Derek Lunsford is still making his victory lap after becoming the 18th man to win the Mr. Olympia title. In a recent YouTube video, Lunsford teamed up with his coach Hany Rambod, and bodybuilding legend Phil Heath for a detailed posing demonstration.
It didn’t take long for the IFBB Pro League to take notice of Derek Lunsford. Equipped with a slim waist and balanced proportions, he proved himself as the world’s best 212 competitor in 2021 at the Olympia. After guest posing at the Pittsburgh Pro, Lunsford received a special invite for the Open Mr. Olympia in 2022, which he took full advantage of with a second-place finish to his teammate Hadi Choopan.
Training with his head down for most of 2023, Lunsford dethroned Choopan just a few weeks ago to become the sport’s first two-division Mr. Olympia. During the pay-per-view, Phil Heath served as a commentator, witnessing Lunsford’s major victory first-hand. With time to spare, these two Mr. Olympias known for their jaw-dropping backs joined hands for a posing clinic.
Derek Lunsford & Phil Heath Bond Over Posing Session, Discuss Life After Winning 2023 Mr. Olympia
According to Lunsford, he plans to attend local gatherings in Florida with his down time to continue promoting the sport.
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“All in all, I mean, it was fun for me. Bodybuilding is thriving. It’s a great energy [guest posing]. Like you said, it probably helped the rebound a little bit too. I feel great. I’m ready to get started on this 2024 program.”“The baby is shutting it down for me. So, we’re going to have our first child here in the next month and a half. So, with the holidays plus the baby, it’s going to kind of slow things down but I’m going to do local stuff in Florida.”
“I didn’t have any of this stuff but I obviously wasn’t an Evogen athlete but even then, Hany and I would have to train whenever we could get together and it was a handful of times, not even sometimes for 10-plus years but that was our relationship.”“It would have been the same but a better physique. I try to be realistic,” added Heath.
“Mac OS has to be better than the last. Every version of the Ferrari has to be a better version than the last one. Because what happens? People catch up. People will also expose you.So that’s the hard part is that now the microlens, you’re just being seen at 1X, you don’t know if they’re going to use 10X next time, 20X, 50X, 100X, 200X, and here’s the funny part.The guy you may stand next to is only being looked at 10X and you’re at 100X. And it ain’t fair. I’m the first one to tell you, it is not fair. But, that’s the game. They have no choice. It’s just the way it is.”
“We talk about staying in our own lane, focusing on ourselves, making improvements, and I just want to see my fullest potential reached man. That’s why I wanted Hany.”
“I told myself, okay, it may to the internet not look a certain way but I really don’t care because I feel about retaining and defending, that’s what I would play in my head.Without that, you can’t care dude. When Hany is like okay that’s enough. Don’t do one more, what’s that one more going to do? That one more could actually in this situation, it’s not like shooting a jump shot, it’s like literally tearing fiber that can actually damage something.”
“It’s tough dude, when you actually have all the other stuff going on [glutes] it’s hard, like calf, glutes, all that stuff, some people don’t have that. That’s when you see other guys Derek, they don’t have those glutes,” Heath said about Lunsford’s side chest pose.”
“You’re leaning way too far back even at the Olympia. We get it. Everyone leans so far back now, but you gotta keep it [straighter],” Heath explains about Lunsford’s back double biceps.“When you’re able to breathe, all of that [his mid back] will come out,” added Heath. “I’m giving you way too much right now like seriously, but it’ll neutralize other taller guys.Because they have no choice, but to stand straight up because they’re tall if they lean far back, it actually makes them worse.”
“I looked up to you as a champion but I also admired your physique, just everything that you were about, you know. That gave me a lot of motivation to go and want to be the next Mr. Olympia. Fast forward, working with Hany Rambod, your coach, [I’m] Mr. Olympia now, and it’s just a crazy story.”
Watch the full video from the Hany Rambod YouTube channel below:
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