Bodybuilders Derek Lunsford and Chris Bumstead are in the absolute prime of their physical and mental abilities. The duo are working hard to extend their competitive legacy under famed bodybuilding coach Hany Rambod’s guidance. Recently, they went through an off-season back workout to get ready for this year’s conquests.
Lunsford is an American professional bodybuilder that made a switch to the IFBB Pro League’s Men’s Open division in 2022. Prior to that, he competed in the 212 division and achieved the ultimate goal of winning the 212 Olympia title in 2021. However, the 30-year-old grew out of the division. Upon receiving the special invitation to compete in the Men’s Open division at the 2022 Olympia, the former 212 kingpin got in the gym to put in the work.
At 2022 Olympia, Lunsford dominated the stage and surged past elite competitors like former 2-time Mr. Olympia Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay, Nick Walker and Samson Dauda to secure a runner-up finish.
Lunsford’s training partner in this session, Chris Bumstead, is a Canadian IFBB Pro bodybuilder and arguably the most famous active bodybuilder in the world. CBum has established himself as the most successful competitor in the history of Classic Physique division with four consecutive Olympia wins. Since snatching the title from former champ Breon Ansley at the 2019 Olympia, CBum has fended off fierce competition to retain it at the 2020, 2021 and 2022 Olympia.
Both men have handed the reins of their training to famed coach Hany Rambod who is their head coach. Recently, they trained back under his guidance and the video of this session was posted on Lunsford’s personal YouTube channel. So without much ado, let’s see how Hany Rambod guided his pupils through the workout.
Derek Lunsford and Chris Bumstead go through the back workout
Derek Lunsford had to guest pose at the 2023 Pittsburgh Pro on the day of this back workout. As a result, he kept the workout relatively light and did not go overly heavy.
“Not gonna go crazy today because we’re doing the guest posing tonight. It’s not like we’re changing anything as far as the diet or workout… Nothing like that. We’re just gonna go in there and have fun tonight but also not trying to fill the stomach up a lot…” Lunsford said.
Iso-lateral Lat Pulldown
Rambod instructed CBum and Lunsford to start the training session with lat pulldown on an iso-lateral plate-loaded machine. He suggested using a reverse grip for the first few sets and switching over to the neutral grip for the subsequent sets.
Lat Pulldowns primarily target the latissimus dorsi and the upper back muscles. It is a great way to increase the back width. According to an ACE sponsored study, lat pulldowns, along with seated cable rows, are the second best exercise for lats after pull-ups and chin-ups (1). Lunsford and CBum pushed through a few sets of lat pulldowns to get things started and took to the next exercise.
T-Bar Rows
Lunsford and Bumstead then moved over to this classic back building exercise and cranked out a few sets. Bodybuilding experts swear by the muscle and strength building benefits of this movement. T-bar rows work the majority of the muscles in the upper and the middle back. This includes latissimus dorsi, trapezius, teres major, teres minor, posterior deltoid and infraspinatus muscles. Additionally, T-bar rows also work the brachialis and pectoralis major muscles as well.
Hany Rambod shed light on some of the common technical errors people make while doing the exercise and stated:
“What you’ve got to make sure is you’re pulling all the way… A lot of people just end up doing a really weird version of a shrug when they use heavy weight. Make sure that you’re being able to bring your elbows back and you’ll be able to contract your last to some degree. If you end up using too much weight, all you’re doing is a shrug.”
The bodybuilder duo performed some solid sets of T-bar rows with perfect technique before taking up the next exercise.
Seated Cable Rows
Seated cable rows not only help with muscle and strength building but also help improve the posture. CBum and Lunsford annihilated a few sets of seated cable rows under Coach Rambod’s watchful eye and took to the next exercise.
Incline Dumbbell Rows
This free weight exercise served as the finisher to Lunsford and Bumstead’s back workout. Incline dumbbell rows help emphasize more on the back muscles as the setup takes the need for muscle stabilization out of equation (2). The duo performed this exercise to stimulate the back muscles further and called it a day in the gym.
Overall, the workout included:
Derek Lunsford’s physique looked stage ready and massively improved during guest posing at the 2023 Pittsburgh Pro. Experts suggest that he can beat reigning Mr. Olympia Hadi Choopan if he brings fuller pecs and quads. Looking at his progress in the gym, it does seem like he is a step closer to the goal for sure.
Watch Derek Lunsford and Chris Bumstead go through the back workout here, courtesy of Derek Lunsford’s personal YouTube channel:
Reference
(Authors – Holly Edelburgh, John P. Porcari, Clayton Camic, Attila Kovacs, Carl Foster and Daniel J. Green)
(Author – Jeremy Ethier)