Bumstead embodied the heart of a champion to complete his “four-peat”.
2022 Mr. Entering the Olympia, Chris Bumstead is highly expected to continue his uninterrupted reign in the Classic Physique category. Now a four-time champion, Bumstead is one of the most prominent, influential names in bodybuilding, earning direct admiration from the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger. As it turned out, Bumstead had another roadblock to overcome when he completed his remarkable four-peat.
On January 12, 2023, Bumstead revealed the video on his Instagram He tore his right biceps muscle three days before the start of the 2022 Olympia competition Despite such a potentially heavy setback, Bumstead pushed for victory, but things didn’t go quite as he had planned.
Per Bumstead’s testimony, he did not notice anything was wrong with his arm until the morning of Wednesday, December 14, 2022, three days before he was expected to step on stage. The superstar athlete said he felt “a little sore” before his own personal weigh-in but wasn’t sure what the problem was initially. The following day, the Thursday before the start of the 2022 Olympia, Bumstead’s pain became apparent, especially when posing. By Friday evening, the pain in his arm was so severe that Bumstead avoided the pose as much as he could. After all, their callouts and Classic Physique finals were scheduled for that Saturday, and they needed to conserve energy where possible.
For this young titan, it became a physical and mental journey through adversity. Given the high expectations and pressure he placed on himself, this last-minute biceps injury was not a welcome setback.
” … So we went on stage for preliminaries and I still felt good and I still felt confident,” Bumstead said. “My physique is amazing but I was thinking here’s this great physique I’ve built, probably the best package I’ve ever brought to the stage, but my arm. Everyone’s looking at me and going, ‘Why doesn’t his arm look right?'” I couldn’t get it out of my head. .”
Despite his insecurities over injury, which ultimately did not prevent him from another Classic Physique Olympia title, Bumstead did his best to keep his eye on the prize. He had to take a step back and make sure his mind was in the right place before doing the seemingly impossible – winning a fitness posing competition with a body part that didn’t look “right” or perform.
The way the best champions do it.
“I had one of my ‘c-bum’ moments in the bathroom, crying,” Bumstead revealed on the day of the Classic Physique Olympia. “I sat on my knees in front of this mirror and looked at myself. I was just like, ‘What’s going on, man? … All this work you’ve done, all the effort you’ve put into it, all the love you have for it, the years and the many times you’ve done it. And you stress about it now? … All the fans and friends who supported you are excited to be here. You should be excited for that. Not ‘you should’, but you get A chance to be here and enjoy it. … It’s a privilege and a blessing to be here. I’m going to choose to enjoy it.
From there, Bumstead’s hopes of enjoying a moment under the stage spotlight in Las Vegas, NV paid off. By keeping a positive, competitive mindset, he clarified that he could compartmentalize a torn muscle that may have been dragging him down. For every Bumstead, if one takes a closer look at him after stepping off the stage in the Classic Physique finals, the pain and strain he’s enduring from injured biceps is palpable, even if he does his best to hide it.
“We went out there, had fun, crushed it, and it was my proudest moment,” Bumstead said. “That’s why you see that clip of me walking off the stage and batting my eyes. Because it’s all the stress, the anticipation, the stress, getting on stage, being on my mind all day, fighting. Ups and downs all day, then I was able to pull it together, be out there and have fun and bring home the win.
These days, roughly a month after the latest bright moment of his illustrious, burgeoning career, Bumstead explains that his biceps tear isn’t actually all that severe. In fact, this doesn’t seem to hamper much of his training plans as he works towards a fifth consecutive championship in 2023.
He should be patient and take his time first.
“An update now on my bicep, it’s a little torn, it’s not out of insertion or origin. It’s just a muscle belly, so it’s not really that bad,” Bumstead said. “They are [medical professionals] He said six to eight weeks to recover. I’m stubborn, so I’d say five to six weeks. But I never trained back or biceps. I haven’t really trained in four weeks. I’m letting it heal, letting it heal, reducing the inflammation.
Featured Image: @cbum on Instagram
