Chris Bumstead Push Pull Legs | The Ultimate Guide!

Are you curious about the Chris Bumstead push pull legs program?

Chris Bumstead is one of the most popular bodybuilders in the world today. He is a 4x Classic Mr. Olympia winner, and is currently training to defend his title for a 4th consecutive year!

So what does his push / pull / legs workout look like?

Chris Bumstead trains 6 days per week using a push / pull / legs split. He trains each muscle group twice per week using high-volume workouts, including up to 3-4 exercises per body part in a single workout!

Chris says these high-frequency, high-volume workouts are perfect for building size and strength.

In this in-depth guide, we cover everything you MUST know about Chris Bumstead’s push / pull / legs program.

We also answer your most important questions, including:

Is push / pull / legs the best muscle-building split?
Does Chris Bumstead use push / pull / legs all the time?
What other training splits does Chris Bumstead use?

…And much more!

By the end of this guide, you’ll have all the information you need to design your own Chris Bumstead style routine and start training like a Classic Physique champion.

Now let’s dive in!

Table of Contents

Who Is Chris Bumstead?

Chris Bumstead is a Canadian professional bodybuilder, entrepreneur, and social media icon. He is most famous for being a 4x Classic Physique Mr. Olympia winner, and for having one of the most aesthetic physiques of all time!

Here are some key points to know about Chris Bumstead:

Early Life: Chris Bumstead was born on October 2, 1994, in Ontario, Canada. He was raised in a sports-oriented family and began weight training at the age of 14.
Bodybuilding Career: Chris Bumstead began competing in bodybuilding contests at the age of 18. He quickly gained recognition for his impressive physique, and became a professional bodybuilder in 2017. Chris Bumstead won 4 Classic Physique Mr. Olympia contests from 2019 – 2022, and looks poised to defend his title a 5th time in 2023!
Social Media Following: Chris Bumstead has a significant following on social media, with over 16 million followers on Instagram and over 3 million subscribers on his YouTube channel! He regularly posts content related to his bodybuilding training, nutrition, and lifestyle.
Business Ventures: In addition to his bodybuilding career, Chris Bumstead has ventured into business, including launching his supplement company and clothing line under his “CBum” brand.
Net Worth: Chris Bumstead has an estimated net worth of around $2 million in 2023, making him one of the wealthiest bodybuilders in the world today. He earns a significant portion of his income through sponsorships and endorsements from companies such as Redcon1 and C-Bum Nutrition.

Chris Bumstead has proven himself to be a world-class bodybuilder and a highly successful athlete. He has won multiple championships and awards, and has established himself as one of the most recognizable and respected figures in the bodybuilding community.

What Is Push / Pull / Legs?

Push pull legs is BY FAR one of the most popular “training splits” in the world today. It is often used by athletes, bodybuilders, and fitness enthusiasts looking to take their physiques to the next level.

The push / pull / legs routine involves dividing your training into three main workouts: push day, pull day, and leg day.

Here are some key features of each workout

1. Push Day

Focus on training the “pushing” muscles: chest, shoulders, and triceps
Features exercises like bench press, dumbbell press, overhead press, triceps extensions
These exercises typically involve pushing weights away from your body

2. Pull Day

Focus on training the pulling muscles: primarily the back and biceps
Features exercises like pull ups, rows, bicep curls, reverse curls
These exercises typically involve pulling weights towards your body

3. Leg Day

Focus on training the leg muscles, which include the quads, hamstrings, and glutes.
Features exercises like squats, deadlifts, leg curls, leg extensions, and lunges

Chris Bumstead often uses a push / pull / legs split, and it’s easy to see why: this classic training split simplifies your training, as you train all of the “pushing,” “pulling,” and “leg” muscles together on their own separate day!

There are 3 main versions of the PPL split:

Option #1: 3 days per week
Option #2: 4 days per week
Option #3: 6 days per week

Each of these options has their own advantages and disadvantages. However, Chris Bumstead strongly prefers the 6-days per week option, so that is what we will focus on!

Overall, push pull legs is a versatile and effective workout routine that can be adapted to fit a variety of training goals and skill levels. By targeting different muscle groups on different days, you can effectively train your entire body while avoiding overtraining or injury.

Chris Bumstead’s Push / Pull / Legs Program

Chris Bumstead often trains 6 days per week using a custom-made push / pull / legs split.

Here is the exact training split that he uses for this program:

The Chris Bumstead 6 Day Push / Pull / Legs Split

Day 1: Chest / Shoulders / Triceps
Day 2: Back / Biceps
Day 3: Quads / Hamstrings / Calves
Day 4: Chest / Shoulders / Triceps
Day 5: Back / Biceps
Day 6: Quads / Hamstrings / Calves
Day 7: Off

The push / pull / legs split is a way of organizing your training where you perform 3 separate workouts for your entire body.

You have a “push” day where you train your chest / shoulders / triceps, a “pull” day where you train your back / biceps, and a “legs” day where you train your quads, hamstrings and calves.

The main advantage of the push / pull / legs split is that it reduces your overlap between muscle groups, and lets you train with more frequency.

Chris Bumstead really likes the 6 day push / pull / legs split because it lets him train each muscle group twice per week.

Many fitness experts like Jeff Nippard and Stan Efferding believe training muscle groups twice per week is optimal for hypertrophy, so the Chris Bumstead push pull legs program is a very “science-based” way to train.

Here is Chris Bumstead himself talking about his new training program:

As you can see, Chris trains each muscle group with two completely different exercises each week.

This is a great way to train with more variety and prevent your body from adapting to your routine.

Now let’s take a closer look at the exact push, pull and leg workouts that Chris uses!

Chris Bumstead Push Workouts

Chris Bumstead trains his chest, shoulders, and triceps twice per week on Monday and Thursday.

He says training these muscle groups together on the same day is a great strategy, as it speeds up your recovery between workouts.

Chris has a very simple exercise template that he uses for all of his push workouts:

The Chris Bumstead Push Workout Template

Chest: 2 exercises (1 compound / 1 isolation)
Shoulders: 2 exercises (1 compound / 1 isolation)
Triceps: 2 exercises (1 compound / 1 isolation)

Chris Bumstead uses 6 exercises to train his chest, shoulders, and triceps during his “push” workouts.

He likes to train each muscle group with 1 heavy compound exercise and 1 lighter isolation exercise. This is a great strategy to use on your push workouts, as you get the best of both worlds!

So what do Chris Bumstead’s push workouts actually look like?

Chris likes to start his push workouts with the bench press or close grip bench press.

After that, he moves onto other compound exercises like the dumbbell or barbell overhead press.

Finally, he finishes his workout with different isolation or “mind-muscle connection” exercises for his chest, shoulders and triceps.

Here is Chris Bumstead’s first weekly push workout. Check it out:

Chris Bumstead’s Push Workout #1

Exercise #1: Barbell press (incline or flat), 3 sets of 5-8, 5-8, 10-12 reps
Exercise #2: Alternated DB shoulder press, 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #3: Chest flies variation (your choice), 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #4: Triceps extension variation (your choice), 4 sets of 7-10 reps
Exercise #5: Lateral raises, 4 sets of 10-12 reps**
Exercise #6: Dips, 3 sets to failure

**Keep the rest time less than 1 minute

Click Right Here to watch the workout video.

This is a very simple, but effective way to design a push workout.

Chris starts the workout with heavy compound exercises like the bench press and alternating dumbbell overhead press.

Putting these exercises first in his workout makes a lot of sense, as they are heavy compound movements, and Chris wants to lift as much weight as possible on them.

Chris Bumstead starts this workout with a heavy barbell exercise for chest: either the flat bench press, or the incline bench press.

“For push day 1, my first exercise is the barbell flat or incline press.

Personally, I like incline a lot more, but I do like the flat bench press sometimes to mix things up.”

Even though Chris is a bodybuilder, he still wants to get stronger, so he always starts his chest / shoulder / tricep workouts with a heavy pressing movement.

For shoulders, Chris has been experimenting with the alternating dumbbell shoulder press.

Here are his thoughts on this exercise:

“This is something I’ve been doing a lot of lately – where you press one arm at a time.

It just allows you to focus on each arm and perfect every rep.”

Chris says that he doesn’t always have his workout 100% mapped out in advance.

Instead, he uses this workout as a template, and he adjusts things based on how he is feeling that day.

