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2022 Mr. Olympia silver medalist Derek Lunsford has a clear objective for the 2023 off-season: add lean muscle tissue to his already impressive X-frame to challenge reigning Mr. Olympia Hadi Choopan for the title on Nov. 2-5, 2023, in Orlando, FL.
Lunsford is training hard in the 2023 off-season, furthering the progress of eight pounds of lean tissue added in his previous off-season. The Tampa-based bodybuilder shared his quad-biased leg workout in a video published on his YouTube channel on June 26, 2023. Check it out below:
[Related: How Bikini Bodybuilder Daraja Weidemoyer Builds Her Glutes]
Derek Lunsford’s Off-Season Leg Workout
The 2021 212 Olympia champ did four exercises in his quad-focused workout:
[Related: Jeremy Buendia Relays 5 Tips To Young Bodybuilders]
Lying Leg Curls & Leg Extensions
Although this was a quad-focused leg day, Lunsford opened the workout with lying leg curls to warm up his hamstrings. He finds it helps him establish a robust mind-muscle connection and effectively loosens him up for the programmed heavy compound lifts.
Lunsford continued his isometric training with leg extensions to load his quads. He moved slowly through both the eccentrics and concentric, increasing time under tension and maximizing blood flow to his quads which will be trained heavily through the rest of the session.
Sumo Belt Squats
Lunsford focused on his adductors and vastus medialis via a wider-than-shoulder-width stance on the belt squat machine. The former 212 Olympia champ held onto the machine’s handles, taking his time on the eccentrics. He avoided locking out his knees at the top to maintain constant tension on the quads.
Lunsford opened with two 45-pound weight plates on the machine. He reached four total plates for his second set and six for his third. His final set loaded eight 45-pound plates and two 25-plates on the machine. After his third set, he mentioned how far he’d come in the past two years:
This was my max two years ago when I was getting ready for the 212 [Olympia].
[Related: Looking Back to Look Forward — How Jennifer Dorie Trains Legs One Month Before a Pro Show]
Pendulum Squat
Lunsford’s fourth exercise was the pendulum squat. Its movement trajectory allows Lunsford to bias his quads while minimizing strain on his lower back and knees.
After completing three sets, Lunsford performed a double drop set to failure. Training to failure can deliver requisite muscle fiber stimulus to enhance strength and muscle development. (1)
Lunsford’s burnout set featured 15 reps with four 45-pound plates, reps 16-30 with two plates, and reps 31-45 without plates on the machine.
“Right now, as I’m trying to build strength and stay full and grow, there’s no need to keep tearing down the muscle,” said Lunsford after wrapping up his leg session. “You want to be able to recover, grow, and then get back in and do it again.”
Post-Workout Hot Dog Eating Competition
After his leg workout, Lunsford and Classic Physique bodybuilder Bartley Weaver engaged in a friendly hot dog-eating competition. Weaver downed 42 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, while Lunsford managed 11.
Lunsford’s next bodybuilding show will be the 59th edition of the Olympia in November. We’ll see if the heavy quad training and post-workout hot dogs can clinch Lunsford the Sandow trophy.
References
Nóbrega SR, Libardi CA. Is Resistance Training to Muscular Failure Necessary? Front Physiol. 2016 Jan 29;7:10. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2016.00010. PMID: 26858654; PMCID: PMC4731492.
Featured image: @dereklunsford_ on Instagram
2022 Mr. Olympia silver medalist Derek Lunsford has a clear objective for the 2023 off-season: add lean muscle tissue to his already impressive X-frame to challenge reigning Mr. Olympia Hadi Choopan for the title on Nov. 2-5, 2023, in Orlando, FL.
Lunsford is training hard in the 2023 off-season, furthering the progress of eight pounds of lean tissue added in his previous off-season. The Tampa-based bodybuilder shared his quad-biased leg workout in a video published on his YouTube channel on June 26, 2023. Check it out below:
[Related: How Bikini Bodybuilder Daraja Weidemoyer Builds Her Glutes]
Derek Lunsford’s Off-Season Leg Workout
The 2021 212 Olympia champ did four exercises in his quad-focused workout:
[Related: Jeremy Buendia Relays 5 Tips To Young Bodybuilders]
Lying Leg Curls & Leg Extensions
Although this was a quad-focused leg day, Lunsford opened the workout with lying leg curls to warm up his hamstrings. He finds it helps him establish a robust mind-muscle connection and effectively loosens him up for the programmed heavy compound lifts.
Lunsford continued his isometric training with leg extensions to load his quads. He moved slowly through both the eccentrics and concentric, increasing time under tension and maximizing blood flow to his quads which will be trained heavily through the rest of the session.
