Derek Lunsford is amid his off-season for 2023 after turning in a historic runner-up finish at the Mr. Olympia last year. In a recent YouTube shorts video, Lunsford shared four key tips for stimulating muscle growth: weight, tempo, number of reps, and the quality of the contraction.
In 2021, Lunsford won the 212 Olympia title by defeating Shaun Clarida and Kamal Elgargni in the finals. Last May, speculation grew about a switch to the Men’s Open division after Lunsford guest posed at the 2022 Pittsburgh Pro in place of Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay. His impromptu appearance stole headlines as Derek held his own standing next to Hunter Labrada, Nick Walker, and Brandon Curry.
Hany Rambod and Dan Solomon later agreed that Lunsford was nowhere near the weight limit for 212. Thus, a special invitation to compete in the Open Olympia was extended to Lunsford, which he quickly capitalized on.
At the 2022 Mr. Olympia competition, Lunsford’s physique, no longer restricted by a weight limit, shocked the world. When prejudging concluded, the bodybuilding community instantly labeled him a frontrunner. At his first-ever Men’s Open competition, Lunsford nearly won but was unable to stop Hadi Choopan from claiming his first Sandow.
Lunsford made it clear he would not be competing at the 2023 Arnold Classic in favor of making improvements for the next Olympia contest in November. While working toward his goal, Lunsford shared four fundamental principles for stimulating muscle hypertrophy.
Derek Lunsford’s 4 Pillars of Muscle Stimulation: Weight, Number of Reps, Tempo, and Quality of Contraction
Speaking in a video published on his YouTube channel, Lunsford broke down how to effectively stimulate muscles during workouts.
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There are four ways to stimulate a muscle right. Weight — pretty much everyone knows if you add more weight you’re going to stimulate the muscle different than lighter weight.
Reps — Instead of 10 reps, do 15 reps, pretty much everyone knows that. What’s another way to stimulate the muscle, tempo. How fast or slow that you’re going in your exercise or in a rep; also, the distance, how far, how much can you contract the muscle, and how much can you stretch it,” Derek Lunsford shared.
Lunsford hasn’t slowed down inside the gym since his last bodybuilding contest. The former 212 Olympia shared a brutal off-season leg workout recently. In addition, Lunsford opened up in a Muscular Development interview about why he chose to skip the upcoming Arnold Classic. He stated that his primary concern was Olympia and plans to make improvements to his chest, shoulders, arms, and quads in the meantime.
In spite of Derek’s recent Olympia performance, Jay Cutler believes the 2023 Arnold Classic wouldn’t have been an easy win for Lunsford. He shared that Lunsford has a ‘limited’ physique in terms of height and structure. The four-time Mr. Olympia added that defeating Nick Walker in Ohio wouldn’t have been a guarantee.
Given the transformation he made from 212 to the Open, it’s safe to say Lunsford has a firm grasp on muscle stimulation. Moving forward, Lunsford has a renewed focus to win the most prestigious title in the sport after missing out on the honor nearly three months ago.
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