Derek Lunsford shares the final back workout of his 2023 Olympia prep. We are in the middle of the final week before 2023 Olympia and all the competitors are getting ready for a fierce battle this weekend. Lusnford shared the workout on his YouTube channel to keep the fans updated with his journey.
Derek Lunsford is one of the youngest and most dynamic competitors in the Men’s Open division of the IFBB Pro League. He has pushed aside a wave of upcoming prospects, established contenders and veterans in a short amount of time to earn his place among the higher echelons of the division.
Lunsford competed in the 212 division for the majority of his professional bodybuilding career and climbed to the top when he became the 212 Olympia champion in 2021. Owing to his strong stage presence, Lunsford looked like someone that could replicate former 7-time 212 Olympia champion Flex Lewis‘ dominance. However, he made a surprise transition to the Men’s Open division after the Olympia management accepted his request to compete in the division at the 2022 Olympia. The 30-year-old dominated the stage and achieved a runner-up finish.
Having established himself as the top contender of the Men’s Open division, Lunsford now aims to become the first-ever two-division Olympia champion in the sport’s history.
Lunsford is favored to finish in the top two at the 2023 Olympia. While has made rapid progress over the last year, Lunsford admits that the prep has been challenging for him. Many experts have opined that Derek Lunsford can dethrone Hadi Choopan with hard chest density and quad development. Recent physique updates show that he has made massive improvements in these areas.
Derek Lunsford goes through back workout
In the final phase of his 2023 Olympia prep, Lunsford is following a repetitive daily routine that may seem simple but takes unwavering discipline to follow. He starts the day with weight and form check before doing 30 to 40 mins of cardio – mostly brisk walking.
“I actually like doing cardio in the morning. Believe it or not, even now, I like it because it kind of sets the tone for the day.”
Three days out of the competition date, the 30-year-old executed the final back workout of the prep and posted the video on his YouTube channel. So let’s check out which exercises constituted this training session.
Overall, the workout consisted of following exercises:
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Superset – Hammer Strength Lat Pulldown and Cable Straight Arm Pulldown | 5 | 8 to 10 |
| Hammer Strength Reverse Grip Lat Pulldown | ||
| Seated Rows | 3 | 10 to 12 |
| T-Bar Rows | 2 | 10 to 12 |
| T-Bar Rows (drop set) | 1 | |
| Incline Dumbbell Rows | 2 | 10 to 12 |
| Standing Straight Arm Pulldown | 2 | 10 to 12 |
| Seated Dumbbell Rear Delt Raises | 3 | 10 to 12 |
| Reverse Pec Deck Flyes | 3 | 12 to 15 |
| Weighted Hyperextensions | 3 | 12 to 15 |
Superset – Lat Pulldown and Cable Straight Arm Pulldown
Derek Lunsford commenced the workout with this superset to target the lats. He altered between all the sets of these exercises to get a good stimulus in the beginning of the workout. Following which, he took to a Lat pulldown variation.
“I’m telling you, we’re not slowing down! Two more workouts. This is it! Three days out, giving it a hundred percent all the way through… No quit baby!” Lunsford said before taking up the next exercise.
Hammer Strength Reverse Grip Lat Pulldown
The former 212 Olympia champion emphasized the lower lats and biceps with this variation of lat pulldowns next. He used the same Hammer Strength plate loaded machine used for the previous variation and cranked out some solid sets.
Seated Rows
After focusing on the lats with the first few movements, Derek Lunsford targeted middle and upper back muscles with Seated rows on a plate-loaded machine. For the uninitiated, Seated rows are an excellent way to give your back thickness and also to improve posture.
After executing some perfect sets of seated rows, the former 212 Olympia champion proceeded to arguably the best back exercise of all time.
T-bar Rows
If you had to choose the only rowing exercise that you could do for the rest of your life, we would recommend choosing T-bar rows without a second thought. One of the most effective back builders, T-bar rows work all the upper posterior chain muscles and help with complete back development. Lunsford pushed through a couple of heavy sets of the exercise and finished up with a drop set.
Incline Dumbbell Rows
Lunsford took to this free weight exercise next to target the back muscles. Incline dumbbell rows target the latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, trapezius and posterior deltoids. The neutral grip position, which is commonly used for doing this exercise, is a lot more shoulder joint-friendly.
After getting a few sets of the exercise under the belt, the former 212 Olympia champion took to the final back exercise.
Cable Straight Arm Pulldowns
Most of the exercises targeting the back muscles are compound movement. However, cable straight arm pulldown stands out as one of the few effective isolation exercises for the back. The movement pattern of this exercise does not involve other pulling muscles like biceps. As a result, it helps focus more on the back muscles.
Derek Lunsford pushed through a couple of sets of this exercise and shifted his attention to working the rear delts. While rear delts are categorized as a part of shoulders, many bodybuilders club them with back exercises as they are stimulated during compound pulling exercises.
Seated Dumbbell Rear Delt Raises
Lunsford performed this as the first Rear delt exercise of this training session. He performed a couple of sets of this isolation exercise to activate the rear delts and advanced over to the next exercise.
Reverse Pec Deck Flyes
The 30-year-old bodybuilder added the last bit of momentum to his posterior deltoids with this movement and proceeded to perform the finisher of the day.
Weighted Hyperextensions
Derek Lunsford capped the training session with this spinal erector, glutes and hamstrings focused movement. He performed the first set using only his own bodyweight for resistance and finished with a few sets using weight plates for added resistance.
Derek Lunsford is one step away from becoming the first two-division Olympia champion in history. But the path is full of hurdles as every contender has trained hard to achieve the same goal. Four more days and we’ll know who worked the hardest of them all.
Watch the full workout video below, courtesy of Derek Lunsford’s personal YouTube channel:
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Published: 2 November, 2023 | 1:30 AM EDT
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