Chris Bumstead is one of the most successful bodybuilders to ever step on the boards and between 2019 and 2024, he racked up six consecutive wins in the Classic Physique category of The Olympia, a feat that established him as an absolute icon before hanging up his weight belt in 2024. In a recent Instagram reelcbum has thought about the strategy that led to his climb, and apparently, the key to victory was more than just counting calories or setting PRs with his reps.
“I was thinking the other day, what has allowed me to win six Olympias,” Bumstead said in an IG video for his nearly 26 million followers. Of course, that’s a question the former champ gets asked all the time, at fitness conventions, in-store signings or on podcast tours, but the best answer is something he’s been able to root out since he retired in 2024. Bumstead says he even asks himself questions to figure out what worked or didn’t work on an important observation.
Despite the physical work a dedicated bodybuilding career requires, Bumstead doesn’t believe the sets or reps were as crucial as the mindset that made these feats of strength possible in the first place. Instead, he believes that having specific goals is really the key to success. “It seems obvious, when you narrow your focus you go further, but I think what people get wrong is how specific this has to be. How deep this goes,” he explained.
The Secret Behind 6 Olympia Wins
Chris Bumstead credits his six Olympia victories to extreme specificity and singular focus.
Bumstead believes that being the best isn’t just about saying you want to be the best. In his case, the bodybuilder took on the very specific goal of winning six Olympia titles. “In 2017, when I stepped on stage for the first time at Olympia and came in second, I was like, ‘this is it,'” Cbum shared. “I’m going to win six Olympics, I’m going to do it before I’m 30. (Michael) Jordan had six rings, I’m going to get six titles and I want to have a family at 30, so (then) I’m going to step away from that.”
Bumstead says he was so driven to win Olympia titles that he decided not to finish at other shows. “And I got crazy offers,” he recalls, noting that he was promised a lot of money to compete abroad or just to pose for guests for 5 minutes. “(The) Arnold is a great status symbol and a lot of money, and I said no to all that stuff, because it’s not just about what you do, it’s about what you don’t do that (will) take you away from focusing on your goals.”
While Bumstead acknowledged that most competitive bodybuilders are already specific about their goals because they have to sacrifice luxuries like hanging out with friends and eating out, the Classic Physique legend said that mindset can go even further. “It’s for those things that blur that line a little bit,” he advised. “You could argue that The Arnold continues to work to win an Olympia, because it’s a similar goal, to become a better bodybuilder, but for me, I said, ‘no, I’m taking my focus and attention away from my one goal, which is to win the Olympias, and I’m going to put it somewhere else.’
This specific focus has certainly paid off. After coming in second in 2017 and 2018, Bumstead would go on to rule the Men’s Classic Physique, winning six consecutive Olympia titles between 2018 and 2024, just as he envisioned. Bumstead believes his singular focus gave him the edge because his opponents were thinking about “a lot of things throughout the year” as they prepared for various other competitions leading up to bodybuilding’s most prestigious show.
While many fans had called for Bumstead to leave Classic Physique and attempt an Open Division competition, he waited until his Olympia campaign was over before entering the EVLS Prague Pro and came second in a respectable effort against Martin Fitzwater. “I think what people don’t see is that your attention and your focus on the present is stored energy for who you will become in the future,” Cbum said.
Focus builds confidence (and performance)
Knowing that he was able to pay more attention to Olympia than his rivals was a great source of confidence, Bumstead adds. “I literally told my competitors, I said ‘you’re not going to beat me,'” he said. “I told some of them, you’re not going to beat me if you don’t just focus on that. I’m not the hardest worker, I don’t have the best strength, but I focus on one thing, and if you don’t, you’re not going to beat me.”
Bumstead summed up his inspirational message by saying that hard work, discipline and grit are essential to progress. “But you need more clarity. You need to be more specific about what it is you want,” he pleaded. “To be able to say ‘no’ to things that don’t serve your purpose and ‘yes’ to things that do and only to things that do.” In the caption next to his motivational message, the icon wrote: “I’m not saying it’s the ‘right way’ but if you’re committed to going the distance, then it’s definitely not the wrong way.”
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