🏋️ arnold schwarzenegger vs. chris bumstead: who's your favorite?

If your biggest concern going into Super Bowl weekend is the amount of protein in Buffalo chicken dip, then you're in good company here at BarBend. Now, let's get to the good stuff.

It’s the cross-generational matchup every bodybuilding fan wants to see: Chris Bumstead vs. Arnold Schwarzenegger. We compare these two titans in an old-fashioned fantasy debate.

In a recent competition, powerlifter Jimmy Kolb bench-pressed an eye-watering 612.5 kilograms (1,350 pounds). It's the heaviest single lift in powerlifting history. 

Hit a plateau in your CrossFit training? We’ve got 10 tips for getting out of your slump. 

Fantasy Warfare

The Austrian Oak vs. CBum

​​Every sport has its fair share of fantasy matchups to debate. Would you take Lebron James or Michael Jordan? Mike Trout or Mickey Mantle? Tom Brady at 42 or Tom Brady at 32? 

That’s true, too, for bodybuilding. And one of the fantasy matchups that always stirs up impassioned opinions is Chris Bumstead vs. Arnold Schwarzenegger. They’re two of the most popular competitors of their respective generations and, at their peaks, shared plenty of similarities that go beyond simply looking great in a 3/4 back pose. 

While fans will never see a bodybuilding contest between these two greats, we here at BarBend are breaking down their physiques and accomplishments to see how both men compare to each other.

New World Record!

A History-Making Bench Press

On February 4, equipped powerlifter Jimmy Kolb set a world record in powerlifting that will likely remain untouched for a long time. It all went down at the 2023 International Powerlifting Association’s Hillbilly Havoc meet in Hurricane, West Virginia. Here, Kolb bench-pressed — and we’re completely serious about this — 612.5 kilograms (1,350 pounds)! 

Kolb wore a bench press shirt for the lift, which is designed to assist lifters in pressing the weight off their chest. The type of shirt he wore wasn’t established, but he competed in the “unlimited” category of the meet. The 32-year-old’s bench press is both a world record and the first 600-kilogram single lift in any powerlifting division. Check out the full lift below.

Exercise Tips

Muscle Past Your Plateaus 

In CrossFit — a very multi-faceted sport — it can be tough to tell when you’re plateauing. Since nothing about CrossFit is predictable, you may not realize your progress has stalled until you stop getting better at one specific thing. 

Maybe you’ve reached the point where you just can’t add weight to your clean & jerk, no matter how hard you try. Or perhaps you’re hitting a wall of resistance each time you try to do a high-rep set of kipping pull-ups unbroken. Alternatively, you might be plateauing with your mentality and new accomplishments just don’t feel possible.

​​Whether your entire WOD (workout of the day) has started to feel like it can’t get any better or there are specific parts of your training that seem to have hit a ceiling, there’s hope. In the article below, you’ll find 10 strategies for breaking through a CrossFit plateau — and how to implement them.

Everything Else

All About Workout Complexes

• What are workout complexes? We explain how these combination lifts work and how they can add some serious oomph to your fitness program. 

• Oh, we’re not done talking about massive lifts just yet. Take a look at powerlifter Phillip Herndon’s plate-rattling 910-pound squat PR. 

• WWE Superstar Sheamus teamed up with his on-screen partners Butch and Ridge Holland for a full-body workout that could be the main event of your gym routine.