Newly crowned Mr. Olympia Derek Lunsford is a formidable force in the IFBB Pro League. The 30-year-old rose to prominence in the 212 division where he competed for the vast majority of his career. After hanging around in the top echelons of the divisions for a few years, Lunsford achieved the goal of becoming the 212 Olympia champion in 2021.
He had the potential to fill up the vacuum left by Flex Lewis’s retirement and become a multiple-time champion. However, Lunsford had outgrown the division and made the switch to the Men’s Open division in 2022. In his divisional debut at the 2022 Olympia, Derek Lunsford defeated the likes of Nick Walker, Samson Dauda, and Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay to achieve a runner-up finish behind Hadi Choopan.
Most industry experts predicted that Lunsford could win the Mr. Olympia title if he brought fuller pecs and quads to the stage in 2023. The former 212 Olympia champion showed up with incredible proportions, aesthetics and overall solid package to beat Hadi Choopan’s insane conditioning.
Lunsford became the 2023 Mr. Olympia when the results were announced. The historical performance made him the first-ever bodybuilder in history to win the coveted Olympia trophy in two different weight classes. Following the win, the newly crowned Mr. Olympia carved time out from his schedule to hang out with one of the greatest competitors in the history of the sport – Ronnie Coleman.
The veteran bodybuilder is best known for winning the Mr. Olympia title eight consecutive times from 1998 to 2005. He ties for the record of most Mr. Olympia wins in history with Lee Haney. Coleman is widely regarded as one of the most crucial figures in the growth of bodybuilding and his story continues to inspire millions of people around the world.
Derek Lunsford and Ronnie Coleman hang out and train together
Ronnie Coleman was one of the industry experts / veterans that confidently picked Derek Lunsford to win the 2023 Mr. Olympia crown. Lunsford stated that he didn’t want to let Ronnie down and worked extra hard to win the competition. He also decided to go and train with the legendary bodybuilder after the task was finished.
“What was really making me push harder, a big aspect of it was I was like, ‘I just want to go hang out with Ronnie Coleman as the Mr. Olympia’. So I’ve literally been thinking about coming and training and hanging out with Ronnie Coleman. It’s all I’ve wanted to do post-show.”
As the newly crowned Mr. Olympia, Derek Lunsford has to carry the burden of responsibility and represent the sport through various obligations like press conferences, public appearances, interviews and so on. While he enjoys every aspect of being the Mr. Olympia, training and hanging out with Ronnie Coleman is a top priority in his bucket list at a deeply personal level.
Recently, the duo hung out together and also did a light shoulder workout. So let’s check out how they spent time together.
Overall, the workout consisted of following exercises:
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Dumbbell Lateral Raises | 2 | 15 to 20 |
| Superset – Machine Lateral Raises and Seated Machine Shoulder Press | 4 | 12 to 15 |
| Dumbbell Front Raises | 2 | 15 to 18 |
Dumbbell Lateral Raises
Lunsford and Ronnie started the training session with dumbbell lateral raises to work the side delts / lateral deltoids. In the first set, Derek Lunsford utilized five different angles of movement for 15 reps, and did 20 more reps with three different angles in the next one. Meanwhile, Ronnie Coleman performed the seated variation of the exercise and cranked out a few solid sets himself.
Superset – Machine Lateral Raises and Seated Machine Shoulder Press
After getting a good warm-up with the first exercise, the duo next performed this superset to target the anterior as well as lateral deltoids. They performed all the sets of the exercises in rapid succession to get the most out of them and increase the aerobic intensity of the training session.
Dumbbell Front Raises
Ths served as the final exercise of the short training session. Ronnie Coleman and Derek Lunsford executed a few heavy sets of the movement one-by-one and wrapped up the training session.
Champion describes his emotions after winning the 2023 Mr. Olympia crown
Winning the Olympia trophy is an incredibly rare accomplishment. Derek Lunsford stands as the only example in the sport’s history to win it in not one but two weight classes. He is a devout christian that gives all the credit to the divine power for his accomplishments in the sport. While describing how he feels about the most important win of his career, Derek Lunsford said:
“I feel honored, dude. I do not take it for granted. Two years before when I won the 212 Olympia title, I felt it. I was like I think this is mine. Boom! Mine! And new! Last year, it was the opposite. It was like, ‘I don’t think he wants it for me’ and hadi Choopan wins… This year, for some reason, even all like getting the people’s champ and stuff like that, I was like , ‘I think he wants it for me. He wants to provide’”
He added:
“So I wasn’t like, I mean I was shocked. I was like… I didn’t go from ‘I’m losing this to no way’… It was more like ‘I think I got it, all right we got it’.”
Lunsford’s win was more significant because he became the first-ever two-division Olympia champion in the history of the competition. The historic factor was so overwhelming that he did not even realize that he had also won a massive cash prize.
“You know what’s crazy? The $400,000 cheque didn’t even set in until, like, 24 hours later. Like, ‘oh, yeah man! It’s the nice check I am getting’.”
He joked:
“Don’t tell Mr. Olympia that because they’ll never raise the prize money.”
During their previous meetings, Derek Lunsford had refused to touch the Mr. Olympia trophy unless he earned one himself. Having accomplished the goal, he was intrigued to take a look at Ronnie’s trophy and the 8-time Mr. Olympia gladly obliged.
The duo parted ways on a heartwarming note as Ronnie Coleman gifted baby clothes to Derek Lunsford. He is going to be a father soon.
Watch the full video below, courtesy of Ronnie Coleman’s personal YouTube channel:
Experience the excitement of the 2023 Mr. Olympia with our comprehensive coverage! From pre-judging and event recaps to in-depth analysis and final results, find everything you need at our Olympia coverage hub: FitnessVolt.com/olympia. Don’t miss out on the action!
Published: 12 November, 2023 | 8:49 AM EDT
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