Chris Bumstead has been making quite a noise in the bodybuilding industry and why not? He has worked extremely hard and finally gotten his output by helming the Mr. Olympia title from 2019 to 2022 consecutively. Given that the champion is in the extreme highlight due to his successful and glamorous sports career, would he ever be able to get on par with GOAT bodybuilder, Arnold Schwarzenegger?
While we can’t judge the two top stars of the weightlifting industry, Bumstead got candid about challenging the latter.
Chris Bumstead Talked About Challenging Arnold Schwarzenegger
In March 2023, Chris Bumstead appeared on Full Send Podcast sharing his views on who the judges would pick if he were to face off against Arnold Schwarzenegger in bodybuilding.
“If I went back [to Arnold’s time] looking how I look, I’d be the leanest person they’ve ever seen.So I don’t even know if [the judges] would even want that. So maybe he would win because of that.”
Given that he won his fourth Mr. Olympia title last year, he asserted that if the Terminator star were to face him off last year, it would be his win.
“If he were to come today and compete against me last year at the Olympia, I think I would beat him because he’s not in shape enough.”
While he understands that bodybuilding does require immense hard work and determination to stay in shape, he acknowledged Schwarzenegger being in a whole different league than him.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is The GOAT Bodybuilder Afterall!
While he would love to challenge the Hollywood icon, he admitted that getting compared to the latter is nothing but honorable for him due to the 75-year-old star’s GOAT persona.
“I don’t think I would ever replace him as the GOAT in bodybuilding — because some people have talked about that — because I don’t think you can compare the impact he’s had on the sport.”
He continued to talk about the latter’s great status.
“He went out and went into Hollywood, […] and made bodybuilding mainstream for a while purely because of who he was. He made bodybuilding in the ’90s […] That’s greatness.”
He has quite a respect for the GOAT of bodybuilding despite the fact that the duo has only ever spoken to each other once.
The Running Man star has retired from bodybuilding but his influence continues to inspire the generations which includes his era as well. Having started weightlifting at the age of 15, he won his Mr. Universe just five years later. He is the helmer of Mr. Olympia’s title seven times which is quite a feat in itself. Having won hearts in bodybuilding, he ventured into Hollywood giving fans iconic roles including his renowned Terminator franchise.
Source: Full Send Podcast
