Chris Bumstead Shares His ‘Go-To’ Bicep Exercises

Chris Bumstead is the Classic Physique reigning Mr. Olympia, having secured the title in 2019, 2020, 2021. He is now looking secure the title for a fourth time at Mr. Olympia 2022, scheduled to take place from December 15 to 18 at Las Vegas, Nevada.

Bumstead’s preparation has been particularly difficult, as he had to truly level up the intensity. That's because the professional bodybuilder was a victim of COVID-19 in December 2021, which led to significant muscle loss.

After a full recovery, Bumstead went back to the gym to bulk but had to push his muscles beyond his limits to gain back the lost muscle mass. He kept updating his fans about his workout routines and schedules through YouTube videos and Instagram posts.

He recently posted a YouTube video where he took fans through his arm workout routine.

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Chris Bumstead's Favourite Bicep Exercises

The professional bodybuilder shared some bicep exercises that have worked for him over the years. Considering he always felt his biceps were his weak point, he always focused on supersetting arm workouts with a bicep and tricep movement for each set.

Here, we discuss the bicep exercises Bumstead used to add mass to his arms during his offseason and prep-season.

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1) EZ-bar Preacher Curl

The EZ-bar preacher curl is one of his favorite exercises to build biceps. According to him, he uses this exercise to keep the intensity on his biceps at all times while racking the EZ-bar with plates.

“It’s what I figured out is the best way to contract my bicep on a heavy load and push the intensity while keeping the load on my biceps.”

Usually, he couples the EZ-bar preacher curl with an overhead extension, but there are sessions where he focuses on the preacher curl in isolation.

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2) Hammer Curl

Chris Bumstead uses hammer curls when he wants to go really heavy. He uses the full range of motion, and the neutral grip allows him to rack heavier weights.

During certain bicep sessions, CBum focuses on incline dumbbell curls before hammer curls. Once he’s done with the incline dumbbell curls, he adds a few hammer curls to the set to add more intensity to the muscles.

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3) Incline Seated Dumbbell Curl (Superset with Spider Curl)

Chris Bumstead is fond of supersets and tries to incorporate them into his workout routine whenever possible. He says:

“I find this superset is amazing to really get a big stretch with the dumbbells and then a tight contraction on the spider curls with lighter weight.”

If he’s not supersetting bicep or tricep exercises, he moves to supersetting two bicep exercises for the ultimate pump.

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4) V-bar Hammer Curl

The v-bar hammer curls are a part of his exercise routine, as it intensifies the contraction in his biceps. Usually, he focuses on V-bar hammer curls towards the end of his workout and squeezes the muscles at the top of the motion to push the muscle fibers to failure.

Chris Bumstead is a huge fan of pushing the muscles to failure and getting the insane pump that comes along.

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5) Prone Incline Barbell Curl

Prone incline barbell curls are an exercise Chris Bumstead uses for the pump and vascularity. However, it’s not a part of all his bicep sessions.

Usually, the IFBB professional bodybuilder includes this exercise whenever he wants an additional pump or is working on a session that isn’t providing his biceps with the type of pump he expects.

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Bottom Line

Chris Bumstead has had different routines during his offseason and prep-season. During the offseason, he focuses on adding as much mass as possible and consuming as much as 5,000 calories a day.

It’s important for him to bulk up as much during the offseason so that he doesn’t shrink too much during the cut. You can try Chris Bumstead's bicep workout, but ideally, you should lower the intensity, as his muscles are used to the intensity.