a few other exercise variations that he believes deserve an honorable mention.
Squatting
“Again, If I’m critiquing it for me if this is my alterations to it… because squats are kind of rough on my knees for the reasons he said, I would have to go with a Bulgarian split squat, which I love love love. Also, I’m not limited to 10 in this rule, am I? I would also probably say a reverse barbell lunge. It takes away all the knee pains. Again for me, Bulgarian split squat and reverse barbell lunge is going to eliminate all those knee issues.”
Deadlifting
“Deadlift is an amazing hamstring builder. As someone who does more stiff-legged variations of it myself, I love it,” said Cavaliere. “The one thing that people might say if they’re doing them for a lifetime, but I’m a believer you can do the lift for a lifetime.”
Pull-ups
“We’re talking full reps, not those short, all lockout, no kipping, this is real pull-ups. Neutral grip is definitely the safest option for people who have any type of potential elbow issues. Chin-ups I believe would be very hard for a lifetime. People almost always for a lifetime will get some sort of medial elbow discomfort. I don’t see the problem with the pull-up itself, as long as you’re doing it properly.”
Incline dumbbell presses
“I love that exercise. We’ve put that on our list. A 30-degree angle on the incline bench, again I think it’s important. Plus it also gives you, I think if you do your incline at a low enough angle, it still gives you all the benefits of the flat bench press also. I don’t think you need to do both of them necessarily.”
“For me always, the dumbbells are better for me. I’ve got some bum shoulders and it makes me feel a hell of a lot better when I’m doing it.”
Seated dumbbell shoulder presses
“I love the dumbbell shoulder press, I don’t like doing them seated. Well, first of all, if you can get on your feet any opportunity you can get on your feet, you should take advantage of that. Now, I’m sort of putting my own personal bias on it, to train more athletically, I think being on your feet is something that’s going to carry over more.”
Close grip flat bench
“First time I’m going to disagree. The incline bench is going to cover a lot of ground. If it’s triceps that you’re going for, I love the lying triceps extension, not a skull crusher but further back behind because it gives you a more unique stimulus on the triceps. You get the stretch on the long head.”
Dumbbell curls
“I mean there’s not a person out there that’s not going to put curls [on their list]. I honestly think the enjoyment of my workouts would go down if I didn’t have a curl. One thing curls do, is they sort of give you instant feedback to know that what you’re doing is working.”
“If nothing else, it teaches you what a real good mind-muscle connection should feel like that you can then apply to other exercises in the gym.”
Barbell bent over rows
“Yeah. Honestly, the deadlift is there and it’s going to heavily hit your back but that’s a lot more isometrically. I think here if you’re going to go with a dynamic movement, the barbell bent over rows is great.”
Hanging leg raise
“That’s fine. Well, I actually think people need to train their core directly. I don’t believe training with exercises like the barbell bent over row or the deadlift, yeah there’s a lot of core demands to do the exercise right but I think you need to directly train your core. A lot of them can be very remedial if you don’t have the strength to do a hanging version then it should probably be some variation of a reverse curl.”
Lateral raises/triceps extensions
“I definitely think that the pressing is definitely great when you’re doing the dumbbell shoulder pressing but there’s no doubt if you want to get bigger medial delts that’s specifically going to contribute to the look or growth of the shoulders, you have to pick some variation of lateral raises.”
“I might pick the cheat lateral version,” added Cavaliere
In a recent collaborative effort, Jeff joined Dr. Andrew Huberman for a discussion on workout splits. While there is value in traditional bro splits, Cavaliere argued that there are more effective solutions available. Most importantly, Jeff highlighted that a split left incomplete isn’t an effective program for garnering results.
Regardless of their differences, fans and athletes can learn a ton from Jeff Cavaliere and Chris Bumstead’s exercise selection. Both men have reached incredible heights in fitness and agree on most of the movements listed above.
RELATED: Scott Herman Puts Jeff Cavaliere On Blast For Not Apologizing For Fake Weight Controversy
You can watch the full video from the ATHLEAN-X YouTube channel below:
Published: 7 July, 2023 | 11:15 AM EDT
Chris Bumstead Lists the Only 10 Exercises He’d Pick to Build Muscle
Canadian bodybuilder Chris Bumstead has been a dominant force in the Classic Physique division over the last few years. The reigning four-time Olympia champion stands as the most successful Classic Physique athlete in the history of the competition. In a recent interview with Chris Williamson, Bumstead shared the only 10 exercises he would keep to build muscle for contests.
Chris Bumstead first gained attention for his insane muscle mass, definition, and symmetry in 2017. He narrowly missed out on the top prize at Mr. Olympia to former two-time champion Breon Ansley, who defeated him again the next year. After two consecutive silver medals, Bumstead returned with a vengeance and handily dispatched the competition to secure his maiden Sandow trophy at the 2019 Mr. Olympia. He became a powerhouse in the Classic Physique division, winning four Mr. Olympia events in a row with 2022 Mr. Olympia being his latest victory.
