On December 20, 2025, MensActive posted a video of Chris where he admits he might attempt the Ironman Triathlon, but only under one condition.

CBum said, “Maybe I'll do an Ironman one day. 250-pound Ironman. If there was no swim, I might try and do one just for the s*** of it. Just to, like, do something hard, you know?”

So, the Ironman Triathlon is a series of long-distance races. The WTC (World Triathlon Corporation) organizes this event. This event contains a 112-mile bicycle race, a 2.4-mile swim, and a 26.22-mile run.

While Chris Bumstead is ready to try the marathon and the bicycle race, he's not ready for the swimming phase. "I will drown. I will literally drown if there's a swim," said Chris Bumstead.

Bumstead also joked that even if he made it to the swim, he wouldn't have any idea how to do it in the first place. However, the bodybuilding icon may be even farther away from realistically competing in any athletic event than he thought.

Chris Bumstead Got a Reality Check

After retiring from pro bodybuilding following his 6th consecutive Classic Physique title, Bumstead has focused on athletics. In fact, he aims to become the world's first 'jacked athlete' aka, Jacklete.

That's why for the past year, CBum has downsized his physique to an extent and focused on athletic benchmarks like improving his vertical.

So, in December 2025, Bumstead felt confident enough to do some testing. While the former Classic Physique champ knew he had a long way to go, he wanted to establish a baseline and see how fast he could sprint.

However, after a few warm-up runs, Chris Bumstead hurt his right quad. "Cramp?" shouted his coach as CBum ground to a halt. "Pulled a little a little bit of my quad there," admitted Bumstead.

"Well, not the ending that we were hopingfor, but nonetheless, Justin worked on my leg," the former pro said in his December 18, 2025, video. So it's safe to say swimming won't be his only problem in pursuit of athleticism.

Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi