Chris Bumstead is bodybuilding’s top dog. The five-time Classic Physique Olympia winner is poised to defend his sixth title at the 2024 Olympia in October. Meanwhile, freshman Men’s Open competitor Martin Fitzwater is looking to make a big splash when he takes his first Mr. Olympia plunge.
- Fitzwater made his Mr. Olympia dreams come true when he qualified for this year’s show at the 2024 Detroit Pro in April.
As the world’s most famous active bodybuilder, Bumstead knows a thing or two about competing at the highest level of physique sports. Here’s the advice he gave to Fitzwater during the dwindling days of their Mr. Olympia contest prep.
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Chris Bumstead: “You Need an Underdog Mentality” at the Mr. Olympia
Bumstead and Fitzwater teamed up for a back workout roughly four weeks away from the 2024 Olympia expo, which runs from Oct. 10 to 13 in Las Vegas, NV. Bumstead passed some sage, straightforward advice to Fitzwater: “As basic as it is, you have to enjoy it.”
- Bumstead: “The reason [enjoyment] is so important, and it’s something you won’t realize your first time, when you’re the underdog no one is looking at you. The pressure comes from within yourself. That internal pressure is what makes you better.”
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Fitzwater, one of the youngest competitors in the field at this year’s Mr. Olympia, fast-tracked himself to the front of the conversation with his win at the Detroit Pro. He bagged that dub with an impressive seven-point scorecard, four ahead of the runner-up (in bodybuilding, the athlete with the lowest point card wins).
- Bumstead, cont.: “When you get caught up in trying to be this person or that person, trying to do ‘X, Y, and Z,’ that pressure can crumble you. If you can maintain that underdog mentality where you’re chasing yourself, then you’re gonna be unstoppable.”
Bumstead has repeatedly stressed the importance of keeping a clear head during contest prep — he’s a big-time “love the process” competitor, and it’s obviously paid off in spades. His advice to Fitzwater seems all the more prescient given how mentally rigorous competitive bodybuilding can be.
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“Bodybuilders and fitness athletes are known to have specific psychological traits and motivational patterns … which can also result in higher rates of anxiety or other mental health problems,” says a 2022 paper published in the journal Frontiers in Sports & Active Living. (1)
Fitzwater couldn’t ask for a better mentor ahead of the biggest competitive debut of his life. So far, it looks like he’s heading Bumstead’s words. And so far, Bumstead likes Fitzwater’s chances:
“I’m sure you’re going to be up there for years to come,” he added.
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References
- Iff S, Fröhlich S, Halioua R, Imboden C, Spörri J, Scherr J, Butzke I, Seifritz E, Claussen MC. Training Patterns and Mental Health of Bodybuilders and Fitness Athletes During the First Lockdown of the COVID-19 Pandemic-A Cross-Sectional Study. Front Sports Act Living. 2022 May 3;4:867140. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2022.867140. PMID: 35592589; PMCID: PMC9110826.
Featured Image: Martin “the Martian” Fitzwater / YouTube
