"There's A Life After Bodybuilding" - 6x Mr. Olympia Chris Bumstead
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In this discussion, six-time Mr. Olympia Chris Bumstead addresses the critical issue of longevity within bodybuilding, a sport that imposes significant physical and psychological strain on athletes. When questioned about his concerns regarding long-term health after years of extreme training and dieting, Bumstead emphasizes that true dedication requires constant vigilance rather than worry. He relies heavily on consistent blood work and advanced diagnostics to monitor his biological markers, noting that since falling ill in 2018, these tests have shown continuous improvement. This data-driven approach allows him to catch potential health issues early, ensuring he maintains optimal function regardless of whether he is currently at a peak or not. Bumstead has fundamentally shifted his perspective on nutrition and supplementation, moving away from a strict macro-counting mentality toward a focus on food quality and overall wellness. He explains that while bodybuilders often prioritize calories, he now prioritizes the specific nutrients and vitamins required to support his health without relying on unnecessary compounds. A major turning point in this philosophy was stopping the use of Trenbolone approximately five years ago due to its severe toxicity; despite its ability to make athletes feel invincible, it causes immense stress on the liver and kidneys that is not worth the risk. He views removing such substances as a way to force greater discipline in training, diet, and recovery rather than relying on chemical shortcuts. The conversation also touches upon Bumstead's decision-making process regarding his career trajectory versus future life goals. Having experienced health setbacks previously, he has made an agreement with himself that if his physical condition begins to falter, regardless of where he stands in his competitive cycle, it is time to step back from the sport. He acknowledges that there is a distinct "life after bodybuilding" and asserts that his identity extends far beyond being a competitor. Bumstead expresses a deep desire for a future involving family and children, stating that sacrificing one's health or ability to enjoy life with loved ones would be an unforgivable regret. Furthermore, Bumstead reflects on the influence of internet culture within the gym community, specifically criticizing memes and jokes about Trenbolone usage among younger athletes who may not understand their long-term consequences. He believes these toxic narratives can mislead aspiring bodybuilders into thinking they need to take dangerous substances just as he once did or simply because others joke about them. By openly discussing his own cessation of such compounds and highlighting the natural limits imposed by classic physique weight caps, Bumstead aims to demonstrate that success is achievable through efficiency—getting maximum results from minimum effort—and consistency rather than extreme chemical enhancement. Ultimately, Chris Bumstead's stance serves as a cautionary tale for those aspiring to reach professional levels in bodybuilding while maintaining long-term health. He argues that the most successful athletes are often those who can fine-tune their regimens by eliminating harmful elements and focusing on natural discipline. While he admits his genetics played a role in his achievements, he credits ten years of consistent work ethic above all else. His approach underscores the idea that true strength comes from knowing when to call it quits for one's own well-being, ensuring that an athlete can enjoy life beyond their competition days without being defined solely by their physique or career status.
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I know that you're quite health
conscious about bodybuilding yeah but
obviously it's a very rough sport
physically psychologically hormonally do
you have any concerns about longevity
you know you've done an awful lot of
like extreme things to your body over
the last decade how worried are you
about that longer term I mean I think if
you're a bodybuilder you don't worry
about that you're either stupid or lying
to be completely honest so it's
something I definitely obviously with
all my own health conditions from the
past on the Forefront of my brain but I
just manage it as best as I can you know
there's blood work you can get done
consistently to keep your markers on
there's a lot of tests you know
Diagnostics now are absolutely insane
and if you want to stay healthy long
term it's
getting something if something's going
on with you catching it early so I do a
lot of Diagnostics and blood work and
make sure I'm getting healthy and ever
since I was sick in 2018 my blood Works
kind of continuously improved so I know
there's no like negative impact I'm
putting on myself like I've reduced a
lot of the stress and negative things I
put in my body and increase more of my
health like the type of food I give in
me it's not just calories it's actually
the the quality of the food and the type
of food and everything that I need that
like I really focus on rather than just
straight macros I've never been a macro
guy and I'm even less now because I
actually care about my health and all
these aspects like everything I know I
need with my body comes from a lot of
the Diagnostics I've done and vitamins
and all this stuff and I just know that
I've made an agreement with myself that
when these things start to falter and
they start to go down no matter where
I'm at my career if I'm peaked if I'm
not peaked if I'm about to be better I
just need to call it I really I know
that it's not worth it to me you know
there's a life after bodybuilding for
sure who I am is not a bodybuilder
there's more to me than that I'll be
happy without it and there's no point in
like
the beautiful this moment in my life is
it's already been a great time but if
I'm going to sacrifice my future life
hopefully with a family and my children
of my own I'm going to be sick or unable
to enjoy it with them that's the biggest
thing I would regret so I just I'm
staying on top of knowing where I'm at
and if it goes down I'm just gonna have
to call it quits yeah I've heard you say
that in the past there was compounds and
things that you would have taken that
now you're like this is true yeah it's
too dangerous what are the things that
for you are like off the table with
regards to this is too much this is too
risky for me the biggest one is like
tread yeah the good old Trend that like
there's a guy who literally like base
their social media off that now it's
just like a meme of the internet of the
gym culture and I don't even think
people realize the impact that these
jokes and memes have on like people
coming up who just see you constantly
joking and talking about saying you need
more of it to be like be better and feel
stronger and all this [ __ ] but
that's probably the most toxic thing you
can put in your body and I've done it in
the past but I don't anymore I just
haven't touched it in like five years
why just the toxicity it causes in your
body like it just comes in it harms your
kidneys your liver just everything that
takes your body to process it and go
through it it's just not natural it's
not meant to be in your body and it
makes you strong as [ __ ] and people if
you say they feel like they're on top of
the world when they take it but to me
that's not really worth the health risk
anymore and another reason why I love
classic physique is because I had a
weight cap and I was close to my weight
cap like three years ago not at it but I
could have taken more [ __ ] and really
tapped out and been at the point where I
couldn't put on any more weight or I
could actually take less [ __ ] and forth
myself to work harder be more consistent
with my diet my training and my recovery
and then still get that result but it
would just be a little bit more effort
you know there's a peak body a Peak open
bodybuilder with no weight cap probably
needs to do everything don't be the best
but if I can just still put in the
discipline in the work and then take out
some of the less [ __ ] that's iron on my
body then I'm on the same point that I
would be it's just a little bit more
effort it says it all that you as
somebody who is competing at the highest
standard of bodybuilding on the planet
is still finding
compounds where you like that's off the
table yeah that's too much for sure you
can always find
things to take out and things to add in
and ways to get better things that are
like unnecessary and just kind of
fine-tuning and you know like a lot of I
mean a lot of any type of success is
getting the most out of the least and
what other effort the amount of work you
put in in a day the amount of [ __ ] you
put in your body the amount of training
even you do it's just being as efficient
as possible so that you're putting in
you're getting maximum result from
minimum effort essentially yeah we've
spoken before and I think that it's a
smart approach that you have of not
talking about the things that you use
and dosages because it's just going to
result in people doing if I take X then
equals Chris bumps precisely exactly
yeah um
but I I think that you've mentioned
before people would be very surprised at
how low those numbers are but I think
most people in the sport can look at me
and be like okay he hasn't made much
changes in six years like and he they
see me training and they see how
consistent I am so they would understand
but I think a lot of maybe aspiring kids
who like who just want to like maybe
look like me or look like a pro
bodybuilder they'd be like no I gotta
take this but he's lying like I got I
need more like to be like that why don't
I look like that and they don't see a my
amazing genetics shout out to my parents
for that and then B the 10 years of work
I put in that has been consistent you
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