Written by Kyle Hunt | BEXSci.
Fact checked by Kirsten Yovino, CPT Brookbush Institute
FACT CHECKED
The golden era of bodybuilding was everything great about the sport.
It had huge personalities, aesthetic physiques, and a superstar athlete to be the frontman. This period is so influential that fifty years later, we have an entire class dedicated to bringing it back to life. The classic physique division is both a throwback and a look ahead to the future of the sport.
For the past five years, the classic physique has been dominated by one man: Chris Bumstead. He is the reigning Olympia Classic Physique champion, winning the show in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.
With 23 million followers on his Instagram account and over 3 million YouTube channel subscribers, it is safe to say Chris Bumstead is the current face of bodybuilding. And it's easy to see why.
The professional bodybuilder is arguably the most aesthetic guy on the planet. For the first time in decades, the lifting community has a champion bodybuilder to aspire to look like. And while we may not be able to replicate his exact results, we can certainly learn a thing or two from how Chris Bumstead trains.
Table of Contents:
- Chris Bumstead's Training Split
- Chris Bumstead's Workout Routine
- Chris Bumstead Programming Tips
- Bumstead Brief Bio
- Chris Bumstead Diet & Supplementation
Chris Bumstead's Workout Routine & Training Split
The Chris Bumstead workout split follows an unconventional 8-day training split, which involves training three days in a row, followed by one rest day.
|
Day |
Muscle Groups |
|
Day 1 |
Quads and Calves |
|
Day 2 |
Chest (Plus Some Triceps) |
|
Day 3 |
Back (Thickness) (Plus Some Bis) |
|
Day 4 |
Rest |
|
Day 5 |
Shoulders (Plus Some Chest) |
|
Day 6 |
Hamstrings and Back (Width) |
|
Day 7 |
Arms |
|
Day 8 |
Rest |
Aside from his back, Chris Bumstead's workout routine hits the different muscle groups once per week. Bodybuilders have had great success with similar bro split style workout routines for decades.
Although high-frequency training is often seen as evidence-based, training frequency does not significantly or meaningfully impact muscle hypertrophy and building muscle mass when the volume is equated.
Simply put, it doesn't matter how often you train each week when the number of sets you do for each muscle group per week is the same. It's also notable that the Cbum workout plan breaks his lower body parts into two sessions: one quad-focused and the other hamstring based.
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Prepare to maximize your gains with our exclusive 12-week hypertrophy training program. Choose between a 4 or 5 day training split and gain 2-12 pounds of muscle over 90 days...
Chris Bumstead Workout Routine: Off Season Training
Admittedly, Chris Bumstead's workout plan doesn't always follow super strict guidelines. Therefore, exercises are subject to change slightly. But one thing that remains consistent is that Bumstead follows an 8-day workout split, following a 3-day on, 1-day off, format.
With that said, the overall structure of his bro split training style is very consistent. One thing you will notice watching Chris Bumstead train is his emphasis on the basics. He uses a variety of movements, utilizing both free weights and specialized machines.
Day 1: Quads and Calves
Day one of the Chris Bumstead workout is quads and calves. This is the big leg development day of the week.
Start by getting a good warm-up with a superset of leg extensions and the adduction machine. Bumstead feels the adduction machine is the secret to warming up for squats.
After a few warmup sets, stay on leg extensions for two working sets. Then, on the second set, perform a drop set.
Next up is the main exercise of the workout: smith machine squats. Working up in weight, Chris Bumstead performs a few low rep warmup sets not to waste energy. The goal is to work up to the heaviest weight possible for six to ten reps. After the top set, drop the weight by about five percent for the second set.
During squats, he wears a belt and a pair of knee sleeves. Interestingly, he performs the entire workout without any shoes on.
You'll notice there are no standing lunges (or lunges of any kind) in Chris Bumstead's quads routine. Instead, the workout concludes with a tri-set of unilateral leg press, bodyweight sissy squats, and seated calf raises. The unilateral leg press takes some pressure off the lower back and allows you to focus on one leg at a time.