Bumstead opened up on the mental challenges of defending the coveted title earlier this year. He admitted he was afraid of losing and not meeting the expectations he set for himself. His ultimate objective is to hang up his posing trunks at the top and depart from bodybuilding as a dominant champion.
‘CBum’ revealed he cut back on PEDs (performance-enhancing drugs) and has been training harder as a result three months ago. While he used to bulk up to 265 pounds in the off-season in the past, he and his coach said they don’t plan to go as high this season. Instead, Hany Rambod is focused on keeping him around 255 pounds to bring a leaner Bumstead on stage for his next outing.
Two months ago, Bumstead shared that he took less time off and appears to be in better form than ever before entering a prep. He also credited his former coach and Men’s Open standout Iain Valliere for helping him stay injury-free. In addition, he thanked Valliere for the immense success he achieved at a young age.
Bumstead teamed up with Derek Lunsford, former 212 Olympia champion and Men’s Open sensation, for a brutal back workout under the mentorship of Rambod two months ago. The pair crushed the workout to help Lunsford get ready for his guest-posing appearance at the 2023 Pittsburgh Pro.
Considering how imposing Chris Bumstead has been in the Classic Physique category, there has been speculation about how he would fare against the mass monsters of the Open.
IFBB athletes’ representative Bob Cicherillo believes he could contend with the best and even push for the top three if he added 15-20 pounds to his frame. Hall of Famer Chris Cormier praised Bumstead’s package and called for him to receive a special invite to the Open last month. On the other hand, bodybuilding veteran Rich Gaspari isn’t convinced Bumstead is ready just yet and argued he’d need to gain about 40 pounds of muscle to win the Open Mr. Olympia.
Chris Bumstead lists the only 10 exercises he’d pick to build muscle
In a recent YouTube video, Chris Bumstead picked the only 10 exercises he would keep to get as muscular as possible for contests.
Bumstead started off with squats and deadlifts to cover the lower body using compound movements that target multiple muscle groups.
“Squats, just overall leg growth, they help glutes, quads, a large portion of the legs. Barbell back squats, super simple,” said Bumstead. “If it’s my whole life I might actually do some Smith machine squats because it’ll help my knees and be a little bit easier.
“Deadlifts just to get something that’ll target my hamstrings so I don’t have to take out another in 10 or something to hamstring focused, and glute and back focused.”
Next, he went with pull-ups, incline dumbbell presses, seated dumbbell shoulder presses, close grip flat bench, dumbbell curls, bent-over rows, and hanging leg raises for his upper body and overall development.
“Pull-ups so I can hit my back and biceps in one, neutral grip. Incline dumbbell press. I find incline is a little bit better on your shoulders so if it’s the only exercise you do you won’t f**k up your shoulders too much and dumbbell, it’ll keep you a bit more symmetrical. Dumbbell shoulder press seated.
“I think that’ll help your triceps and shoulders a lot. Maybe a close grip flat bench for a different part of the chest and triceps. Dumbbell curl because how do you want to live without doing dumbbell curls for the rest of your life, standing supinated. Bent over row, that’ll help with stability and the core as well and then lower back and upper back. Hanging leg raise to make sure your core is getting hit so you’re not f”**king up your back.”
He rounded off the list with lateral raises.
“This is a tough one. I’m trying to focus on either lateral raises or overhead tricep extension because I haven’t had a lot of specific triceps. I would probably do lateral raises just to get some meaty delts over.”
Chris Bumstead gave fans a look into the private gym he’s building and his new meal plan last month. He’s hoping to have the training facility ready about 18-20 weeks out from the 2023 Mr. Olympia and said he dropped down to four meals instead of six for better digestion.
Bumstead’s exercise selection gives fans interesting insight into the mind of a dominant four-time Classic Physique Olympia champion.
RELATED: Ronnie Coleman Reacts to Chris Bumstead’s Biggest Feats of Strength
You can watch the full video below:
Published: 5 July, 2023 | 9:59 PM EDT
Chris Bumstead All Excited To Train In His Private Gym – “Dreams Do Come True”
Chris Bumstead is all set to take his game a notch up with his personalized gym that is nearing completion. In a recent back workout video posted on his YouTube channel, CBum gave a tour of this gym and spoke about the potential benefits of having one for yourself.
Bumstead is the foremost representative of Canadian bodybuilding. He has a global appeal among bodybuilding fans due to his insanely aesthetic physique. Since winning the Classic Physique Olympia title in 2019, CBum has honed his physique further and further to defend his top spot at 2020, 2021, and 2022 Olympia.
While most champions would attempt maximum title defenses in their capacity, CBum has a very clear plan of action. He intends to win only a couple of more Classic Physique Olympia titles and move on from competing. A few other trophies like the prestigious Arnold Classic Physique would have looked good on the champion’s shelf. However, collecting Olympia trophies is the only competitive goal for the 28-year-old.