For example, Chris starts his workout with either the incline bench press or flat bench press.

He also gives himself the chance to use any chest or triceps isolation exercise, depending on how he is feeling that day and what equipment is available.

For example, Chris often uses a machine or cable fly for his chest, or incline ez-bar extensions or cable pushdowns for his triceps.

Finally, Chris finishes the workout with a few sets of lateral raises, and 3 sets to failure on weighted dips for his triceps.

Here is Chris Bumstead’s second weekly push workout. Check it out:

Chris Bumstead’s Push Workout #2

Exercise #1: Close grip bench press, 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #2: Standing barbell overhead press, 4 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #3: Pec dec flies, 1 set of 8-10 reps, 2 sets of 40 seconds TUT
Exercise #4: Overhead triceps extensions (your choice), 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #5: Lateral raise (any variation), 4 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #6: Push ups (any variation), 3 sets to failure

Click Right Here to watch the workout video.

Chris Bumstead’s second weekly push workout looks a lot like his first weekly workout.

The main difference is his choice of exercises.

For example, Chris uses the standing barbell overhead press instead of the seated dumbbell overhead press for shoulders.

He says he really likes this exercise for overall size and strength. Check it out:

“With the standing overhead press I really feel like I’m getting more chest and core involvement and it makes me feel more athletic overall.”

Once again Chris sticks with two primary exercises per body part.

He uses close grip bench presses and overhead extensions to train his triceps, overhead presses and lateral raises to train his triceps and pec dec flies and push ups to train his chest.

In my experience, using two exercises per body part on your “push” day is a really nice sweet spot to aim for.

Finally, Chris Bumstead finishes the workout with more “mind-muscle connection” exercises like pec dec flies, overhead tricep extensions, lateral raises, and push ups.

This is a very smart way to design a push-focused, or chest / shoulders / triceps workout.

Now let’s look at Chris Bumstead’s pull workouts!

Chris Bumstead Pull Workouts

Chris Bumstead trains his back and biceps twice per week on Tuesday and Friday.

These are two of his weaker muscle groups, so he often trains them together to really hammer them with a lot of volume and intensity.

So how does Chris organize his back and bicep workouts?

Just like with his push workouts, Chris uses a simple exercise template for all of his pull workouts. Check it out:

The Chris Bumstead Pull Workout Template

Back: 3 exercises (2 for back width / 1 for back thickness)
Biceps: 3 exercises (2 for biceps / 1 for brachialis, forearms)

Chris Bumstead uses 6 exercises to train his back and biceps during his “pull” workouts.

He likes to train his back with 3 compound movements – 2 of them are pulldown or pull up focused movements to target his lats, and 1 is a heavy barbell row or deadlift variation to build his “back thickness.”

For biceps, Chris likes to perform 2 regular curling exercises, plus 1 movement with a neutral or “reverse” grip to target his brachialis and forearm muscles.

This is a very smart way to organize your pull workouts, as you hit each major muscle group from multiple angles for optimal results.

So what do Chris Bumstead’s pull workouts actually look like?

Chris like to start his pull workouts with lat pulldowns or pull ups.

He then moves onto “heavier” back exercises like barbell rows or deadlifts. Finally, Chris finishes his back routine with another pull up or pulldown variation, and then moves onto biceps.

Here is Chris Bumstead’s first weekly pull workout. Check it out:

Chris Bumstead’s Pull Workout #1

Exercise #1: Lat pulldowns (any grip), 3 sets of 8-10 reps**
Exercise #2: Barbell bent over rows, 3 x 6-8, 6-8, 10-12
Exercise #3: 60 degree incline DB curl, 4 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #4: Pull ups (any grip), 3 sets to failure
Exercise #5: Standing ez-bar curls, 2 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #6: Standing ez-bar curls, 2 sets of 40 seconds time under tension

**On the last set perform a double drop set to failure

Click Right Here to watch the workout video.

This is an extremely smart back and biceps workout by Chris Bumstead!

He starts the workout with heavy compound back exercises like lat pulldowns and barbell rows.

Chris says his back is one of his weakest body parts, so he wants to hit these exercises first in his workout while he has the most energy.

“I always start my back workouts with lat pulldowns.

It’s a great way to get the blood flowing and get a good stretch in your lats and your spine.”

