Derek Lunsford And Tristyn Lee Crush Mr. Olympia Shoulder Workout

Derek Lunsford recently teamed up with fitness influencer Tristyn Lee and took him along through a shoulder workout. Lee is eyeing his competitive bodybuilding debut in 2024 and training with an elite bodybuilder will certainly help him gain knowledge and make strides into his bodybuilding journey.

Derek Lunsford is an American professional bodybuilder. He is the reigning Mr. Olympia and the first competitor in the sport’s history to win the coveted trophy in two weight classes. Lunsford started his career in the 212 division and became the 212 Olympia champion in 2021. But he soon outgrew the weight class and transitioning to the Men’s Open division became a necessity.

At the 2022 Olympia, Derek Lunsford made his Men’s Open debut with a runner-up finish behind Hadi Choopan. Lunsford’s quick rise in the ‘big boy’ division dramatically changed the equations. The 30-year-old proved that aesthetics, proportions, and conditioning can beat size, setting up a new benchmark for the Men’s Open division.

Industry experts suggested that Derek Lunsford could beat Hadi Choopan in 2023 if he brought fuller quads and pecs to the stage. His complete overall package overpowered ‘The Persian Wolf’s’ excellent conditioning and Lunsford emerged victoriously at the 2023 Olympia, becoming the first-ever two-division Olympia champion.

Recently, Derek Lunsford joined fitness influencer and budding bodybuilder Tristyn Lee for an intense shoulder workout. Lee is a young phenom best known for walking around with minimal body fat all year round. He shot to fame as a teenager and has only grown in popularity over the years.

Derek Lunsford and Tristyn Lee go through a shoulder workout

Seated Machine Lateral Raises

Being the more experienced between the two, Derek Lunsford led the dance while Tristyn Lee followed. The duo started with a seated machine lateral raises to work the medial deltoids. After performing a few sets to work this muscle and warm up the rotator cuffs, the training partners advanced over to perform other exercises.

Lying Cable Lateral Raises

The training partners moved on to another lateral delt exercise and performed lying cable lateral raises next.

4-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler is one of the most prominent commentators on the sport of bodybuilding today. In a recent appearance, Cutler opined that Derek Lunsford needs to slow down a little bit to avoid burnout. The reigning Mr. Olympia aligns with the opinion and seems to have reduced the training intensity a little bit. He performed all the sets of this exercise with moderate weights and said during the rest period:

“I’m not trying to go like real crazy right now. I’m trying to get it in my head, ‘Hey, stop a little shy. Back it off just a little…’ Because, I mean, I love to come in here and smash! I hate rest days, I hate 80 percent workouts. I’m like, ‘No! We’re going to smash it every day!’”

After pushing through some solid sets of the exercise, Lunsford and Lee advanced over to the next exercise.

Dumbbell Shoulder Press

This anterior deltoid-focused movement followed next. Lunsford and Lee performed the seated variation of this exercise. A seated shoulder press eliminates the core muscles and other stabilizers from the equation and helps focus more on the target muscles.

Lee inquired about Derek Lunsford’s opinion on using elbow sleeves as they went heavy with each consecutive set. The 30-year-old stated that he was never a big believer in them until recently. He replied:

“These elbow sleeves saved me; especially on shoulder day and chest day. My elbows would get sensitive. You can hear them popping and cracking sometimes. So when I started using the elbow sleeves, I was able to go heavier in my lifts…”

Lunsford addressed a common misconception and clarified that the elbow sleeves only reduce joint pain and do not take the load off the muscles.

After getting heavy sets of the exercise under their belts, the training partners advanced over to another shoulder press variation.

Smith Machine Seated Shoulder Press

Lunsford continued to do the anterior deltoid work with this next exercise and performed the Smith machine variation of the shoulder presses. Along with Tristyn Lee, he carried out some excellent sets of this exercise before jumping into the next one.

Seated Dumbbell Front Raises

To do the front raises, Lunsford instructed Lee to perform two sets of this exercise with a neutral grip (palms facing inward) and two sets with an overhand/pronated grip (palms facing downward).

While seated variations eliminate the core muscles from the exercise, Lunsford explained the technique to engage the core even while being in the seated position and said:

“Even doing it seated here, when you bring your feet in closer like this (placed in front, perpendicular to the upper body), it takes the base, the foundation out from under you. So you’re having to stabilize your core. So I’m getting abdominal work right now!”

Heavy sets of dumbbell front raises with slow and controlled reps followed next and the bodybuilders proceeded to do rear delt exercise afterward.

Reverse Pec Dec Flyes

The joint training session concluded with a few sets of reverse pec deck flyes to target the posterior deltoids. Lunsford usually clubs the posterior delt movements with back exercises. However, he chose to include this one on a shoulder day. A few sets of reverse pec deck flyes later, the shoulder workout came to an end.

Overall, the workout included:

• Seated Machine Lateral Raises
  • 2 warm-up sets of 15 to 20 reps
  • 2 working sets of 15 to 20 reps (Rest as much as necessary)
• Lying Cable Lateral Raises
  • 3 working sets of 12 to 15 reps (Finish with forced reps and rest as much as necessary)
• Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press
  • 2 working sets of 8 to 10 reps (Use a spotter for forced reps and rest as much as necessary)
• Smith Machine Seated Shoulder Press
  • 2 working sets of 8 to 10 reps (Use a spotter for forced reps and rest as much as necessary)
• Seated Dumbbell Front Raises
  • 4 sets of 12 to 15 reps (2 sets with a neutral grip and 2 sets with an overhand/pronated grip)
• Reverse Pec Deck Flyes

The double champ opens up about his faith and spiritual journey

Derek Lunsford is one of the bodybuilders who has never shied away from his spiritual inclinations and credited God for all of his achievements. He often uses the public platform to praise God. Tristyn Lee told Lunsford that he admires his openness about faith.

Derek Lunsford said that he approached bodybuilding as a means of achieving personal goals or satisfying his ego. But hearts of hearts, Lunsford felt that he was doing this for a far greater purpose than personal well-being and achievements.

“There’s a lot of great things that come with bodybuilding like shaping and sculpting your physique which is awesome! You get to build the physique that you want to build. Mr. Olympia and the IFBB Pro League have provided an amazing life for me and my family. But at the end of the day, the true purpose that comes behind the calling is to honor and glorify my lord and savior Jesus Christ. I want to make his story known. I want to talk about Jesus, man! Like how he’s changed my life and why God is such a good God, man!”

Lunsford shed light on the mental struggles he faced along the way, stating that he was gripped by depression to the extent that he no longer wanted to continue with bodybuilding. The 30-year-old claimed that he surrendered to God after hitting absolute rock bottom and brought his life back on track.

“Tharally three years ago, bro! Three years ago, I didn’t want to be here anymore and now it’s like making history, Mr. Olympia…”

Watch the full workout video below, courtesy of Tristyn Lee’s personal YouTube channel:

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