Chris Bumstead has a problem.
The reigning and five-time champion of the Classic Physique bodybuilding division at the Olympia was long considered nearly untouchable: Bumstead, 29, first claimed the title in 2019 and has been regarded as a model physique for bodybuilding’s hottest new men’s category since his Olympia debut in ‘17.
In ‘19, Bumstead walked away with a seven-point scorecard — in bodybuilding, the athlete with the lowest score ranks the highest — to edge out defending champion Breon Ansley. For the next four years, Bumstead maintained his single-digit card streak while winning the Classic Physique “O” again and again and again.
But the winds of change are blowing, and they may not be at Bumstead’s back much longer. Not because he’s no longer the poster boy of his division (he absolutely is) or because his competitors have outclassed him (they haven’t, yet), but because Bumstead cannot build more muscle mass without “weighing out” of the Classic Physique division.
How Classic Physique Works
Unlike some bodybuilding divisions, including the Men’s Open where the Sandow trophy was awarded to Derek Lunsford in ‘23, the Classic Physique category has a weight cap. According to the IFBB Pro League rules, competitors’ weights are limited based on how tall they are:
Up to 5’4”: 177LB
5’5”: 182LB
5’6”: 187LB
5’7”: 192LB
5’8”: 197LB
5’9”: 204LB
5’10”: 212LB
5’11”: 219LB
6’0”: 227LB
6’1”: 234LB
6’2”: 242LB
6’3”: 249LB
6’4”: 256LB
6’5”: 263LB
6’6”: 270LB
6’7”: 277LB
Over 6’7”: 284LB
On Google, Bumstead is listed as being 6’1”, though he clocked an extra half-inch during weigh-ins for the 2023 Olympia. Following his win in 2020, Bumstead told BarBend that he’d even experimented with an inversion table in an attempt to clear 6’2”, which would have allowed him to present on stage with almost 10 extra pounds of muscle.
During an appearance on the Modern Wisdom podcast, Bumstead joked with host Chris Williamson that the Classic Physique division was “a battle to be taller.”
Put simply, Bumstead can only carry so much muscle mass or he risks ineligibility for the Olympia — the only bodybuilding show he competes in each year.
[Related: IFBB Introduces Height, Weight Caps for Men’s Physique Division]
Limitless Potential…and Limited Weight
The 2024 Olympia won’t be the first time Bumstead has had to contend with the sheer magnitude of his own physique. At the same event in ‘23, Bumstead sat at six-foot-one-and-a-half and — after stripping down to his undies — weighed in at 241 pounds, just a single pound shy of the cap for athletes “up to” 6’2”.
Bumstead is not the only athlete to struggle with the Classic Physique weight caps. Ansley, whom he dethroned to begin his reign in 2019, has oscillated between Classic and the 212 division of bodybuilding.
An incremental bump in the weight caps (athletes in the 6’2” bracket were afforded two extra pounds between 2022 and 2023; if you’re 5’10”, you got an extra five) motivated Ansley to stick it out in Classic Physique. He placed fourth. Bumstead, by contrast, has repeatedly signaled he has no intention of changing divisions.
Meanwhile, adversaries close in.
Bumstead vs. the World
From the outside, Bumstead’s grip on the Classic Physique category looks as white-knuckled as ever. Many of his strengths, such as proportion, flow, and posing skill, have nothing to do with the scale. Yet athletes Bumstead comfortably dominated in years past have been quietly creeping up on the five-time champ.
Ramon “Dino” Rocha Queiroz cut his score from 23 points down to 10 between the ‘21 and ‘23 Olympias while advancing his placement from fifth to twice-runner-up.
The “Miracle Bear” Urs Kalecinski moved from 22 points to 13 in the same period and has remained a steady third at the last two Olympias.
Terrence Ruffin was the silver medalist in ‘21 and looked poised to challenge Bumstead, but has since fallen to fifth and sixth at his next two Olympias.
Ansley has similarly declined to fourth place, a rank he matched at the 2024 Arnold Classic, possibly signaling he’s plateaued in Classic Physique.
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And then there’s Wesley Vissers, who finished a modest 11th at the 2021 Olympia. Flash forward to this spring and Vissers crushed the aforementioned athletes to win the Arnold Classic (both stateside and across the pond). Vissers hadn’t been a serious threat to Bumstead until this year, but his seven-point card at the Arnold is reminiscent of Bumstead’s inaugural “O” victory.
Where do you go when you’re already at the top? Bumstead has won the Olympia with a five-point card — as high as you can score at the “O” — for the last three years while his competitors steadily, if slowly, climb. He can’t build slabs of new muscle, which begs the question:
What can Bumstead do during his off-season to bolster his chances of winning?
Redefining Gains
Despite habitually saying he’s “just trying to get huge” during his famous YouTube training vlogs, Bumstead is in a bind. It’s hard to fill a cup that is already full, and the cup absolutely cannot runneth over come show day.
With meaningful muscle gain off the table — not to mention multiple yearly bodybuilding shows, which are commonplace for his competitors — Bumstead & Co. need to get creative during his extended off-seasons.
Bumstead’s coach, Hany Rambod, is famously tight-lipped about the minutiae of the training choices he makes for his heavy hitters. But any bodybuilding coach or athlete worth their salt should be able to offer insight.
“Any weight [Bumstead] adds in the off-season is weight he’ll have to cut,” says bodybuilding competitor and researcher Dr. Eric Helms (PhD, CSCS). “I’d suspect in the off-season he’ll look to make targeted, muscle-specific improvements, rather than an all-out push for size.”
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Helms emphasized Bumstead’s path forward is more about the trees than the forest; small adjustments that may be imperceptible to an untrained eye but are plain as day to the judges’ panel.
Dr. Ryan Girts, Exercise Physiology PhD, CSCS, and a competitive bodybuilder himself, echoed similar. “It’s to [Bumstead’s] advantage to address weak points or train smaller muscles,” he said.
In Classic Physique, more isn’t always more. Under or over-developed body parts (such as Queiroz’ arms, which are visually impressive but overpower his torso in certain poses) alike are disadvantageous.
Bumstead can’t take a sledgehammer to his physique in the off-season. He needs to use a scalpel, a mandate which extends to both the muscle he adds and the body fat he peels away.
Helms specifically cites what he perceives as a growing importance of conditioning in Classic Physique. “[Bumstead] will be looking to push the limits of reducing his weight via water losses, similar to a boxer trying to make weight,” he says.
“It’s not gonna be fun for him.”
No King Rules Forever
Bodybuilding is one of the rare sports (if you consider it one) where getting older isn’t a liability. Many of the world’s best bodybuilders don’t truly find their stride until their early to mid-30s, and Bumstead won’t celebrate his 30th birthday until after the 2024 Olympia.
Yet there’s more to aging than bulldozing a birthday cake. Bumstead is now a business owner and a father and has publicly signaled that he may throw in the towel after turning 30. He also suffers from Berger disease, which, like the anabolic steroids augmenting every athlete on the Olympia stage, is progressively damaging to the kidneys.
Bumstead will probably win the 2024 Classic Physique Olympia. He may not be able to bulk up big time in his off-season, but he also doesn’t necessarily need to. Bigger problems than muscle mass — he famously won his last two titles bearing a torn lat and biceps, respectively — haven’t slowed him down.
With nearly 25 million followers on Instagram alone, CBum has the Classic Physique division, and bodybuilding culture at large, in his grasp.
It’s lonely at the top, sure. But the view is spectacular.
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Featured Image: Calvin Youttitham / @calvinyouttitham
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