Chris Bumstead says that his back and biceps still lag behind the rest of his body so he goes all-out on his pull workouts.

After the heavy barbell rows, Chris performs 1 more pulldown variation, and moves straight into his biceps training.

Chris is training his upper back again later in the week, so he doesn’t want to beat himself up too much by performing more than 3 back exercises.

After finishing his back exercises, Chris moves right into his 3 main bicep movements.

One interesting thing that Chris does is he uses “time under tension” sets for his last bicep exercise.

Instead of aiming for a specific number of reps he aims for 40 seconds of time under tension with the weight. This is a very interesting strategy that the powerlifting coach Dave Tate has used in the past for building muscle.

Here is Chris Bumstead’s second weekly back / biceps workout. Check it out:

Chris Bumstead’s Pull Workout #2

Exercise #1: Pull ups (any variation), 3 light sets with bodyweight only
Exercise #2: Rack pulls, 2 sets of 8-10 reps
Exercise #3: Hammer curls, 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Exercise #4: Supinated grip row or pulldown, 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #5: Cable curls, 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #6: Seated cable rows, 2 drop sets for 20 total reps
Exercise #7: Standing DB curls, 1 “run the rack” drop set to failure

Click Right Here to watch the workout video.

Chris’s second weekly pull workout is even more intense than his first.

He trains his back and biceps with 3 different exercises performed from a wide variety of angles.

Chris also throws in some light pull ups while he is warming up on rack pulls to loosen up his back and get his lats firing correctly.

Here are Chris’s thoughts on pull ups:

“Pull ups are something I’ve been incorporating more of lately.

Pull ups are the OG back exercise.

I feel like I’m getting a great mind-muscle connection with them.”

Chris finishes his workout with one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s favorite training methods, the “run the rack” drop set.

Chris picks up the 40 pound dumbbells and reps them out just shy of failure. Then he goes to the next lightest pair of dumbbells and reps them out too.

He just keeps going until he is lifting the 5 pound dumbbells at the end of the rack. Talk about brutal!

Now let’s look at Chris Bumstead’s Mr. Olympia winning leg workouts!

Chris Bumstead Leg Workouts

Chris Bumstead trains his quads, hamstrings and calves twice per week on Wednesday and Saturday.

Chris Bumstead is known for his great leg development, but he is always looking to improve these muscle, so he really attacks his leg days with a lot of volume and intensity.

So how does Chris organize his back and bicep workouts?

Just like with his push and pull workouts, Chris uses a simple exercise template for his 2 weekly leg workout. Check it out:

The Chris Bumstead Leg Workout Template

Day 1: Hamstrings focus
Day 2: Quads focus

Chris Bumstead likes to focus on quads or hamstrings in his leg workouts.

That doesn’t mean he only trains one muscle or the other on his leg days.

For example, Chris likes to perform walking lunges on his hamstrings day – an exercise that clearly works the quads and hamstrings together.

However, for the most part, Chris likes to emphasize one exercise or the other on his leg workouts.

He trains the smaller muscles like calves, adductors, and glutes twice per week. Here is Chris Bumstead’s first weekly leg workout. Check it out:

Chris Bumstead’s Legs Workout #1

Exercise #1: Walking alternating lunges (barbell on back), 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Exercise #2: Romanian or conventional deadlift, 3 sets of 6-12 reps**
Exercise #3: Hip thrusts or glute kick backs, 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #4: Seated calf raises, 6 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #5: Leg curls (any variation), 2 set of 10-12 reps
Exercise #6: Leg curls (any variation, 2 sets of 40 seconds time under tension

**Perform sets of 6-8 reps if conventional deadlift or sets of 10-12 reps if Romanian deadlift

Click Right Here to watch the workout video.

This is Chris Bumstead’s hamstrings-focused leg day.

Chris says squats are his #1 favorite exercise for overall leg development.

However, he skips squat in this workout, and focuses on a variety of leg exercises including lunges, deadlifts, hip thrusts, calf raises and leg curls.

He starts the workout with some walking dumbbell lunges to warm up his knees, and then moves right into his heavy hamstrings exercises.

Chris says that the walking lunges have dramatically improved the health of his knees in recent years. Check it out:

“I love starting my leg workouts with lunges.

