Chris Bumstead’s Top 5 Mobility Exercises for Strength, Longevity & Injury-Free Training
With six-consecutive Classic Physique Olympia titles earned before calling a triumphant end to his career last year, Chris Bumstead is as motivated in the gym as ever in 2025, but with the pressures of competitive bodybuilding no longer an issue, Cbum is instead focussing on stability, mobility, and maintaining as much muscle as possible. And, in a recent Instagram post, the legend shared 5 of the moves that make all the difference.
“Stability & Mobility (is a work in progress),” wrote Bumstead after posting an inspirational video demonstration to his 25 million-plus Instagram followers. And, while some people may think that training for mobility and longevity should be reserved for those entering old age, studies explain that muscle mass and strength peaks on average, “during the third decade of life,” so after our 30s, a lowering of muscle mass is a risk factor for age related mobility loss. If that sounds pretty depressing, never fear, because the moves to combat Father Time are super stimulating.
Chris Bumstead Demonstrates 5 Stability and Mobility Moves
1. Dumbbell Lunge
Aside from building large muscle groups like the quads, leading to more muscle and an increased resting metabolism to supercharge fat loss, dumbbell lunges are a unilateral exercise that work each leg independently, recruiting your stabilizing muscles and even building your back in the process.
2. Earthquake Bar Incline Bench Press
The earthquake bar, also known as the tsunami bar, offers so much more than a regular bench press due to the presence of Oscillating Kinetic Energy (OKE). In order to combat this force and keep the bar stable, you’ll need to coordinate both mind and body to adjust as you power through this move and make reps despite the seemingly random movement.
3. Front Squat
As opposed to other squat variations, front squats require a straighter body, putting the load onto the quads with greater emphasis while still taxing the hamstrings and glutes to a lesser extent. The action of lowering into position will work on mobility in a number of ways, requiring joints like the hips, knees, and ankles to support the weight. With the bar placed on the front of the body, there’s also less stress on the lower spine, helping you to avoid squat related back pain.
4. Partial+Full Rep Deadlift
In his demonstration, Cbum opts for a “lengthened partial,” before making a full rep while working with the barbell deadlift. A lengthened partial means that the partial rep is performed at the bottom half of a lift when the muscle is at it’s longest, before contraction. Some studies suggest that this style of half rep can stimulate muscle growth beyond that of even a full rep, so combining partials with full reps could provide excellent results.
5. High Step Up and Step Down
If Cbum’s lofty heights look like they are a world away, start small and work your way up. Essentially, step ups and step downs replicate important activities like climbing stairs, so they are super functional. You will recruit the quads, glutes, hip adductors, hamstrings, calves, and core to make this one work. To begin with, aim for a height that puts your knee at a 90-degree angle with your foot when at its highest point. You can then build in a greater stretch and challenge your strength and coordination by going higher like Bumstead himself. Recently, Chris Bumstead told M&F; “I’m having kids now, and I want to be able to play sports with them, and I want to be able to kick their a** in sports for as long as possible and not just playing with them. I want to also still look good, because there’s that bodybuilder in my heart. I’m blending kind of hypertrophy with athletic training and slowly getting my body into a position where I can move more functionally. And it’s something that’s fun and new and exciting to me, and it’s fun to step into something and being bad at it. You know, I’ve been very good at bodybuilding for a long time and now I’m doing these movements, I feel very uncomfortable and awkward and like a beginner. So, it’s kind of fun to be starting a journey as a rookie again.”