Chris Bumstead, one of the sport’s most recognizable names, is keeping busy during his off-season. In a recent podcast with clinical psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson, Bumstead shared his 300-gram protein dietary regimen and reaffirmed his commitment to retiring by 30.
Since 2019, Chris Bumstead has cemented his place as one of the best bodybuilders to come out of the Classic Physique division. He boasts a total of five Olympia titles, with his latest defense coming just months ago, when he bested German star Urs Kalecinski and Brazilian powerhouse Ramon Rocha Queiroz.
A persistent theme throughout Bumstead’s career has been overcoming adversity before achieving the improbable. Prior to raising a fifth Classic Physique Olympia trophy above his head, Bumstead was forced to navigate contest prep with a torn lat.
Despite changes to training, he still persevered. While Bumstead’s reign appears bulletproof from the outside looking in, the dominant champion has now revealed that he is eying an exit from the big stage. In addition to delving into his year-round dietary needs, Bumstead shares why he always knew his bodybuilding career had an expiration date.
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Chris Bumstead Breaks Down What His Diet Looks Like as a 5x Reigning Classic Physique Olympia
For Bumstead, he aims for a maximum amount of calories in the off-season and when prep starts, he brings them down while increasing cardio training.
“It typically consists of you start building up to a maximum amount of calories as you can throughout the year so your metabolism is flying. And then when you start prep, you just slowly start bringing down the calories while increasing the amount of cardio you do.”
In the off-season, ‘Cbum’ typically consumed 5,000-5,500 calories whereas in a contest prep, he reduced his intake to only 1,500.
“So let’s say my off-season when I am at my heaviest, I’m eating about 5,500, 5,000 calories. Then, at my lowest, at the end of my prep, I’ll be eating about 1,500 calories. So, it comes down quite a bit and within that, you’re adding in cardio, so you’re expending a little bit more calories doing that and it’s just kind of changing the energy output versus input to make sure that you’re inputting less than your outputting,” explains Bumstead.
Chris Bumstead revealed that he eats 300 grams of protein daily and when he is manipulating his diet for bodybuilding, he only tinkers with his fats and carbohydrates.
“I’ll eat about 300 grams of protein in a day. And as my calories come down, I’m normally pulling away my carbs and my fats and keeping my protein the same. So, calories are coming down, but protein staying the same so that ratio just changes. That’s why bodybuilding is so much different than a lot of other sports if you can call it that.”
Even though they all share the commonality of competition, Bumstead believes bodybuilding differs greatly from other sporting disciplines. He adds that a successful bodybuilding career boils down to effective dieting and training, which he described as a balancing act.
“Because it’s not just about how you perform, but it’s about how you look. So typically, in sports, it’s like what’s going to allow me to perform the best, whereas in bodybuilding, it’s like, no, I’m just got to look the best and I still have to go and perform in the gym as best as I can.
So it’s kind of balancing those two to allow yourself to be in the gym getting the best workouts that you can. But you also can’t be eating too much to perform at your best because then you’ll be holding on to too much body fat. So it’s kind of an art of balancing all of that.”
Bumstead ‘Grateful’ for Bodybuilding Career But Says It’s Not ‘Forever’
According to ‘Cbum,’ he always knew he had limited time to make the most of his bodybuilding career.
“I’ve always been pretty transparent that bodybuilding isn’t forever for me. I’m grateful I got successful at a young age so I can retire at a young age.
I always said I wouldn’t go past 30. So, now, that I’m approaching that age, I’m coming to that point where I’m like, coming to the understanding that there isn’t going to be one mountain, there is going to be many.”
Reflecting on his 2023 season, Bumstead admitted that he spread himself too thin as a top athlete, business owner, husband, and future father.
“Also this past year, I had a lot of things on my plate and I spread myself a little bit too thin. I wasn’t able to compete at the level I wanted to at the beginning of the year. I read this book called The One Thing and its talking about if you want to be the top one percent in something, you need to focus on that one thing.”
“I was trying to be good, wearing too many hats, while still being Mr. Olympia but it also showed me that if I want to be the best father I can be, the best husband I can be, the best businessman, the best everything I can be, bodybuilding is going to take away from that, at least for parts of the year,” said Chris Bumstead.
He understands that if he wishes to remain the number one bodybuilder in Classic Physique, other areas of his life will suffer.
“If bodybuilding is still being the best in the world, at least, it takes a lot out of me. Therefore, sacrificing from other things. I started to notice that. It’s not what I wanted. The biggest goal I’ve ever had in my life and I’ve always said this, this is why I’m so excited right now is to be the best father I can be.”
Bumstead has been candid with his massive fanbase since contemplating retirement. During a trip to Brazil, the bodybuilding star reaffirmed his plan to step away from competing in two years. He made it clear that he does not plan to compete past 30 years old.
One thing is certain: there are plenty of Classic Physique contenders waiting in the wings eager to unseat Bumstead as champion. Fans look forward to seeing him back on stage in pursuit of a sixth Olympia title from October 10-13 in Las Vegas, Nevada later this year.
RELATED: 5x Classic Physique Olympia Chris Bumstead Shares 2024 Off-Season Protein Shake Recipe
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