The 2019 Mr. Olympia is just around the corner, and the athletes are almost ready to go. One such athlete is Derek Lunsford, who is hyped for this year’s competition.
Lunsford competes in the 212 division, where he took second place in last year’s Olympia. However last year’s champion Flex Lewis, retired from competition, leaving the door wide open for Lunsford to win the title. It really provides a massive opportunity for him, along with the other athletes competing.
This is something Lunsford is taking very seriously, as he has made clear leading up to the big event. Recently, he spoke with RX Muscle about the upcoming Olympia. Initially, they spoke about the general idea of the 212 division guys needing to do interviews before the competition.
“I don’t know why guys aren’t talking. Like, this is how I feel, and this is how I’ve always been in my life. It’s like, if you want something in your life, why can’t you speak it and go get it? That’s what I’ve been doing, ever since I was an amateur. I said ‘This is what I want, and this is what I’m going to go get.'”
The discussion continued to the fact that the 212 title is vacant. Additionally, Lunsford discussed how much more hyped he is than the other competitors. He notes that he does not see his fellow athletes doing interviews, or posting on social media. However he discusses how important it is for him to put himself out there, as that is how he has gotten sponsorships.
At this point, they then talked about Flex Lewis. Lunsford explained that he wishes Lewis had not retired.
“To be honest with you, I… I’m not saying this because I’m being overly confident or anything like that, but it would be awesome if he came back this year because if he brought the package that he brought last year, with what I think I’m going to bring this year? Wow!
That’s what I was hoping would happen last year. We didn’t do some things at the end quite right. Whereas this year, things are clicking on another level.”
Derek Lunsford would continue to talk about how deep the competition is this year, regardless of who is not competing. Additionally, he talked about some of the competitors that he is looking forward to seeing the most. However, he made it clear that this is going to be a tough competition, so he explains what he will be doing differently this year.
“I think last year, things were just so much different. I was doing things incredibly different. Three hour training sessions with like, literally half the cardio and almost no food. I was eating like very very little food, and this year I’m eating like insane amounts of food. My base plan is an insane amount of food.”
Lunsford further explained that he is eating more now, than when he began his training. Furthermore, he says he eats around 350-400 grams of carbs daily with low fat, high protein. Despite the different diet, he explains that his weight is really good. While he did not give specific numbers, Lunsford said that he could have gotten it down in time for the Tampa Pro, if he wanted to.
After this, Derek gave his top three prediction, if he was not in the competition.
Lunsford was initially complimentary of his fellow bodybuilders, speaking highly of several of them, like Ahmad Ashkanani, and Kamal Elgargni. He further expressed how steep the competition is at this year’s Olympia. However, when pressured he was able to narrow it down to just three.
“I’m going to say Kamal, Ahmad, and Eduardo [Correa Da Silva]. Those are the ones I keep naming first usually anyway, and those are the ones I’ve seen bring it this year, the most.”
You can watch the full interview with Derek Lunsford below. He will be taking on a ton of great athletes at the 2019 Mr. Olympia, in pursuit of the vacant 212 title. It will be a phenomenal competition.
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