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What split does CBUM use?

Chris Bumstead trains 6 days per week using a traditional bodybuilding bro split. He trains one major muscle group each workout, such as his chest, back, or quads.

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Are you curious about the Chris Bumstead training split?

Do you want to know Chris Bumstead trains for size and strength?

Then you’ve come to the right place.

In this comprehensive guide, I will teach you to use the Chris Bumstead training split to take your physique to the next level!

Introduction

Part 1: Chest

Part 2: Quads

Part 3: Shoulders

Part 4: Back

Part 5: Arms

Part 6: Hamstrings

Chris Bumstead is one of the greatest bodybuilders in the world.

He won the Classic Physique Mr. Olympia contest 3 years in a row from 2019 – 2021, and he is currently training to defend his title a 4th time!

So how does Chris Bumstead organize his training? Does he have a secret training split, or is he just gifted for bodybuilding?

Chris Bumstead trains 6 days per week using a traditional bodybuilding bro split. He trains one major muscle group each workout, such as his chest, back, or quads. Here is the exact training split that Chris Bumstead uses to get ready for the Mr. Olympia contest:

The Chris Bumstead Training Split

Day 1: Chest

Chest Day 2: Quadriceps

Quadriceps Day 3: Shoulders

Shoulders Day 4: Back

Back Day 5: Arms

Arms Day 6: Hamstrings

Hamstrings Day 7: Off

As you can see, Chris Bumstead trains 6 days in a row, and takes the 7th day off. He likes this split because he can bomb each muscle group with a ton of volume and intensity. He also never has to worry about his recovery, as each muscle group has a full week to recover before the next workout. Many fitness experts say that training each muscle once per week is a bad idea. However, Chris Bumstead believes it is the fastest way to build an elite bodybuilding physique! Chris trains his chest on day 1 of his 6-day training split. Here is one of his favorite chest workouts. Check it out:

Chris Bumstead’s Chest Workout

Exercise A1: Incline smith machine press, 3 sets of 6-8 reps, 2 minutes rest Incline smith machine press, 3 sets of 6-8 reps, 2 minutes rest Exercise B1: Hammer strength flat press, 3 sets of 20 reps**, 2 minutes rest Hammer strength flat press, 3 sets of 20 reps**, 2 minutes rest Exercise C1: Flat machine press, 3 sets of 20 reps**, 2 minutes rest Flat machine press, 3 sets of 20 reps**, 2 minutes rest Exercise D1: Pec dec machine, 3 sets of 10-12 reps, no rest Pec dec machine, 3 sets of 10-12 reps, no rest Exercise D2: Parallel bar dips (forward leaning torso), 3 sets to failure, 2 minutes rest **Performed with a weight around your 10-15 rep max. After you reach failure your training partner gives you generous assistance during the lifting phase of each rep

Here is the training video:

Talk about an intense workout!

Chris Bumstead performs a total of 5 exercises for his chest, including 4 compound movements and 1 isolation exercise. He starts the workout with the incline smith machine press. Chris warms up, and performs 3 heavy sets in the 6-8 rep range. Chris says that he almost always starts his chest day with some type of incline press, such as the incline smith machine press, the incline bench press, or the incline dumbbell press. Here’s why: “Incline has always been where I personally feel the best stretch, contraction and mind-muscle connection in my chest. I’ve seen research that the incline press gives more muscle activation for the average bodybuilder. That’s why I stick to incline presses all the time.”

After that, Chris performs 2 different types of flat machine presses.

On both exercises, Chris trains to failure and performs several forced reps with the help of his training partner. Forced reps are an advanced training technique where your training partner helps you lift the weight after reaching failure, and you lower the weight back down on your own. Many legendary bodybuilders like Dorian Yates used forced reps to overload their muscles beyond the point of muscle failure to stimulate even more growth. Finally, Chris finishes his high-volume chest workout with a brutal superset with the pec dec machine and free weight dips. Chris Bumstead trains quads on day 2 of his 6-day training split. Here is one example of how he likes to organize his quad workouts. Check it out:

Chris Bumstead’s Quads Workout

Exercise #1: Machine hack squat, 3 sets of 10-12 reps

Machine hack squat, 3 sets of 10-12 reps Exercise #2: Walking DB lunge, 3 sets of 20 reps Walking DB lunge, 3 sets of 20 reps Exercise #3: Horizontal leg press, 3 sets of 20 reps Horizontal leg press, 3 sets of 20 reps Exercise #4: Leg extension, 3 sets of 20 reps Leg extension, 3 sets of 20 reps Exercise #5: Seated calf raise, 3 sets of 20 reps

Here is the training video:

Talk about an intense workout!