CBum is currently in the middle of his off-season and making gains before the start of his 2023 Olympia prep. Although he will be a massive favorite heading into the show, CBum will not leave any stone unturned.
Apart from his bodybuilding schedule, Bumstead is working on his new gym. He showed the progress they have made so far before the workout and gave a tour of the gym in making. So without a second’s delay, let’s see how Bumstead is achieving back growth this off-season.
Chris Bumstead shows his personal gym
At the beginning of the video, Chris Bumstead talked about the progress of his personal gym which is being built at the moment. He gave a brief tour of the place and stated that a personal space would really help him focus on training and content creation.
“Everyone has the dream to have their own gym. I didn’t think I would get one because I didn’t think I would ever want to run a gym… Coz I knew a lot of hell went into it and you don’t make a lot of money for it.”
He further stated:
“But I am super grateful right now to be in the opportunity to be able to build it for myself and literally, just like, use it for content and prepping for Olympia. So I think this is going to be something that, really like, puts me on a straight focus drive this year at the Olympia.”
Bumstead can do without the company of a lot of people when he is training. Additionally, he feels a lot more comfortable making videos and talking into a camera when there aren’t many people around. So he expects the training as well as the YouTube content to be far better when his gym becomes operational in a few weeks’ time.
“Super pumped, excited… Dreams do come true. There’s a lot of things I’ve wanted in my life but gym is one of those things where you come her, shut off, put everything away and just kill yourself in the gym,” CBum concluded.
A place customized to meet every personal requirement will definitely add more quality to Bumstead’s training sessions. So the task of dethroning the champ might be a little more difficult for the opponents as Bumstead intends to prep for the 2023 Olympia in his new personal gym. After showing the gym around, Chris Bumstead proceeded to perform the off-season back workout at the local gym.
CBum goes through a back workout
Lat Pulldown
CBum’s workout started with this lat-focused vertical pulling movement. This compound exercise primarily works the latissimus dorsi muscles in the back. It helps build a wide back and imparts that much desired ‘tapering down into the waist’ look as a result.
Bumstead used extremely heavy weights in the first set and tried to control the negative/eccentric phase of the rep as much as he could. He reduced the weight for the second set and paused at the bottom of the first five reps so as to get a good squeeze.
Another benefit of this method was that it helped him make the second set equally difficult in spite of using lighter weights. The 28-year-old felt a good pump in the muscles after ripping both sets and moved on to the second exercise.
Incline Dumbbell Rows
Bumstead next took to this free-weight horizontal pulling exercise. Incline dumbbell rows work all the major pulling muscles in the upper body like latissimus dorsi, teres major, teres minor, trapezius, and biceps brachii. Performing rows on an incline bench uses gravity to maintain focus on back muscles.
Since the person is in an inclined position with chest pressed against the bench, it is not possible to rely on momentum or sway back and forth to pull the weights when the reps get difficult. As a result, only back muscles have to be utilized to lift weights without any assistance.
CBum cranked out a few good sets of incline dumbbell rows and took to another highly effective rowing movement next.
T-Bar Rows
In a world where you were forced to incorporate only one rowing exercise in your training routine, T-bar rows would be your best bet. This compound movement is an effective back builder that enables growth in terms of muscle and strength gain as well as density.
Chris Bumstead warmed up with a couple of sets first. He then got a few heavy sets of T-bar rows under the belt and moved on to the next exercise.
Seated Rows
The Classic Physique Olympia champion took to one more rowing exercise and performed seated rows. He did the exercise on a Prime plate-loaded rows machine to add more stimulus to the back muscles. Seated rows work almost all the muscles in the middle back region and also help with improving upper body posture.
Bumstead demolished some good sets of seated rows and took to a lat pulldown variation next.
Reverse Grip Lat Pulldown
Bumstead took the next stop at the Hammer Strength plate-loaded machine and performed reverse grip lat pulldown. The reverse grip targets more of the lower lats as the upper arms are closer to the body. Additionally, this variation also engages the biceps due to a reverse grip and enables pulling heavier weights in comparison to the traditional lat pulldowns.
CBum performed this exercise maintaining a good tempo and jumped into a cable machine exercise next.
Superset – Banded Cable Lat Pullovers and Barbell Curls
Bumstead finished the back workout with this superset. He mentioned that he is working on improving mobility these days and also explained the reason for performing reverse grip lat pulldown instead of regular grip for the previous exercise.
“Underhand grip pulldown machine because sometimes the pulldown bar breaks my wrist. I am working on mobility. So I am doing 10 sets of superset – biceps curls and lat pullovers. Just going back and forth 10 reps ish… until I die. So hopefully getting a hundred reps of each and then that’s it,” CBum stated.
After pushing through all the sets within this superset in rapid succession and minimal rest periods, Chris Bumstead called it a day in the gym.
Overall, the workout included:
Chris Bumstead is all set to start the competition prep for the 2023 Olympia soon. Training in his personal gym will definitely help him maintain focus and add more wrinkles to the game. If he stays healthy and continues to increase the training intensity, we will certainly see him wear the Classic Physique Olympia crown for the fifth time.
