“Was Literally Ashamed of Myself”: 3x Mr. Olympia Chris Bumstead Couldn’t Bare Himself in the Mirror After an Immune Disease Shattered His Mr. Olympia Dream in 2018

One of the most popular and loved names of modern-day bodybuilding, Chris Bumstead, has come a long way. However, he did not reach this stage without conquering some arduous challenges. Specifically, the biggest one of all is the autoimmune disease he has been facing for a long time that was diagnosed only four years ago.

According to Bumsted, those few weeks were the hardest time of his life; moreover, the difficulty made him suffer both physically and psychologically. While confessing about the whole incident after the 2018 Mr. Olympia, Bumstead revealed how he felt looking at himself during that time. Let’s have a look at what he said.

Chris Bumstead fought the discouragement every single day

Before Mr. Olympia 2018, Bumstead was the biggest contender for the title as his physique was a hot topic in the 2017 Olympia where he stood second. However, he once again had to settle for the second, but with a much less intense physique. Why did this happen? 

This happened because of the autoimmune disease which Chris suffered from. IgA Nephropathy resulted in the body retaining a lot of water, which eventually led to his hard-earned physique going in vain. He said, “I was literally ashamed of myself when I looked in the mirror. I was so discouraged every day. Every single morning I woke up to a text… and it was like you send me your weight, send me a quick video you posing, let’s see how you look.” 

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everything—the diet and the diuretics he had to take as a part of his treatment—led his body to lose shape. As a result, CBum had to begin from scratch once again with a lot less time to spare. That eventually resulted in Chris not getting to his full potential and remaining the runner-up once again. 

CBum’s journey after the 2018 Mr. Olympia 

The bodybuilding sensation came into the spotlight after standing second in the 2017 Mr. Olympia Classic Physique. Unfortunately, he had to satisfy with a similar result in the upcoming year as well. However, after those two years, Bumstead came up with complete domination.

After 2018, Chris Bumstead has won three consecutive Mr. Olympia Classic Physique titles. Further, he will be eying for his fourth title in 2022. Needless to say, he will get a tough fight from his opponents such as Terrence Ruffin, Breon Ansley, and youngsters like Urs Kalecinski and Ramon Rocha Queiroz.  

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Indeed, Chris Bumstead went through a rough phase in 2018. With him getting his lucky look back for Mr. Olympia 2022, do you think CBum has what it takes to earn the mega title this time? Let us know in the comments.