Chris performs 4 exercises for his quads, including machine hack squats, walking dumbbell lunges, horizontal leg presses, and leg extensions. Unlike a lot of bodybuilders, Chris Bumstead likes to train his quads and hamstrings on separate training days. He performs several exercises for each muscle group, and he feels he gets higher-quality workouts by training them separately.

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For quads Chris likes to use free weight squats and different machine exercises. He only performed machine exercises in this workout, but Chris says that the regular back squat is his all-time favorite exercise for legs. “Squats will forever be my go-to exercise for leg day. I find they are really the only thing that makes my legs grow. Nothing compares to squats. I remember one year I had really bad knee issues and I couldn’t squat for 8 months, and my legs just did not look the same.”

During the workout Chris mostly trained in the 20-rep range.

Many bodybuilders like Stan Efferding and Branch Warren have found that the quads grow best with extremely high reps, so Chris Bumstead is in good company here.

Finally, Chris finished this workout with a few heavy sets of calves.

Chris Bumstead trains shoulders on day 3 of his 6-day training split. Here is a perfect example of how he likes to train shoulders. Check it out:

Chris Bumstead’s Shoulder Workout

Exercise #1: Smith overhead press, 4 sets of 10-12 reps

Smith overhead press, 4 sets of 10-12 reps Exercise #2: Machine lateral raise, 4 sets of 10-12 reps Machine lateral raise, 4 sets of 10-12 reps Exercise #3: Machine overhead press, 4 sets of 10-12 reps Machine overhead press, 4 sets of 10-12 reps Exercise #4: Machine lateral raise, 4 sets of 10-12 reps Machine lateral raise, 4 sets of 10-12 reps Exercise #5: Cable rear delts, 4 sets of 10-12 reps Cable rear delts, 4 sets of 10-12 reps Exercise #6: Reverse pec dec, 4 sets of 10-12 reps

Here is the training video:

Talk about an intense workout!

Chris Bumstead performs a total of 6 exercises for his shoulders, including 2 compound movements and 4 isolation exercises. Most bodybuilders only perform 1 overhead pressing movement for their shoulders, but Chris Bumstead feels it is absolutely essential to include 2 of these exercises. For his side and rear delts, Chris likes to perform different isolation movements like machine lateral raises and the reverse pec dec. Chris says that too many people use momentum to lift the weight on their lateral raises. Instead, he uses strict form to really isolate the side delt muscles. “When I do this movement, I’m not coming crazy far back. You see some skinny people who are extending really far back. That’s when you engage with your traps and rhomboids. So don’t think about getting a giant range of motion. Just think about always feeling the tension on your delts.” Chris Bumstead trains his upper back on day 4 of his intense 6-day training split.

Here is what his upper back workouts normally look like:

Chris Bumstead’s Back Workout

Exercise #1: Lat pulldown (medium / neutral grip), 2 sets of 6 reps** Lat pulldown (medium / neutral grip), 2 sets of 6 reps** Exercise #2: Chest supported row (wide / pronated grip), 3 set of 4-8 reps**** Chest supported row (wide / pronated grip), 3 set of 4-8 reps**** Exercise #3: Hammer strength row (narrow / neutral grip), 3 sets of 8-10 reps** Hammer strength row (narrow / neutral grip), 3 sets of 8-10 reps** Exercise #4: Nautilus machine pullover, 3 sets of 10-12 reps Nautilus machine pullover, 3 sets of 10-12 reps Exercise #5: Rope handle lat pulldown, 3 sets of 14-16 reps **On each set train to failure and then perform an extra 2-3 forced reps ****Perform 2-3 forced reps on each set. Here’s what you do on the last set: train to failure and perform 2-3 forced reps, drop the weight, train to failure and perform 2-3 forced reps, drop the weight, perform 2-3 forced reps. Done!

Here is the training video:

Talk about an intense workout!

Chris Bumstead performs a total of 5 exercises for his upper back, including 2 pulldown exercises, 2 rowing exercises, and 1 pullover movement to isolate his lats. Chris says that he really likes to use different machines on his back day, such as the Prime pulldown and row machines. “I don’t always love Prime machines, but that rotation you can get in your wrists to lock your elbows in, that really helps me on chest supported rows. I really focus on holding each rep in the contracted position, like I’m hitting a back pose on stage. That really helps me with my mind-muscle connection. You can’t go as heavy, but it helps.” Another interesting thing about his upper back day is he uses forced reps on most of his exercises! His usual strategy on back exercises is to train to failure, and then perform 2-3 extra forced reps with the help of his training partner. His partner helps him lift the weight, and then he slowly lowers the weight on his own. These extra forced reps allow you to eccentrically overload your muscles, which is fantastic for stimulating growth.