Cbum Workout: Quad & Calf Day
- Leg Extension (Drop Set): 2x20
- Smith Machine Squat: 2x6-10
- Leg Tri Set
-Unilateral Leg Press: 3x8-10
- Sissy Squat: 3x12-15
- Seated Calf Raise: 3x10-12
Day 2: Chest (Plus Some Triceps)
The second session of the week is everyone's favorite: chest day with some tricep training mixed in.
Chris Bumstead's chest workout starts with him lying prone on an incline bench and performing light dumbbell Y-raises. The workout begins with an incline dumbbell press. The goal is to work up to two heavy sets of near-maximal weight in the 8 to 10 rep range.
Next up: Stay on the incline bench for two sets of dumbbell incline flies. Get a good stretch at the bottom and a hard contraction at the top.
The third movement is the Hammer Strength machine incline press. Perform two working sets, with a drop set on both. Start the second set on the same weight as the drop set from the first set.
After that, knock out three sets of fifteen on the pec deck, then mix in some triceps work with two sets of EZ bar skull crushers, before finishing up with two sets of push-ups to failure. By the end of the pushups, your chest and tris should be smoked. If you're following his plan but want some push-up variations to play around with, there are plenty of options.
Cbum Workout: Chest Day
- Incline Dumbbell Press: 2x8-10
- Incline Dumbbell Fly: 2x8-10
- Hammer Strength Machine Incline Press (Drop Set): 2x6-10
- Pec Deck: 3x15
- EZ Bar Skull Crushers: 2x8-10
- Pushups: 2xFailure
Day 3: Back (Thickness, Plus Some Biceps)
Day three is the first Chris Bumstead back workout of the week. In this workout, the focus is on back thickness. In addition, the biceps are getting worked in the majority of these movements as they work to pull alongside the back.
With no specific warmup, Chris Bumstead jumps right into the first exercise of the day, a lat pulldown using an underhand close grip. This will be the only pulldown variation of the day.
Next up is a chest-supported dumbbell row using an incline bench. This is a highly underrated exercise and often takes a backseat to bent over barbell rows and the seal row. However, the dumbbell chest-supported row is a great alternative to bent over rows.
The third exercise of the day is a chest-supported t-bar row with a neutral grip. The key is getting a full scapular retraction as you pull the weight into your chest. On the second set, perform a drop set.
After that, move over to the machine chest supported row. Each chest-supported row variation hits the back from a different angle. Changing the grip, angle of pull or elbow position can change how the movement targets the muscle.
You'll end this back training program with a lat extension using a Vulken cable attachment, followed by two sets of machine preacher curls to fully fatigue your biceps.
Cbum Workout Routine: Back Day
- Close Grip Underhand Lat Pulldown: 3x10-12
- Chest Supported Dumbbell Row: 2x8-10
- Chest Supported T-Bar Row (Drop Set): 2x8-10
- Machine Chest Supported Row: 2x10-12
- Cable Lat Extension: 2x10-12
- Machine Preacher Curls: 2x10-12
Day 4: Rest
Note that day four is a rest day, so we aren’t including much information here. Take it easy, and let your muscles heal. Make sure you determine how much protein you need to build muscle, and keep your intake just as high on rest days.
You can't go wrong with adding chocolate whey protein to your daily diet, but there are tons of great protein powders to choose from.
Day 5: Shoulders (Plus Some Chest)
Chris Bumstead's shoulders workout starts with an extensive warmup of band dislocations and internal and external rotations.
The first exercise of the day in Chris Bumstead's shoulder workout is a seated dumbbell shoulder press. Slowly work up in weight, performing multiple light warmup sets. The two working sets should be as heavy as possible. Chris puts a lot of emphasis on shoulder press strength in the offseason.
The second exercise of the day is a machine shoulder press. On the third set, do a drop set to get in some more volume. Next up is a seated dumbbell lateral raise, and you'll perform a drop set on the second set. Doing these seated helps eliminate cheating.
Once you are done, jump over to the lateral raise machine to finish off your lateral delt exercises.
