On July 27, 2024, five-time reigning Classic Physique Olympia champ Chris Bumstead shared his chest training. His workout involved “yielding isometrics,” drop sets, and modified flyes. He also divulged his mental process and success strategies while advising new bodybuilders.
Bumstead commenced his 2024 Olympia prep in early July and will scale training intensity leading to his fifth title defense attempt at the 2024 Olympia from Oct. 10-13, 2024, in Las Vegas, NV.
[Related: Wesley Vissers’ Near-4,000-Calorie Full Day of Eating During 2024 Olympia Prep]
Prioritizing and Mindset
In a mid-session Q&A, Bumstead shared his priorities and building a champion mindset. The 29-year-old says his commitments are family first, then bodybuilding, then business.
If it weren’t like that, my family would hate me. I’d lose the Olympia.
Bumstead learned to “embrace the suck.”
Every time shit hits me, I end up with a dope story in my Olympia speech, another Olympia title, and more resilience in the end.
Bumstead knows he should minimize mental strains as much as possible. He does so by continuously developing productive daily habits, such as finishing tasks on time, reducing distractions, and ignoring haters.
Your body responds so heavily to your mind,” expressed Bumstead. “When you’re stressed out, your body doesn’t recover. When you’re at the top level, and everyone’s already got elite genetics, it comes down to whose mind is on track the most times.”
“Bodybuilding is a perfection sport. I feel I need to be perfect to win the Olympia,” Bumstead confessed. “A stressful day takes me away from winning the Olympia.”
[Related: Hunter Labrada on Mindset: “Framing Everything We Do in the Gym as a Practiced Skill”]
Machine Decline Chest Press
Bumstead is prioritizing lower chest gains. He started his session seated upright on a machine decline press. He prefers a more shoulder-friendly neutral grip.
As Bumstead pressed, the machine’s arms arced down and together. He reversed the motion into a deep pec stretch and repeated the sequence.
Decline [presses] hit different in the pec minor deep under.
Bumstead performed four sets, maxing out at eight 45-pound plates, backing off on the last set.
Mid-Range Yielding Iso Incline Press
Bumstead used coach Justin King’s pause-rep training on the incline press. The method calls for three sets of 10 reps. At the end of each set, Bumstead spent three seconds on the negative, paused at the bottom, pressed, paused, came halfway down, and held for 20 seconds.
Bumstead typically trains heavy on presses, but time under tension [TUT] with isometric holds and less weight humbled him. TUT normally refers to increasing the time spent performing an exercise to keep the target muscle active longer. Recent studies found that lighter resistance loads paired with greater TUT offer adequate stimulus for muscle and strength gains (1)(2).
Cable Incline Pronated Clavicular Flye
Bumstead squeezed his pecs during chest flyes. Forgoing handle attachments, Bumstead grabbed the end of the cable. He opened his arms wide to lengthen his chest fibers and then reversed for a hard squeeze at the top. To optimize his results, his arms’ movement path was aligned with his upper pecs. He did three drop sets.
I feel the pump across my clavicle in the upper chest.
[Related: How To Use FST-7 Training To Build the Upper Chest]
Dumbbell Flye, Cable Triceps Extensions & Pushdowns
Bumstead followed with dumbbell flyes on a flat bench. Unlike a traditional flye, he raised the arms in a “Y” formation and externally rotated during the stretch.
Bumstead adopted a wide overhand grip on a curved bar for pushdowns and loaded the full cable weight stack for 10 reps. He alternated standing overhead rope extensions for a superior triceps stretch, which may be up to 40 percent more effective for muscle growth than pushdowns due to the stretch across the shoulder joint. (3) Combining overhead and regular pushdowns better ensures overall triceps development.
Decline Dumbbell Skullcrusher and Ab Finisher
Bumstead finished his triceps with dumbbell skull crushers on a decline bench. The objective was achieving a deep stretch by lowering the weights past his head. Using a decline can lessen joint stress. Bumstead noted how heavy the light weights felt.
Bumstead ended his workout with hanging leg raises from a decline bench. He held onto straps secured to the foot end and curled his lower body up.
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Featured image: @cbum on Instagram
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