You can watch the full workout video here, courtesy of Chris Bumstead’s personal YouTube channel:
Published: 2 July, 2023 | 9:05 AM EDT
Lee Priest Says Remove ‘Useless’ Divisions & Backs Arnold Schwarzegger Over Chris Bumstead
Australia’s Lee Priest has turned into a knowledgeable bodybuilding source since his days of competition. In a recent RxMuscle YouTube video, Priest urged removing ‘useless’ divisions in bodybuilding and picked Arnold Schwarzenegger to defeat Chris Bumstead in a fantasy matchup.
Lee Priest made a name for himself with impressive muscle mass, size, and conditioning in the Men’s Open division in the 90s. He participated in six Mr. Olympia events and went up against the likes of six-time champion Dorian Yates and eight-time winner Ronnie Coleman. Besides his insane arms, Priest was celebrated for his longevity having spent more than 15 years competing in the IFBB Pro League. He took to the sidelines after winning the 2013 NABBA Mr. Universe in his final showing.
Earlier this year, Priest called for removing the Men’s 212 division and redistributing the prize money in the Open category. He argued the worthy 212 competitors would be able to hold their own in the Open, as proven by two-time 212 Olympia winner Shaun Clarida, and former 212 Olympia champions Kamal Elgargni and Derek Lunsford.
Priest maintains a healthy lifestyle and trains daily post-retirement. Following the return of the Masters Olympia after more than a decade, there was speculation about whether Priest would make a comeback at the event. However, he dismissed the possibility due to his chest atrophy.
Lee Priest / Instagram
The 50-year-old provided fans with some of his best tips on how to maximize preacher curls for building bigger biceps and getting a strong pump three months ago. He detailed the different equipment and variations to use along with the ideal rep range.
Lee Priest criticized the eligibility criteria of the 2023 Masters Olympia two months ago. He suggested raising the age limit to 50+ instead of the current 40 and over and also adding the condition of being away from competition for at least two to three years.
Priest called for a friendly showdown with bodybuilding legend Jay Cutler after the 2023 Masters Olympia last month. He suggested hosting a ‘Golden Era’ seminar and going up against the four-time Mr. Olympia in a guest-posing appearance for the fans.
Lee Priest urges removing ‘useless’ divisions
In a recent YouTube video, Lee Priest called for eliminating several bodybuilding divisions. He believes in keeping only the Open and Fitness categories and none of the others.
“As I sit here pondering the sport of bodybuilding and I watch these Pro shows, these people standing on stage like pot plants, don’t know their names,” said Priest. “Back in our day, the old guy’s going back there, you knew everyone’s name. Every Pro show was top quality guys minus Mr. Olympia. Now everyone gets a trophy bulls***. Bodybuilding, this is how it should be. Only Open bodybuilding, open for the women, and fitness. Physique, Bikini, Wellness, go to your model girl pageants at Hawaiian Tropics because you’re f**king useless. But if we don’t have these classes, where do they compete?
“In the amateurs, stay there with your weight classes because you’re not good enough to be a Pro. That’s why you’re not making it anywhere because even as a Pro you suck. Just go back to being an amateur. 212 out the window. If you’re not good enough to be a good bodybuilder, you can’t make it. That’s just life people. That’s reality. Life’s hard. You suck. You shouldn’t be a Pro.”
Priest backed Nick Walker & Chris Bumstead as the most marketable bodybuilders
Lee Priest extended his support for Nick Walker and Chris Bumstead as the most marketable bodybuilders in the sport.
“In bodybuilding, I’d probably have to go around Nick Walker. In the sport, you’d probably go with Chris Bumstead because of the following. He’s marketable both to bodybuilders and the guys who don’t want to get that big because they can’t because they suck.
“What I’m saying is Bumstead is marketable but then if we just went bodybuilding, probably Nick because he’s young, marketable, good-looking, and stuff like that.”
He backed Samson Dauda as his favorite to win the 2023 Mr. Olympia.
“Samson. I think he’s got a nice combination of size and shape and he’s getting that freaky look. He has a nice balance overall so I’ll go Samson.”
Reigning four-time Classic Physique Olympia champion Chris Bumstead ruffled some feathers when he declared he would defeat legendary bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger in a hypothetical matchup three months ago. Former Mr. Olympia Samir Bannout pushed back on Bumstead’s claim a week later.
Priest picks Arnold Schwarzenegger over Bumstead
Priest shared his thoughts on a fantasy showdown between Schwarzenegger and Bumstead, picking the seven-time Mr. Olympia to win.
“Arnold wins. Chris is good but Arnold just seemed to flow better. Chris has got great chest, nothing against Arnold’s chest and yeah, he didn’t have the best legs but they worked for him and in 74 he looked great. The arms, the twisting shots, it would be close but I’d give it to Arnold still.”