Chris Bumstead's workout concludes with two supersets of the reverse pec deck and the fly machine to hit the rear delts and chest.
Cbum Workout: Shoulder Day
- Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 2x6-10
- Machine Shoulder Press (Drop Set): 3x6-10
- Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raise (Drop Set): 2x8-10
- Machine Lateral Raise: 2x10-12
- Superset
- Reverse Pec Deck: 2x10-12
- Machine Fly: 2x10-12
Day 6: Hamstrings and Back Width
The second leg workout of the week focuses on Chris Bumstead's hamstring exercise routine with a bit of back work sprinkled in at the end.
The workout starts with lying leg curls. Doing the leg curls before deadlifts act as a pre-exhaust for the hamstrings. Chris loves deadlifting heavy. Plus, having quantitative goals is a great way to maintain motivation during the offseason. So work up to the heaviest weight you can handle for 4 to 8 reps.
After deadlifts, hit the hamstrings with two more leg curl variations, seated and standing, before moving onto the back.
The first back exercise is wide grip lat pulldowns. You can rotate in wide-grip pull-ups in this spot as well. Finish the workout with two quick sets of cable lat extensions using a double grip v-bar attachment.
Cbum Workout Routine: Hamstring & Back Day
- Lying Leg Curl: 2x8-10
- Deadlift: 2x4-8
- Seated Leg Curl: 2x8-10
- Standing Leg Curl: 2x8-10
- Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns: 3x8-10
- Cable Lat Extension: 2x10-12
Day 7: Arms
Last but not least: Arms. It's important to mention that his biceps and triceps were both worked earlier in his training week during his back and chest days, and on top of this, he layers on an entire session dedicated to growing these specific muscle groups.
Begin Chris Bumstead's workout routine with rope press downs before moving to incline dumbbell skull crushers. Start these with your elbows pointing directly up at the ceiling to keep the focus on the triceps. You can drop your elbows at the end of the set to get in a few extra reps. As an alternative, you can perform one or two handed grip barbell skull crushers, ez bar skull crushers, or reverse grip barbell skull crushers.
After two triceps exercises, EZ bar preacher curls are the first biceps movement. As an alternative to using the EZ bar, you can also opt for machine preacher curls.
Next up is good old fashion dumbbell biceps curls. Again, focus on rotating the wrist outward at the top. If you're following this program but want variation, hammer curls are another great option.
The last triceps exercise is a cable cross-body triceps extension. Set the cable at about head height. Using one arm at a time, extend your hand from the opposite shoulder horizontally to full extension.
Finish cbums workout with a low pulley cable curl using a v-bar handle.
Cbum Workout: Arm Day
- Rope Cable Triceps Pressdown (Drop Set): 2x8-10
- Incline Dumbbell Skull Crusher: 2x8-10
- EZ Bar Preacher Curl (Drop Set): 3x8-10
- Dumbbell Curl: 2x10-12
- Cable Cross Body Triceps: 2x10-15
- Low Pulley Cable Curl With V-Bar Handle (Drop Set): 2x10-12
Day 8: Rest
Again, here’s your reminder to hit your protein goals, get adequate rest, and let your muscles rest and repair.
Chris Bumstead Workout Programming Tips
Want to train like a professional bodybuilder? Follow Chris Bumstead's programming tips.
- Train hard and heavy with moderate volume utilizing a double progression loading scheme. During a Chris Bumstead workout, he aims to get at least ten reps before increasing the weight.
- For double progression, work in a programmed rep range (8-10, for example) and stick with the same weight for as long as needed to reach the top of that rep range. It's a simple way to build progressive overload into your training for muscle hypertrophy and follow the same principles as the Chris Bumstead workout.
- Once you hit the top of the prescribed rep range for the programmed number of sets, increase the weight by 5 to 15 pounds and repeat the process. Essentially, you always try to increase reps first, and then once you are capable, increase the weight. This is why it is called double progression.
- Utilize drop sets to increase training intensity and maximize muscle growth. Drop sets are when you do a set close to failure with a given load, and with minimal rest, perform as many reps as possible with reduced weight.
Who Is Chris Bumstead?