It’s a great way to warm up your knees and to really get the blood flowing.”

After the walking lunges, Chris performs his favorite “posterior chain” exercises, including deadlifts, glute kickbacks, and different type of leg curls.

Once again we see Chris using the “time under tension technique. Earlier we saw him use this method on bicep curls, and now we see him using it on leg curls.

Rather than going for a specific number of reps he sets a timer on his phone and just goes for 40 total seconds.

This is a great strategy, as research shows 40 seconds of time under tension per set is probably optimal for overall muscle growth.

Here is Chris Bumstead’s second weekly leg workout. Check it out:

Chris Bumstead’s Legs Workout #2

Exercise #1: Back squat, 4 sets of 8-10, 8-10, 8-10, 4-6
Exercise #2: Leg press, 2 sets of 40 seconds TUT
Exercise #3: Leg press calves, 2 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #4: Hip adductor machine, 4 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #5: Standing calf raise machine, 4 sets of 10-12 reps**
Exercise #6: Leg extension machine, 4 sets of 10-12 reps****

**Perform 10-12 reps to failure, then perform as many partial reps as you can out of the bottom position

****On your last 2 sets perform a triple drop set. Perform 10-12 reps to failure, drop the weight, go to failure, drop the weight, go to failure, done!

Click Right Here to watch the workout video.

This is Chris Bumstead’s quads-focused leg workout.

He starts the workout with his all-time favorite leg exercise: back squats!

Chris says that he injured his knee a while ago and couldn’t perform back squats for almost 8 months!

He did leg presses, hack squats, leg extensions, and all of his other quad exercises. However, his legs shriveled up on the Mr. Olympia stage, and he realized regular back squats are his key quad movement.

Today, he almost always includes them in his quad-focused leg workouts, as they do more for his overall quad growth than any other exercise.

“Nothing compares to squats! I remember one year, I had really bad knee issues.

I couldn’t squat for about 8 months. I was still training quads hard, leg presses, lunges, everything I normally do, but my legs did not look the same.

Squats will forever be my go to movement for legs!”

For this workout, Chris performs 4 heavy sets of squats in the 4-10 rep range, and then performs various accessory exercises for his lower body.

One interesting thing about this workout is Chris performs 2 double drop sets on leg extensions for his last exercise.

Here are Chris’s exact thoughts on this technique:

“I always found hammering out triple drop sets at the end is a great way to finish them off.”

Overall Chris’s lower body workouts are less demanding than his upper body workouts.

This makes perfect sense considering Chris is competing in classic bodybuilding.

The classic bodybuilding look is all about aesthetic legs, a narrow waist and a wide upper body with flaring lats and shoulders!

Chris Bumstead Bro Split Workouts!

Chris Bumstead is a huge fan of the classic push / pull / legs split.

However, most of the time he trains each muscle group once per week on its own separate training day.

This is known as a “bodybuilding bro split” because many of the world’s top bodybuilders train this way.

Here is the exact training split that Chris Bumstead uses to take his training to the next level:

The Chris Bumstead Training Split

Day 1: Chest
Day 2: Quadriceps
Day 3: Shoulders
Day 4: Back
Day 5: Arms
Day 6: Hamstrings
Day 7: Off

As you can see, Chris Bumstead trains each major body part on its own separate training day.

He has a chest day, a back day, a shoulder day, an arm day, and so on. He even trains his quads and hamstrings on separate workouts!

This may seem overkill, but Chris Bumstead likes to blast each muscle group with 4-6 exercises, so having a separate training day for each body part is absolutely essential.

Like most bodybuilders, Chris Bumstead likes to train chest towards the start of his training split.

Here is one of his Mr. Olympia winning chest workouts that you can try. Check it out:

Chris Bumstead’s Chest Workout #1

Exercise A1: 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
Exercise C1: Flat machine press, 3 sets of 20 reps**, 2 minutes rest
Exercise D1: 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

Click Right Here to watch the workout video.

Talk about an intense chest workout!

Chris Bumstead trains his chest using a total of 5 different exercises.

He uses what I call a “powerbuilding” approach, where you start the workout with heavy compound exercises, and then finish with higher-rep isolation movements to give that full, volumized look.

