With the 2023 Mr. Olympia competition just around the corner, Chris Bumstead has gone into crunch mode, paving his way to win the fifth consecutive Mr. Olympia title. And just like before, he isn’t leaving any loose ends for the competition.
Last Sunday, September 17th, Cbum‘s coach Hany Rambod shared a training vlog on YouTube, giving a visual representation of how dedicated the former is to his training, especially his leg workouts.
The 4X Mr. Olympia winner has undergone a hamstrings-focused bodybuilding leg workout to work on his weak points and not leave any loose ends that can cost him the title.
Earlier this month, Bumstead took over his Instagram to share how he has struggled over the past few months. He took another bodybuilding prep diet, furnished his garage gym, and felt anxious about the upcoming competition. In the pre-workout interview, he said “I’m feeling good. Slowly coming back to life a little bit.”
After struggling with major health issues, Bumstead is finally bouncing back, that too in a big way. Bumstead has been doing his prep training with his coach Rambod, at his private gym in Texas.
Chris Bumstead detailed his hamstring leg workout
During the preparation for the upcoming Mr. Olympia title, Chris Bumstead is focusing on tackling his weak points, especially his legs.
Starting with the Lying Leg Curl in his Hamstring workout routine, Cbum’s coach has been emphasizing the importance of building a strong mind-muscle connection with the hamstrings. That’s why, he starts the workout with the Lying Leg Curls machine. Rambod also analyzes Cbum’s temperature in different aspects throughout his prep cycle.
The second leg curl machine that Bumstead trains is a standing single-leg leg curl machine. He performs this workout in a set of 10 to 15 repetitions and also keeps his hip extended, as prescribed by his coach Rambod. He uses this to work on isolating the hamstrings, the biarticular muscle that crosses both the joints of the knee and hip.
Then, the two move on to the hip abduction machine to work on some glute medius. Bumstead trains this machine in two sets before he walks it off to come around. Rambod emphasizes the importance of maintaining good mobility of the lower body to make sure that the whole bodybuilding routine is working efficiently.
Next is the Seated leg curl machine, which Bumstead uses in many high-repetition sets along with a few forced reps by his coach Rambod to conclude each of the sets. Rambod also instructs Bumstead to take a pause at the end of each set and hold the contraction for some time.
Then they move to the fourth exercise, which is the first compound exercise in the belt squat. He does the exercise in pyramid sets, which is training to a single level of maximum effort set and then backing down using lighter weights and a broader posture. This machine helps him imitate the standard squat technique but without the heavy weight of a barbell, forcing down his spine.
Then to focus on the calf muscle, Bumstead uses the Seated calf raise machine. It targets the smaller soleus muscle. He performs the exercise in a set of plate-loaded tibialis anterior raises, which will help enhance Cbum’s poses on stage.
Bumstead and Rambod narrow down their work by performing a few steps of the donkey calf raise machine. In this, he performs a hip hinge and calf-raising against a pad to rest on his lower back. With a straight knee calf, he focuses on working out his calf’s larger gastrocnemius muscle which is important for building the large, three-dimensional calves.