Lee Priest voiced the idea of taking on Kai Greene in an Olympia-style superhero showdown three weeks ago. He suggested donning superhero attire and performing skits with ‘The Predator’ on stage at a bodybuilding show.
Priest opened up on his diet philosophy while getting ready for competitions weeks ago. He revealed he would start dieting a minimum of 16 weeks before an event and get in top form four weeks out from a contest.
Priest’s latest take on removing some bodybuilding divisions may not be well received by the competitors but some believe it would shine a brighter light on Open talent.
You can watch the full video below.
RELATED: Lee Priest Reveals Changes in Training & Diet from His 20s to 50s
Published: 30 June, 2023 | 12:19 AM EDT
Dennis James, Milos Sarcev Talk Stephane Matala’s Potential, Say He’s a Threat to Chris Bumstead
Rising bodybuilder Stephane Matala is determined to make a statement when he takes to the stage in July. In a recent The Menace Podcast, Dennis James and Milos Sarcev discussed the Classic Physique division and how Matala will fare should he compete against top-tier Olympia talent, such as four-time winner, Chris Bumstead.
“You know how it is always. You can look great standing by yourself. We have to see him stand next to these guys to really compare him,” shared Dennis James.
Since Classic Physique’s inception, the category has been talent-rich and extremely competitive. The division’s popularity only grew year-to-year and the same can be said for the skill level of the participants. Over the last four years, Chris Bumstead has worn the crown after taking the honor from two-time Classic Physique Olympia Breon Ansley in 2019.
In his latest title defense, Bumstead managed to defend his throne against hungry bodybuilders like 2023 Arnold Classic champion Ramon Queiroz and third-place 2022 Olympia finisher Urs Kalecinski, who has since bulked to 275 pounds in an effort to dethrone the champ in November.
Given Bumstead’s continued dominance, fans are curious what it would take to overthrow such a formidable champion. And while no competitor has found a winning recipe, the community is rapidly getting behind a new Classic Physique contender: Stephane Matala.
Known as ‘Mr. Unchained’ on Instagram, Matala continues to captivate fans with a jaw-dropping physique. He first began his bodybuilding career by entering a number of local contests. Eventually, he took on the Musclemania Paris Junior Champion competition, where he impressed fans in the Men’s Physique category.
He’s showcased progress photos and videos in preparation for his Classic Physique splash at the upcoming 2023 Mr. Big Evolution Pro Portugal. Given his lines, condition, shape, and striations, the community is highly confident in his chances ahead of the show.
“The Dude Looks Fuc**ng Ridiculous,” – Dennis James & Milos Sarcev Debate Stephane Matala’s Potential
According to Milos Sarcev, he’s never seen a chest as striated as Stephane Matala’s
“Let me ask you something else guys, did you guys see that Classic guy that’s out there training in Dubai, that brother, that black guy. What’s his name, Stephane Matala,” said Dennis James.
“Oh, oh, holy shit. Yeah, I don’t know his name,” said Milos Sarcev.
“That dude hasn’t even been on stage yet and he has a huge following on Instagram. I don’t know if it’s just the videos or the pictures, the dude looks fuc**ng ridiculous,” added James
I’ve seen him pose next to Andrew Jacked,” added Sarcev. “That puts it in perspective man. Probably [doing Portugal], the guy is – I’ve never seen a striated chest like this in my life.”
Dennis James believes Matala possesses an ‘old school bodybuilding look’ and said he was impressed with his lack of scar tissue from steroid injections. After, Sarvev suggested Stephane work on his front double biceps pose.
“He’s clean, he’s clean, all his muscles are clean. The striations are still there, you can see it’s not all shot up with scar tissue everywhere. He’s clean. Chris you know what I’m talking about, you see the striations in the shoulders, you see stuff that you don’t see on the guys anymore. And full and round,” said Dennis James. “Stephane, crazy. I see old school bodybuilding when I see this guy. You’re absolutely right Don. With the striations in his shoulders, all the way, it’s just good to see there’s still people out there.”
“I think the front double biceps he doesn’t show correctly. There’s more to it. It doesn’t pop,” Milos Sarcev explained. “This is as good as it gets. Oh my God.”
Milos Sarcev Says Chris Bumstead Has Better Structure But Stephane Matala Beats Him ‘Muscle for Muscle’
Sarcev believes Bumstead would defeat Matala in a battle right now. However, he agreed with Dennis and Chris Cormier that he’s a future threat to the reigning champion.
“When we talk about Classic Physique, major thing is structure. Like Chris Bumstead when you compare him muscle for muscle with this guy, would lose right? But structure is so dominant, then, once it’s only front double biceps, back double biceps, serves that crazy v-taper, that Chris is so goddamn good [at] then his side chest is excellent, this guy’s [Stephane] side chest is excellent. I think Chris has more detail through the hamstring glutes tie ins, so there is still level that I think Chris could beat him now. If this guy gets expanded and gets a little bit more wider and creates that v-taper illusion…” said Sarcev.