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Chris Bumstead likes to train his arms on day 5 of his 6-day training split. Here is what his arm workouts normally look like:

Chris Bumstead’s Arm Workout

Exercise #1: Rope cable pushdown, 4 sets of 8-15 reps**

Rope cable pushdown, 4 sets of 8-15 reps** Exercise #2: Preacher ez-bar curl (narrow / supinated grip), 4 sets of 8-15 reps Preacher ez-bar curl (narrow / supinated grip), 4 sets of 8-15 reps Exercise #3: 30 degree incline dumbbell extension, 4 sets of 8-15 reps 30 degree incline dumbbell extension, 4 sets of 8-15 reps Exercise #4: 75 degree incline dumbbell curl, 4 sets of 8-15 reps 75 degree incline dumbbell curl, 4 sets of 8-15 reps Exercise #5: Cable curl (V-handle), 4 sets of 8-15 reps Cable curl (V-handle), 4 sets of 8-15 reps Exercise #6: One-arm cable cross body extension, 4 sets of 8-15 reps

**Superset with overhead rope extensions to failure

Here is the training video:

Talk about an intense workout!

Chris Bumstead doesn’t always train his arms on their own separate day.

He sometimes squeezes in some extra arm work on his heavy chest and back days. However, his arms are one of his weaker body parts, so he usually trains them separately from the rest of his body to really make sure they are growing. “I definitely have an arm day right now. I don’t always throughout the year, but my arms are just something I want to grow more. They’ve finally been growing the past year, so I’ll show you the exact workout I’ve been using. A lot of it is getting that mind-muscle connection, training a little harder, training a little smarter, all of that thrown together.” Chris likes to perform 6 exercises on his arm day, including 3 exercises each for his biceps and triceps. For biceps, Chris likes to focus on the preacher curl as his main mass-building exercise. He almost always trains to failure, or even beyond failure with extra partial reps and forced reps. He also likes to include 1 exercise for his brachialis muscle, which may be a hammer curl or reverse curl. For triceps, Chris says he likes to superset rope pushdowns with overhead rope extensions to start his workout. After that, he moves onto different extension exercises, like incline dumbbell extensions and cross-body dumbbell extensions. Finally, Chris trains hamstrings on day 6 of his intense 6-day training split. Here is what Chris Bumstead’s hamstrings workout looks like. Check it out:

Chris Bumstead’s Hamstrings Workout

Exercise #1: Seated leg curl, 3 sets of 10 reps**

Seated leg curl, 3 sets of 10 reps** Exercise #2: Dumbbell stiff-legged deadlift, 3 sets of 12-15 reps Dumbbell stiff-legged deadlift, 3 sets of 12-15 reps Exercise #3: 45 degree back extension (holding DB at chest), 3 sets of 10-12 reps 45 degree back extension (holding DB at chest), 3 sets of 10-12 reps Exercise #4: Bulgarian split squat, 3 sets of 10-12 reps**** **On your last set train to failure, then perform 3 forced reps, then perform forced partial reps in the contracted position. ****Perform a single drop rest. Train to failure, then drop the dumbbell and go to failure with just your bodyweight.

Here is the training video for this workout:

Talk about an intense workout!

Chris Bumstead performs a total of 6 exercises for his hamstrings, including leg curls, stiff-legged deadlifts, back extensions, and Bulgarian split squats. Chris likes to perform his heavy deadlifts on his hamstrings day, whether it is dumbbell Romanian deadlifts or heavy barbell deadlifts. He says this strategy works well, because he always has 3-4 days in between his quads and hamstrings workouts, so his lower back is always recovered.

Conclusion | The Chris Bumstead Training Split!

Chris Bumstead is one of the greatest bodybuilders in the world today, and it’s easy to see why. He trains using an intense 6-day training split, with a separate workout for each major muscle group.

He even trains quads and hamstrings on their own separate days!

If you are looking for a new routine to shock your body into growth, then you have to try Chris Bumstead’s 6-day training split. It may be just what you need to take your training to the next level!

Before you go, check out my other world-class articles:

Trust me – you won’t find this cutting edge information anywhere else!

“The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent.” Thank you for reading and I wish you the best of luck on your strength training journey!

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