Chris Bumstead Makes Statement On “Challenging” Prep, Retirement Rumors: “That Time May Be Soon, It Is Not Right Now”

Chris Bumstead shared a statement on social media during his prep for the 2023 Olympia.

Chris Bumstead is on top of the bodybuilding world and has been for years now. There have been rumors swirling about when the Classic Physique champ will decide to call it a career and end his legendary career. That time has not come yet but Bumstead has discussed the topic many times. Recently, he shared a post on Instagram talking about these rumors and the “challenging” prep for the 2023 Olympia.

Bumstead won the 2019 Mr. Olympia Contest title in Classic Physique and has not relinquished it since. He will be going for five in a row come November and will be the favorite once again. During the 2022 competition, Bumstead was challenged by Ramon Rocha Queiroz but still seemed to be in a league of his own — and he did it with a bicep injury.

Bumstead has dealt with many challenges over the years. This includes a battle with COVID-19 and a torn bicep on stage during the 2022 Olympia. He has been able to overcome different battles and remain at the top of the sport. As of now, there are no plans to retire but Bumstead seems to have a plan in his mind.

Chris Bumstead Discusses Retirement And Prep

Chris Bumstead has discussed retirement before and shared that he is focused on Olympia titles. It seems as though he is going to let time decide and that is what he shared on Instagram.

“It’s also not as simple as “never quitting”. There will be a time where the difficult, but the right choice will be to hang it up.
Sometimes it’s easier to stay stuck in the things making us miserable because they’re comfortably familiar, or maybe we’ve attached our identity to it. This is when quitting is the courageous decision, to step into the unknown.
Whether my heart or my body isn’t in it anymore, I’m going to have to trust myself to make the right decision.
That time may be soon, it may be far, I honestly don’t know.
All I know is that it is not right now.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Chris Bumstead (@cbum)

Bumstead has focused on the Olympia competition since taking over the crown. He has not appeared in other shows and continues to dominate the biggest show of the year while growing his brand off stage to extreme heights.

As he prepares for the 2023 show, Bumstead detailed how this has been a challenging cycle.

“This has been one of the most challenging beginnings of prep I’ve gone through.
But it’s far from the first time I’ve been tested.
I’ve practiced enough to see it as an opportunity to be grateful for what I’ve been through in the past as I am now more confident in my ability to rise to the occasion.
It’s an opportunity to put my awareness on how beautiful life is as a whole so I don’t get stuck focusing on what’s going wrong.”

Wrap Up

There is no doubt that Chris Bumstead is the name to beat once again in Classic Physique, and a bodybuilding prep is extremely hard on an individual. If he retires, his focus will more than likely be on his content creation and his supplement brand, which produces things like protein powders and pre-workouts.

Bumstead is a favorite in the industry, and not just for his competitions. That being said, if he retires, there is almost no doubt that he will still have a large following.

Do you think that Chris Bumstead will retire?

For more news and updates, follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.