Chris Bumstead, age 28, was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. At six feet tall, he has a contest weight of 225 pounds. In the offseason, he typically gets up to 260 to 265 pounds. Bumstead is the current champion of the Mr. Olympia Classic Physique division.
Chris Bumstead is the first Mr. Olympia who could just as easily be classified as a fitness influencer. He documents his training and nutrition on his YouTube and Instagram accounts, like this shoulder workout, giving a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to be a champion.
In addition to competing, he is part owner of a supplement company called Raw Nutrition.
Chris Bumstead Diet and Supplementation
Even in the offseason, Chris Bumstead's diet is spot on nutrition-wise and filled with healthy foods. Based on his full day of eating videos on YouTube, he tracks his food using My Fitness Pal.
1) Offseason Diet:
In the peak of Bumstead's offseason, he eats roughly 5,000 calories broken up into 265 to 290 grams of protein, 550 to 650 grams of carbs, and around 150 grams of fat. His diet consists of mostly minimally processed whole foods he cooks himself. However, he also takes advantage of a meal prep service called Trifecta Nutrition for convenience.
Notice it's a decent amount of food. It's important to realize that even if you're following the Chris Bumstead workout, most people likely still won't need as many calories as him.
Even Bumstead doesn't stay at 5,000 calories year-round. As he gets closer to his pre-season training, he tapers to between 3,000 and 4,000 calories per day. And in his competitive season, this decreases even further, with Bumstead eating just over 2,700 calories when he's 6 weeks out from Mr. Olympia.
A day of eating for Chris Bumstead in the peak of his offseason looks like the following:
|
|
What Chris Bumstead Eats |
|
Meal 1 |
2 scoops of CBUM Itholate protein powder |
|
Meal 2 |
6 to 8 ounces steak |
|
Meal 3 |
6 to 8 ounces grilled chicken breast or ground turkey |
|
Meal 4 |
6 to 8 ounces of ground beef |
|
Meal 5 |
6 to 8 ounces ground turkey |
|
Meal 6 |
1 scoop CBUM Itholate protein powder |
Looking for more information on the Chris Bumstead bulking diet? Check out the video below as he discusses it in detail.
2) Supplements:
We just mentioned a few key supplements that Chris Bumstead includes alongside his workout routine and diet. One key supplement he adds to his shakes is glutamine, which helps with everything from aiding your immune function to promoting digestive health to supporting muscle recovery.
If you want to further boost your muscle recovery, be sure to add one of these 8 Best Glutamine Supplements to your supplement stack!
Two other tried and true favorites of Bumstead's are whey isolate protein powder and pre-workout (trust me, you'll want the energy before tackling a Chris Bumstead workout!).
For some awesome muscle-building protein powder options, check out these 7 Best Whey Isolate Protein Powders. And, any one of these Best Pump Pre Workouts will ensure you're bringing maximum effort to your training sessions.
You'll be training, eating, and supplementing like CBum in no time!
Chris Bumstead's Workout Routine: Simplicity & Consistency
Following Chris Bumstead's training and diet plan won't guarantee a Sandow trophy, but it'll certainly get you gains. And if you're not ready for an 8-day training schedule, there are plenty of other great workout splits based on how often you train to help you see results.
Remember, Chris Bumstead's workout and diet follow very basic training principles, focusing on consistency, progressive overload, and proper diet.
You may be surprised by the simplicity of the Chris Bumstead workout and diet. The truth is, there are no secrets or special techniques to what the famous bodybuilder does in his training routine that isn't semi-common knowledge.
It all comes down to consistency and effort. There is no substitute for the work.
Looking for more great routines similar to the Chris Bumstead workout? Check out the Ronnie Coleman Workout Split, Dorian Yates Workout Routine & the Big Ramy Workout Split & Diet!
Images courtesy of Chris Bumstead's Instagram
Disclaimer: This post, focusing on Chris Bumstead's workout and diet, is derived from our detailed research and offers a general overview, not our direct opinion. We have no affiliation with or endorsement from Chris Bumstead.
Kyle Hunt
Author