At the end of the workout, Chris even throws in some supersets to annihilate whatever muscle fibers are left in his chest!

Here is another one of his Mr. Olympia winning chest workouts that you can try. Check it out:

Chris Bumstead’s Chest Workout #2

Exercise A1: 30 degree incline DB press, 3 sets of 8-10 reps, 2 minutes rest
Exercise B1: Hammer strength flat press, 3 sets of 8-10 reps, 2 minutes rest
Exercise C1: 30 degree incline DB fly, 3 sets of 8-10 reps, 2 minutes rest
Exercise D1: Flat supine machine press, 3 sets of 10-12 reps**, no rest
Exercise D2: Incline squeezing push ups, 3 sets of 10-12 reps**, 2 minutes rest

**Perform 8-10 reps to failure, then perform as many partial reps as you can in a row to failure.

Click Right Here to watch the workout video.

Talk about an intense chest workout!

Once again, Chris Bumstead follows his usual “powerbuilding” approach for building a huge chest.

He starts the workout with some heavy incline dumbbell presses with as much weight as he can handle. In this workout, Chris incline pressed the 150s… incredible!

After that, he moves onto a variety of other chest exercises to pump his chest full of blood and create as much muscular fatigue as possible.

He even finishes the workout with another one of his favorite chest supersets! Chris Bumstead trains his quads on day 2 of his bodybuilding bro split.

Chris actually likes to train quads separately from hamstrings, as he can use more volume and intensity this way.

Here is one of Chris Bumstead’s go-to quad workouts. Check it out:

Chris Bumstead’s Quads Workout #1

Exercise #1: Machine hack squat, 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #2: Walking DB lunge, 3 sets of 20 reps
Exercise #3: Horizontal leg press, 3 sets of 20 reps
Exercise #4: Leg extension, 3 sets of 20 reps
Exercise #5: Seated calf raise, 3 sets of 20 reps

Click Right Here to watch the workout video.

Talk about an intense leg workout!

Chris Bumstead performs a total of 4 exercises for his quads, including heavy hack squats, walking dumbbell lunges, horizontal leg presses, and leg extensions.

Chris Bumstead says that quads are one of his better body parts, and he doesn’t have to do anything too fancy to make them grow.

He just picks 3-4 heavy compound exercises and performs them in any order he wants!

Of course, if you follow Chris Bumstead, then you know he is a huge fan of the back squat.

He doesn’t perform the back squat every workout, but he always tries to keep this movement in his long-term programming.

Here is one of Chris Bumstead’s squat-focused quad workouts. Check it out:

Chris Bumstead’s Quads Workout #2

Exercise #1: Back squat, 3 sets of 6-8 reps
Exercise #2: Walking barbell lunge, 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #3: Machine squat, 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #4: Seated leg extension machine, 3 sets of 10-12 reps

Click Right Here to watch the workout video.

Talk about an intense quad workout!

Chris Bumstead starts this workout with the king of all leg exercises: the back squat! He works up to an incredible 4.5 plates per side and makes it look easy!

After that, Chris performs a variety of quad exercises, including walking lunges, machine squats, and leg extensions.

When he is training with his good friend Iain Valliere, Chris likes to perform leg extensions first in his routine to pre-exhaust his legs.

However, when he is training on his own, he normally starts the workout with one of his favorite heavy compound exercises.

Now let’s talk about Chris Bumstead’s shoulder workouts!

Chris trains his shoulders on day 3 of his intense 6-day bodybuilding split. Like most professional bodybuilders, Chris trains his shoulders with many different exercises.

It’s not uncommon to see Chris perform 5-6 exercises in a single shoulder workout! Check it out:

Chris Bumstead’s Shoulders Workout #1

Exercise #1: Smith overhead press, 4 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #2: Machine lateral raise, 4 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #3: Machine overhead press, 4 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #4: Machine lateral raise, 4 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #5: Cable rear delts, 4 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #6: Reverse pec dec, 4 sets of 10-12 reps

Click Right Here to watch the workout video.

Talk about an intense shoulder workout!

In this routine, Chris Bumstead destroys his shoulders with 6 different exercises.

He performs 2 heavy overhead pressing movements, plus 4 shoulder isolation exercises for his front, side, and rear delts.

This is a ton of volume, but it works like magic for Chris Bumstead.

