Bodybuilder Derek Lunsford is aiming to separate himself from the rest of the Men’s Open lineup at the nearing 2024 Mr. Olympia contest. Just weeks before hitting the stage, he showed off a grueling shoulders workout to add size to his delts on July 26, 2024, as he sets his sights on his first title defense.
Last year, Derek Lunsford cemented himself as the sport’s first-ever two-division Mr. Olympia after defeating his teammate Hadi Choopan in a close-fought battle. While things turned dark for a second following Lunsford’s victory, the two eventually made up in the aftermath to the delight of fans around the globe.
While ‘The Persian Wolf’ opted to compete and win at the recent Arnold Classic Ohio and UK shows, Lunsford decided to work in silence throughout his off-season. He has made it clear he intends to bring up his arms, chest, and abs in preparation for the marquee show. Bodybuilding veterans have dissected the lineup with the majority of voices hedging their bets behind either Lunsford or Choopan to take home gold.
Derek Lunsford Smashes Intense Shoulder and Rear Delt Workout Weeks from 2024 Mr. Olympia Title Defense
Check out Lunsford’s workout below, complete with his insights and exercise selections:
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- Seated lateral raise machine
- Standing Dumbbell lateral raise
- Lying cable lateral raise
- Seated dumbbell shoulder press
- Smith machine shoulder press
- Standing Alternating Dumbbell Front Hammer Raise
- Seated cable lateral raise
- Bent-over dumbbell rear delt raise
- Dumbbell shrugs
- Leg raise ab machine
After pushing through his first five exercises, Lunsford discussed working on his flexibility.
“I’ve really been trying to work on my flexibility. Like getting a deeper range of motion, a bigger stretch on all my body parts. When you’re able to go deeper in the stretch, you’re able to grow the muscle, you’re able to see more details in the muscle, and it also prevents injury of course because your muscles are more elastic.”
Lunsford also credited deep tissue massage and lighter weight final sets during workouts for helping ease his aches and pains.
“I’ve noticed over the last few years as I’ve gotten bigger and added more muscle tissue, I’ve gotten stronger, my flexibility has decreased a little. So, over this past year I have really tried to do whatever it took to get better flexibility in my joints.
So, most people know, getting deep tissue massage therapy and those kinds of therapies and different modalities will help with that but also just simply stretching or getting or backing off the weight maybe at the last set and just trying to go as deep as you can and stretch, stretch, stretch, don’t worry too much about the weight or how many reps you get, just think about how much of a stretch you can get. That’s what I’ve been doing and noticing that these nagging little pains in the some of the areas or some of the places where I’m not as flexible have actually gone away or gotten better,” said Lunsford.
During the rear delt portion of the workout, the Mr. Olympia opened up on the importance of hand position.
“If you guys were watching and paying attention, you could see the difference in my hand positioning as I was doing the front raises.
I did two sets where my palms were facing like this, I did two sets, then I did two sets where my palms were facing down,” explains Lunsford. “That’s going to hit a little bit of a different angle and a little bit of different muscle fibers in the front delt.”
Lunsford will face an incredibly deep lineup of talent if he hopes to walk away as a two-time Mr. Olympia. In addition to battling with Choopan, the reigning titleholder will have to once again defeat Samson Dauda, who recently moved to Oxygen Gym for a new change in training scenery. That’s not all. Lunsford also has to get through Nick Walker who recently earned gold at the 2024 New York Pro after a nail-biter showdown with Martin Fitzwater.
Whether it’s a back, chest, or arms workout, Lunsford is leaving nothing in the tank as he prepares for his upcoming 2024 Mr. Olympia contest. Given the improvements to his physique both in terms of size and detail, many believe he’s a big favorite ahead of the sport’s most celebrated event of the year, which is slated to take place October 10-13 when the organization celebrates its 60th anniversary.
Watch the full video from Derek Lunsford’s YouTube channel below:
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