Chris Bumstead is not Switching to Open Bodybuilding

Canadian bodybuilding fans were unexplainably excited when Chris Bumstead was announced as the new Classic Physique Mr. Olympia in 2019. And when he successfully defended his title last year at the 2020 Mr. Olympia contest in Orlando, Florida, he solidified his position as the 2x reigning champion. Bumstead worked incredibly hard to bring up his lagging body parts, which he knew very well were his back and arms, in preparation for this title defense. Along with these improvements, came an impressive increase in overall muscle mass compared to the year prior.

As one might expect, there are of course some fans and analysts of the sport that are questioning whether Bumstead would consider making the move to Open Bodybuilding. All of us at Muscle Insider can’t see why there would be any desire for the reigning champ to even consider such a move. Chris is now the benchmark for all competitors in the Classic Physique division to strive for. Bumstead made it quite clear in a recent YouTube Q&A that he shared to his channel, that he has absolutely no desire to make such a change anytime soon.

“I don’t know why people can’t just be happy with me winning Classic Physique. I’m happy with it, and I’m still just trying to win a third title. People are talking about me moving to Open already,” Bumstead said. “To answer the question, would I ever? I might. It depends what goes on in the future, how my health holds up.”

“It’s up in the air. It depends on how my body holds up, but I don’t even like thinking that far ahead because my only goal right now, my only dream is to be a longstanding Classic Physique champion, to build a legacy in this,” Bumstead said. “This division’s new, it’s young, and I want to be the person at the forefront that people look back and remember like ‘F—k, Chris won like five years in a row when it started.’ I want to look like that. That’s my only goal right now, so I’m not even thinking of switching classes anytime soon.”

There is little doubt that Chris has been a huge inspiration to Canadian bodybuilders making the decision to compete in Classic Physique over the years. We’re sure he will continue to inspire many more over the years.

Bumstead does still have some room to add on more mass before he reaches the weight cut-off for his height, so we could very well see a physique that continues to improve year on year for some time to come. Chris shares with fans that he enjoys competing in Classic Physique. Will we see him make the move one day? We might. How about we just enjoy the journey as he strives to win number 3.

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