Here is another one of his high-volume shoulder workouts that you have to try. Check it out:

Chris Bumstead’s Shoulders Workout #2

Exercise #1: Seated dead stop overhead press, 4 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #2: Side lateral raise, 4 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #3: Barbell upright row, 4 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #4: Cable lateral raise, 4 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #5: Reverse pec dec, 4 sets of 10-12 reps

Click Right Here to watch the workout video.

Talk about an intense shoulder workout!

This is another perfect example of how “C-Bum” likes to train his shoulders.

He performs one heavy compound exercise, followed by another 4 shoulder isolation exercises.

This is the basic strategy that many of the world’s strongest bodybuilders like Dorian Yates and Ronnie Coleman have used throughout their careers.

Now let’s talk about Chris Bumstead’s back workouts! Chris says that his upper back is one of his weaker body parts (along with his arms!), so he is always looking for new ways to shock his back into growth.

Lately he has been using high-volume bodybuilding style workouts with up to 6 exercises per workout.

Here is one of Chris Bumstead’s Mr. Olympia winning back workouts that you can try. Check it out:

Chris Bumstead’s Back Workout #1

Exercise A1: Lat pulldown (medium / neutral grip), 3 sets of 8-12 reps, 2 minutes rest
Exercise B1: Barbell bent over row, 3 sets of 8-12 reps 2 minutes rest
Exercise C1: Unilateral hammer strength row, 3 sets of 8-12 reps 2 minutes rest
Exercise D1: Machine t-bar row, 3 sets of 8-12 reps 2 minutes rest
Exercise E1: Rope lat pulldown, 3 sets of 8-12 reps, no rest
Exercise E2: Straight bar cable pullover 3 sets of 8-12 reps, 2 minutes rest

Click Right Here to watch the workout video.

Talk about an intense back workout!

And judging by the video thumbnail, I would say Chris’ new back training strategy is working like a charm!

Chris basically performs 6 completely different exercises to smoke every pat of his upper back.

Here is another one of C-Bum’s high-volume back workouts that you can try. Check it out:

Chris Bumstead’s Back Workout #2

Exercise #1: Lat pulldown (medium / neutral grip), 2 sets of 6 reps**
Exercise #2: 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**
Exercise #4: 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!

Click Right Here to watch the workout video.

Talk about an intense back workout!

Chris Bumstead performs 5 total exercises for his upper back, including 3 movements for his lats, and 2 movements for his upper back.

Now let’s talk about everyone’s favorite workout: arm day!

Chris Bumstead says his arms are one of his weakest body parts on the bodybuilding stage.

For this reason, he is always looking for new ways to shock his biceps and triceps into growth.

Here is one of his Mr. Olympia winning arm workouts that you can try. Check it out:

Chris Bumstead’s Arm Workout #1

Exercise #1: Unilateral cable pushdown (supinated grip), 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #2: Standing ez-bar curl (wide / supinated grip), 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #3: 75 degree incline DB triceps extension, 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #4: Unilateral DB preacher curl (supinated grip), 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #5: Rope cable pushdown, 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #6: Bilateral standing DB curls (hammer grip), 3 sets of 10-12 reps

Click Right Here to watch the workout video.

Talk about an intense arm workout!

C-Bum says the key to making your arms grow is to use the right muscle-intensive exercises.

For biceps, Chris Bumstead likes to focus on different types of preacher curls.

He also makes sure to include at least 1 movement for his brachialis each workout, such as hammer grip curls.

For triceps, Chris likes to start his workout with rope pushdowns, and then move into heavier “mass-building” triceps exercises like incline dumbbell extensions.

Here is another one of Chris Bumstead’s Mr. Olympia winning arm workouts that you can try. Check it out:

Chris Bumstead’s Arm Workout #2

Exercise #1: Rope pushdown, 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Exercise #2: Close grip bench press, 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Exercise #3: Overhead machine extension, 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Exercise #4: Standing cable curl (spongey grips), 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Exercise #5: Standing DB hammer grip, 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Exercise #6: Cable preacher curl, 3 sets of 8-12 reps

Click Right Here to watch the workout video.

Talk about an intense workout! Chris Bumstead performed this arm workout with his long-time training partner, Iain Valliere.