“I just see a picture of him standing next to Mike Sommerfeld. I guess they were training together. But they were posing next to each other, now look at the size difference, and Mike is not the biggest guy.”
Dennis James is so confident in Stephane’s chances he believes he’ll earn a qualification to the 2023 Mr. Olympia show.
“Like I said, the condition that this guy brings, and if he brings that to the stage, I think he’s going to do very well. I think he will qualify for the Olympia this year. And I think because of his fanbase, he has a huge fanbase, I think because of his fanbase he won’t get overlooked,” Dennis James shared.
Maintaining health and longevity as a bodybuilding pro is no easy feat. It takes considerable attention to measures such as diet, supplementation, and training. When Bumstead first began his journey in the sport, he was thankful for guidance from his brother-in-law and Men’s Open competitor Iain Valliere. In a recent Straight Outta the Lair Podcast, Bumstead said Valliere helped him prevent long-lasting damage to his physique from unnecessary steroids.
While there is mystery surrounding Stephane Matala, fans will have a clear idea of his potential when he competes next month. Should he claim victory at the 2023 Mr. Big Evolution Pro Portugal, he’ll have a shot at competing against Bumstead in November.
RELATED: Rich Gaspari Says Classic Physique Is Saving The Art of Bodybuilding
You can watch the full video from the Muscle and Fitness YouTube channel below:
Published: 26 June, 2023 | 11:59 AM EDT
Chris Bumstead Builds Girthy Legs With This Off-season Workout
Chris Bumstead is inching towards the fifth Classic Physique Olympia title slowly but surely. The reigning champ went through an off-season leg workout to add strength and size to his already impressive physique.
Bumstead is one of the most famous active bodybuilders and a global superstar. He is the posterboy for the Canadian bodybuilding community and has proven his worth by establishing dominance over the IFBB Pro League’s Classic Physique division. His resume includes a whopping four Classic Physique Olympia titles. After snatching it from the former champ Breon Ansley at the 2019 Olympia, Bumstead has defended the Classic Physique Olympia title at the 2020, 2021 and the 2022 Olympia.
Having reigned supreme over the division for a long time, the 28-year-old bodybuilder intends to defend the strap a few more times before calling it a career. Olympia is Bumstead’s primary focus and he is not keen on competing at other Pro shows. Having recovered from the bicep tear he suffered ahead of the 2022 Olympia, Bumstead has eased his way back into training. He recently unveiled a private gym in-the-making and shed light on the 2023 Olympia diet.
Bumstead is on the mission to win his fifth Classic Physique Olympia title in 2023. He went through a leg training session as a step in the direction of achieving the goal and posted the video on his YouTube channel. So let’s delve into the champ’s workout and see how he is building the tree-trunk legs this off-season.
Chris Bumstead goes through a full leg workout
CBum targeted all the major muscles – quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and calves as well as the adductor group of muscles with this training session for overall leg development. He admitted that bringing big adductors is one of the goals of his preparation this year. As a result he is putting emphasis on working the adductor muscles.
Leg Extensions
This quad isolation movement served as the beginner to the training session. Knees are without a doubt the most crucial joint for most of the lower body movements. Therefore, it is essential to maintain healthy knees to avoid subsequent derailment of your training journey. Sufficiently warming the knees up before heavy workout is one of the key elements of staying injury free.
Apart from building the quads, leg extensions are an excellent way to warm up the knee joints. However, this exercise can also be harsh on the knees if done with heavier weights without caution. CBum performed three sets of 12 reps of leg extensions to get the party started and took to the next exercise.
Hack Squats
This compound movement followed up the leg extensions in Bumstead’s leg workout. He performed hack squats on the Cybex hack squats machine. Hack squats target the same primary muscle group that the traditional barbell squats do. While quadriceps are the main target muscle of the movement, the posterior chain of muscles are heavily involved in the movement. But what separates hack squats from barbell squats is the fact that it is generally a lot safer for most people to perform as it puts far less stress on the lower back due to the angle of movement as well as the set-up.
Hack squats are not a replacement to the barbell squat but a great addition to the leg training routine. The Classic Physique king annihilated three sets of the exercise maintaining a 12 to 15 rep range and took to the next exercise.
Leg Press
To stimulate the quads and other leg muscles further, the 28-year-old phenom performed the leg press next. One of the most effective ways to build muscle and strength in the lower body, leg press compliments primary leg exercises like barbell squats really well. This compound movement targets the quads as well as hamstrings, glutes, adductors and abductors.
Leg press offers increased safety compared to free weight exercises and its variations can help emphasize different parts of the muscles. CBum cranked out three working sets of the exercises and wrapped up after doing a double drop set to failure.
Walking Lunges
This walking variation of the static lunges helps strengthen the leg muscles as well as core, hips and glutes. Additionally, this exercise can help increase the range of motion by increasing flexibility in the glutes and hamstrings. It also improves functional strength as the movement pattern resembles everyday movements like walking, sitting down, ducking down to pick an object etc.
