CHRIS BUMSTEAD THE UNDISPUTED KING OF CLASSIC PHYSIQUE!
Muscular Development|April 2023
THE MOST DOMINANT MAN ON THE 2022 OLYMPIA STAGE There were some fierce battles onstage at the last Olympia among the various men's divisions. In Men's Physique, three-time Olympia champ Brandon Hendrickson squared off against eventual winner Erin Banks. The 212 division saw two former O champs, Kamal Elgargni and Shaun Clarida, face a vastly improved Angel Calderon Frias from Spain, with Clarida recapturing his title. And in the Mr. Olympia, it went down to the wire between Derek Lunsford and Hadi Choopan, with The Persian Wolf walking away with the Sandow trophy. But with all due respect to the incredible newcomers Ramon "Dino" Queiroz from Brazil and Germany's Urs "The Miracle Bear" Kalecinski, 27-year-old Chris Bumstead won his fourth Classic Physique Olympia title the minute he stepped onstage. Many had felt his condition had slipped a notch from his win in 2020 to 2021, but at a little over 6-foot-1 and 240 pounds, C-Bum was shredded, dry and deeply separated to a degree we had never seen before. He oozed a quiet confidence with a smile, and the crowd went bonkers with his every move.
RON HARRIS
CHRIS BUMSTEAD THE UNDISPUTED KING OF CLASSIC PHYSIQUE!

Soon after, no less than Arnold Schwarzenegger himself told Nick Miller of “Nick’s Strength and Power” in a subtle way who he thinks has the best physique alive today when he said, “I think it is crazy in a way to have a Classic Physique category. Simply because that should be the Mr. Olympia. I think it’s odd that they had to literally create a Classic Physique competition to give to the person that has the best quality body.”

Needless to say, Bumstead won his fourth Olympia title with a perfect score. You can argue about who the best Open or 212 bodybuilder today is, but when it comes to Classic, only a fool would argue that Chris is not the king. I will probably piss a few people off when I say that I don’t see his reign ending any time soon.

THE PRO CREATOR TAKES ON C-BUM

For his entire bodybuilding career, all the way from his first local contest at 19 to his first three Olympia wins, he was coached by Iain Valliere, boyfriend and then husband of his older sister Melissa Bumstead, herself a Figure pro. In the summer of 2022, rumors began to fly that Chris was moving on to Hany Rambod as his coach. Hany should require no introduction to MD readers. With 22 Olympia wins to his credit, his clients have included Phil Heath, Jay Cutler, Hadi Choopan and Derek Lunsford. On October 24, Chris released a video and formally announced the partnership. “We started talking in August about him helping me,” Chris said. Ironically, scores of videos were made by various outlets declaring they were working together months before they actually were. Hany stated that Chris asking him to be his coach came totally out of left field.

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