Chris performs 3 exercises for his triceps, and 3 exercises for his triceps.

As usual, he sticks to his favorite mass-building exercises, like cable pushdowns, close grip bench presses, hammer grip curls, and preacher curls.

Now let’s take a look at one of Chris Bumstead’s hamstrings-focused leg workouts.

As you already know, C-bum likes to train quads and hamstrings on separate training days, so he can use even more volume and intensity on both muscle groups. Check it out:

Chris Bumstead’s Hamstrings Workout #1

Exercise #1: Seated leg curl, 3 sets of 10 reps**
Exercise #2: 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
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.

Click Right Here to watch the workout video.

Talk about an intense hamstrings workout!

Chris Bumstead performs 4 total exercises for his hamstrings, including leg curls, deadlifts, back extensions, and Bulgarian split squats.

This is a ton of volume for such a small muscle group, but C-Bum feels these high-volume workouts are essential for building maximum muscle mass in the hamstrings.

Here is another one of Chris Bumstead’s Mr. Olympia winning hamstrings workouts. Check it out:

Chris Bumstead’s Hamstrings Workout #2

Exercise #1: Deadlift, 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Exercise #2: Nordic leg curl machine, 3 sets of 8-10 reps**
Exercise #3: Sumo leg press, 1 set of 30 reps
Exercise #4: Seated leg curl, 3 sets of 10 reps****
Exercise #5: Seated abductor machine, 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Exercise #6: Seated calf raise machine, 3 sets of 10-12 reps

**Perform partial reps in the bottom position after reaching failure

****On your last set perform a double drop set to failure.

Click Right Here to watch the workout video.

Talk about an intense hamstrings workout!

For this routine, Chris Bumstead decides to train heavy on the conventional deadlift.

Unlike a lot of bodybuilders, Chris performs deadlifts on his lower body training days. This makes a lot of sense, as the hamstrings are heavily involved in all kinds of deadlifting exercises.

After that, he performs a variety of exercises to finish off his hamstrings, including Nordic leg curls, sumo leg presses, and seated leg curls.

Push / Pull / Legs Benefits

Push, pull, legs (PPL) is a popular training program that is used by many fitness enthusiasts, bodybuilders, and athletes.

This program involves dividing your workouts into three categories: push exercises, pull exercises, and leg exercises. Each workout is then focused on one of these categories, allowing you to work specific muscle groups while giving others time to rest and recover.

Here are some of the benefits of following the PPL program:

Improved muscle growth: The PPL program targets specific muscle groups, allowing you to work them to exhaustion and stimulate muscle growth. By dividing your workouts into push, pull, and leg days, you can also ensure that each muscle group gets the attention it needs to grow.
Increased strength: Since the PPL program allows you to focus on specific muscle groups, you can increase your strength in those areas. By training each muscle group frequently, you can ensure that you are constantly challenging yourself and making progress.
Reduced risk of injury: The PPL program allows you to avoid overtraining by giving each muscle group time to rest and recover between workouts. This can help reduce the risk of injury and ensure that you are able to continue training without setbacks.
Flexibility: The PPL program can be adjusted to meet the needs of different individuals, making it a flexible and versatile training option. You can adjust the number of sets and reps, the weight used, and the exercises performed to suit your goals and fitness level.
Time-efficient: Since the PPL program focuses on specific muscle groups, you can complete your workouts in a shorter amount of time compared to full-body workouts. This can be especially beneficial for those with busy schedules or limited time to train.

Overall, the PPL program is a highly effective and efficient way to build muscle, increase strength, and improve your overall fitness.

By following this program and ensuring that you are using proper form and technique, you can achieve your fitness goals and see real results.

Verdict | Chris Bumstead Push Pull Legs!

Chris Bumstead is one of the best bodybuilders in the world today, and it’s easy to see why.

He uses a science-based push pull legs program that is designed to build muscle mass as fast as possible!

If you are looking for a new push pull legs program, then I highly recommend you give Chris Bumstead’s PPL split a shot.

It may be just what you need to take your training to the next level!

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

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

“Don’t ever believe the naysayers when they say your ideas are unrealistic.

They are just too small minded to see all the big possibilities that you see in this world!”

Thank you for reading and I wish you the best of luck on your strength training journey!