Bumstead pushed through two sets of the exercise and shifted his focus to working the calves next.
Seated Calf Raises
While the standing calf raises work the gastrocnemius muscles in the calf region, the seated variation of the exercise works the soleus muscle which lies underneath it. CBum performed two sets of seated calf raises to failure and took to the final exercise of the day.
Hip Adduction Machine
Adductors are a group of muscles that lie on the inner side of the thigh that helps adduct (bring together) the legs. Bumstead did two sets of hip adduction on the machine to work these muscles and called it a day in the gym.
Overall, the workout included:
Chris Bumstead has fended off the competition successfully so far. While experts within the bodybuilding community predict that he can have a great run in the Men’s Open division, Bumstead does not see it as an effort that is worth making. It will be interesting to see how the remainder of his career unfolds.
You can watch the full workout video here, courtesy of Chris Bumstead’s personal YouTube channel:
Published: 21 June, 2023 | 10:33 AM EDT
Ronnie Coleman Reacts to Chris Bumstead’s Biggest Feats of Strength
As one of the strongest bodybuilders to ever compete, getting the nod of approval from Ronnie Coleman is a big deal. In a recent YouTube video, Coleman reacted to some of Chris Bumstead’s craziest lifts inside the gym.
“I’ve been hearing a lot of hype about my boy Cbum. I thought it’d be only fair if I did a reaction video to some of his lifts and some of his posters out there, so let’s get into this y’all, yeah buddy.”
En route to earning eight Mr. Olympia titles, Ronnie Coleman proved himself against the best of his era, where he pushed names like Jay Cutler, Kevin Levrone, and Flex Wheeler. His mass, conditioning, and balance were unparalleled, which helped him demand the spotlight whenever he graced a stage.
In 2007, Coleman decided to call it a career. In retirement, he’s faced a number of health issues and setbacks. Following more than 10 back surgeries, the bodybuilding legend struggles to walk without assistance. Nevertheless, his impact on the sport is evident today as he remains tied with Lee Haney for the all-time Mr. Olympia record.
With spare time on his hands, Coleman created a successful YouTube channel with over 1.72 million subscribers. He documents his health and other facets of his life regularly. This time, he reacted to Chris Bumstead’s craziest lifts.
Chris Bumstead is a four-time Classic Physique Olympia winner. He first took the honor in 2019 and has seemingly improved each year since. He faced adversity before winning his fourth title, however. Weeks after last December’s show, Bumstead revealed that he got the job done with a torn bicep. Like Coleman, Bumstead’s popularity has become undeniable.
Ronnie Coleman Shocked By Chris Bumstead’s Strength in Reaction Video
After watching Bumstead on stage, Coleman reacted to a collection of training clips.
“Cbum got some strength there,” said Coleman. “He’s playing with that weight like it ain’t nothin.”
“Cbum curling like it ain’t nothing. Light weight, light weight, ain’t nothing to it but to do it baby. Light weight, he’s playing with it making it look real easy. Show them why you got all that thickness.”
“Nice and Classical, yeah buddy,” added Coleman.
Coleman was most impressed with Bumstead’s deadlifting strength. Given his ability to lift 600 with ease, ‘The King’ wouldn’t be surprised if the 29-year-old could deadlift 900 pounds.
“Deadlifts, one of my favorite, playing with that weight, he’s making 600 look like it’s 200.”
“Get that back real big and thick, yeah buddy. Cbum in the house.
“Cbum you were lifting that weight like ain’t nothing. I think you had it in you to do 8 maybe 900. Let’s hook up with your boy and show them how it’s done.”
This isn’t the first time Ronnie gave his raw take on a bodybuilder’s best lifts. In April, he took a closer look at some of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s most impressive feats of strength. During the video, Coleman acknowledged that the ‘Austrian Oak’ was easily one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time, regardless of era.
In addition to bodybuilding, Ronnie examined some of the strongman Brian Shaw’s legendary lifts. Coleman was blown away after Shaw deadlifted a car and pulled a truck. He also praised Shaw’s performance on the tire carry.
Whether it’s a viral Liver King clip or Jujimufu testing the limits of his strength, Coleman has seen it all. Before ending his latest video, Coleman encouraged Bumstead to visit him for a training session.
RELATED: “He’s Having a Seizure!” — Ronnie Coleman’s Hilarious Reactions To Kyriakos Grizzly’s Crazy Lifts
Watch the full video below from Ronnie Coleman’s YouTube channel:
Published: 12 June, 2023 | 4:35 PM EDT
Chris Bumstead Unveils Private Gym In-the-Making, Talks 2023 Olympia Diet & Battling Anxiety
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:
Published: 7 June, 2023 | 12:06 AM EDT
Rich Gaspari: ‘Chris Bumstead Needs 40 Lbs to Win Open Mr. Olympia, No One Is Close to Him in Classic’
Bodybuilding veteran Rich Gaspari is back to discuss the career of reigning four-time Classic Physique Olympia Chris Bumstead. In a recent Fitness Fame & Fortune podcast with John Romano, Gaspari critiqued Bumstead’s physique and shared what it would take to win the Open title at Mr. Olympia.
