Classic Physique Olympia champion Chris Bumstead is exploring unique ways of training to stay ahead of the curve.
The Canadian bodybuilder became champion by dethroning Breon Ansley at the 2019 Olympia. He has refused to be taken down by serious issues like last-minute coaching changes and severe injuries, winning the Classic Physique Olympia titles with a comfortable margin from 2019 to 2023.
Bumstead, who is four weeks into the bulking phase of this off-season, has been steadily gaining weight with a 3800-calorie diet. On the day of recording this video, CBum weighed 258 pounds, seven pounds short of his goal weight of 265 pounds.
The 29-year-old has made quite a few changes to his bodybuilding routine this year and the recent chest and back workout posted on his YouTube channel stands testimony to this. Unlike his regular workouts, CBum clubbed chest and back workouts into a combined training session with antagonistic supersets. So let’s see how the session unfolded.
Chris Bumstead Explains his Chest and Back Workout
Bumstead’s chest and back workout consisted of three supersets which looked like this:
- 1st Superset – Incline Dumbbell Press and Underhand Grip Lat Pulldown – 2 sets of 6 to 8 reps of each exercise (Each rep consisting of 1 full and 1 quarter rep at the bottom)
- 2nd Superset – Chest-Supported T-Bar Rows and Incline Chest Press Machine – 2 sets of 6 to 8 reps of each exercise (Long pause at the bottom of each rep)
- 3rd Superset – Incline Chest Flyes Machine and Machine Pullovers – 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps (Static hold of 10 to 15 seconds before each set)
Incline Dumbbell Press and Underhand Grip Lat Pulldown
Bumstead kicked off the training session with a superset consisting of a free-weight compound pushing exercise (incline dumbbell press) and a vertical pulling movement (underhand grip lat pulldown).
The goal of these exercises was to get the maximum range of motion. To achieve this, Bumstead performed a quarter rep at the bottom before each full rep.
“The concept of this is, I’ve been doing a deep range of motion but not full stretch. It’s been tightening and growing my muscles in a short position. The more they stretch out, the stronger they are in the full range of motion and you’re less likely to be injured.”
Bumstead said that doing the incline dumbbell presses with a range of motion using a neutral grip is more effective for pec development. Also, he finds the exercise to be a lot more shoulder-friendly. After performing all the sets of both exercises, CBum moved on to the next superset.
Chest-Supported T-Bar Rows and Incline Chest Press Machine
Bumstead followed up with another antagonistic superset. He paired a horizontal pulling movement – T-bar rows, with an iso-lateral incline chest press machine. Like the previous superset, getting the full range of motion was the primary objective of the exercises. To get maximum stretch in the muscles and to keep them under tension for a longer duration, Bumstead performed slow reps and paused at the bottom of every rep.
Machine Incline Chest Flyes and Machine Pullovers
The Classic Physique champion’s workout came to an end with another superset. But unlike the previous ones, CBum performed isolation movements targeting the chest and back.
At the beginning of every set, CBum did a static hold of approximately 15 seconds. This helped him get the blood flowing into the target muscles. Bumstead then performed 10 to 12 reps in each set.
After performing four sets of each movement in rapid succession, the Canadian bodybuilder wrapped up the training session.
Chris Bumstead has been talking frequently about retirement in recent years. His time in the sport might be coming to an end soon. However, his time at the top is certainly not. The Canadian bodybuilder is working hard consistently and adding new facets to his game. His approach is making it difficult for the division to catch up with him.
Watch the full video below, courtesy of Chris Bumstead’s personal YouTube channel:
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