Since Bumstead’s 2019 Olympia takeover, contenders have yet to catch up to his physique. His full muscle bellies, x-frame, and conditioning have made for an overwhelming combination on stage. Before taking his talents to Las Vegas in December, Bumstead and his brother-in-law Iain Valliere decided to stop working together. With 12 weeks until the big show, Bumstead joined forces with bodybuilding coach Hany Rambod.
When the dust settled after 2022 Mr. Olympia many fans were shocked to find out Bumstead thwarted his competition successfully with a torn bicep. He has been open about his career as of late and mentioned that he’s on the hunt for a fifth title.
In addition to his growing popularity on social media, talks of Cbum moving to the Open have percolated for some time. Earlier this year, the 28-year-old said he would consider competing in the Open at the Arnold Classic if the contest was scheduled two weeks after Olympia. The latest to discuss his career was Rich Gaspari, who made a solid case for Bumstead winning Open Mr. Olympia with an added 40 pounds.
Rich Gaspari Assesses Cbum’s Physique, Believes He Needs 40 Lbs to Be a Mr. Olympia
According to Gaspari, competitors of Classic Physique lack muscle density and that ‘crazy look.’ When critiquing Bumstead’s physique, Rich said his arms were a weak point.
“Even in Classic, I don’t want to toot my own horn, you look at my physique when I won the 86 Pro Worlds, the density in that muscle, first of all, it was never seen those striations. Then, you look at guys that are winning now in Classic, they don’t even have that look, that crazy look. They have great symmetry, small waist.
You got Chris Bumstead, a really small waist. The one thing about Chris he doesn’t have huge arms, kind of weak in the arm size but a really good front double biceps. You see how he looks with the vacuum, good legs, but he doesn’t have big arms. That class is very very hard.”
“I saw him at the Pittsburgh Pro, they asked him if he’s considering going to the Open, he goes, ‘Are you crazy? How can I go to the Open? I’m grateful that I came into this sport at a time when Classic was big and I just fit the mold of what a Classic bodybuilder should look like and because of height and because of my weight, I can look a certain size that’s still impressive at my height and weight in the Classic category. And this is why I’m winning that category,’” shared Rich Gaspari.
Given his current build and genetics, Rich Gaspari laid out what it would take for Bumstead to make a play for Open Mr. Olympia gold.
“At least 40 pounds [he’d need to win Open Mr. Olympia]. Yeah, at least 40 pounds. He said it. He was like, ‘I’ll have to be 40 pounds bigger to be competitive with these guys and how do I know I’m going to look right?’ Because, you know, when you gain that muscle it may not necessarily look the way he looks now with the streamlined look that he has. It may not look the same.
He goes, ‘Why would I put my body through that when I’m doing really well in my category? That’s my category, I was fortunate to be born at this time.’ He’s dominating. He’s dominating, I think he’s going to win again, this is his fourth win, he’ll win a fifth Classic Bodybuilding because there’s no one close to him with his small joints, wide clavicle, small waist, big muscle bellies in his legs, the only weakness I see, he doesn’t have these huge arms, these huge peaked arms, but still, they’re good.”
Gaspari says Bumstead has found success in the category because of his bone structure, small waist, and wide clavicles. When comparing the Canadian to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rich said Bumstead lacked charisma but made up for it with an authentic personality.
“He’s got 17 million followers, it’s an anomaly. Nobody has that type of following. He’s not flamboyant, charismatic, he’s actually, I hate to talk about him bad, he’s kind of boring. He’s authentic, he’s not like this charismatic, he’s not like Arnold, Arnold was very charismatic. Chris Bumstead is not charismatic, I’m not putting anything against him.”
“To really look good in Classic bodybuilding you need small bone structure, small waist, you need a wide clavicle, there’s a lot of factors that makes a good Classic bodybuilder. You can’t take a Jay Cutler and make him a Classic bodybuilder.”
Recently, event announcer Bob Cicherillo shared a similar prediction about Bumstead. However, he specified that Chris could be a threat on the Mr. Olympia stage with an added 20 pounds. If that were the case, Cicherillo argued that Cbum could push Samson Dauda, Nick Walker, or Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay.
Gaspari isn’t the only bodybuilding veteran to assess Bumstead’s physique and impact on the sport. Arnold Schwarzenegger has suggested that the Classic Physique champion should be crowned the Mr. Olympia title instead of the Open winner.
It’s evident that there’s a public interest to see Bumstead switch divisions. Though, in the meantime, he’s made it clear that his sole focus is on repeating as the Classic Physique Olympia on November 3.
RELATED: Bodybuilding Veteran Chris Cormier Breaks Down Chris Bumstead’s Chances In the Men’s Open Division
You can watch the full video from the Dragon Slayer Media YouTube channel below:
Published: 2 June, 2023 | 5:53 PM EDT