Sumo Belt Squats
Lunsford focused on his adductors and vastus medialis via a wider-than-shoulder-width stance on the belt squat machine. The former 212 Olympia champ held onto the machine’s handles, taking his time on the eccentrics. He avoided locking out his knees at the top to maintain constant tension on the quads.
Lunsford opened with two 45-pound weight plates on the machine. He reached four total plates for his second set and six for his third. His final set loaded eight 45-pound plates and two 25-plates on the machine. After his third set, he mentioned how far he’d come in the past two years:
This was my max two years ago when I was getting ready for the 212 [Olympia].
[/quote]
[Related: Looking Back to Look Forward — How Jennifer Dorie Trains Legs One Month Before a Pro Show]
Pendulum Squat
Lunsford’s fourth exercise was the pendulum squat. Its movement trajectory allows Lunsford to bias his quads while minimizing strain on his lower back and knees.
After completing three sets, Lunsford performed a double drop set to failure. Training to failure can deliver requisite muscle fiber stimulus to enhance strength and muscle development. (1)
[/quote]
Lunsford’s burnout set featured 15 reps with four 45-pound plates, reps 16-30 with two plates, and reps 31-45 without plates on the machine.
“Right now, as I’m trying to build strength and stay full and grow, there’s no need to keep tearing down the muscle,” said Lunsford after wrapping up his leg session. “You want to be able to recover, grow, and then get back in and do it again.”
Post-Workout Hot Dog Eating Competition
After his leg workout, Lunsford and Classic Physique bodybuilder Bartley Weaver engaged in a friendly hot dog-eating competition. Weaver downed 42 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, while Lunsford managed 11.
Lunsford’s next bodybuilding show will be the 59th edition of the Olympia in November. We’ll see if the heavy quad training and post-workout hot dogs can clinch Lunsford the Sandow trophy.
References
[*]Nóbrega SR, Libardi CA. Is Resistance Training to Muscular Failure Necessary? Front Physiol. 2016 Jan 29;7:10. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2016.00010. PMID: 26858654; PMCID: PMC4731492.
Featured image: @dereklunsford_ on Instagram
Click here to view the article.
Lunsford is training hard in the 2023 off-season, furthering the progress of eight pounds of lean tissue added in his previous off-season. The Tampa-based bodybuilder shared his quad-biased leg workout in a video published on his YouTube channel on June 26, 2023. Check it out below:
[Related: How Bikini Bodybuilder Daraja Weidemoyer Builds Her Glutes]
Derek Lunsford’s Off-Season Leg Workout
The 2021 212 Olympia champ did four exercises in his quad-focused workout:
[Related: Jeremy Buendia Relays 5 Tips To Young Bodybuilders]
Lying Leg Curls & Leg Extensions
Although this was a quad-focused leg day, Lunsford opened the workout with lying leg curls to warm up his hamstrings. He finds it helps him establish a robust mind-muscle connection and effectively loosens him up for the programmed heavy compound lifts.
Lunsford continued his isometric training with leg extensions to load his quads. He moved slowly through both the eccentrics and concentric, increasing time under tension and maximizing blood flow to his quads which will be trained heavily through the rest of the session.
Sumo Belt Squats
Lunsford focused on his adductors and vastus medialis via a wider-than-shoulder-width stance on the belt squat machine. The former 212 Olympia champ held onto the machine’s handles, taking his time on the eccentrics. He avoided locking out his knees at the top to maintain constant tension on the quads.
Lunsford opened with two 45-pound weight plates on the machine. He reached four total plates for his second set and six for his third. His final set loaded eight 45-pound plates and two 25-plates on the machine. After his third set, he mentioned how far he’d come in the past two years:
This was my max two years ago when I was getting ready for the 212 [Olympia].
[Related: Looking Back to Look Forward — How Jennifer Dorie Trains Legs One Month Before a Pro Show]
Pendulum Squat
Lunsford’s fourth exercise was the pendulum squat. Its movement trajectory allows Lunsford to bias his quads while minimizing strain on his lower back and knees.
After completing three sets, Lunsford performed a double drop set to failure. Training to failure can deliver requisite muscle fiber stimulus to enhance strength and muscle development. (1)
Lunsford’s burnout set featured 15 reps with four 45-pound plates, reps 16-30 with two plates, and reps 31-45 without plates on the machine.
“Right now, as I’m trying to build strength and stay full and grow, there’s no need to keep tearing down the muscle,” said Lunsford after wrapping up his leg session. “You want to be able to recover, grow, and then get back in and do it again.”
Post-Workout Hot Dog Eating Competition
After his leg workout, Lunsford and Classic Physique bodybuilder Bartley Weaver engaged in a friendly hot dog-eating competition. Weaver downed 42 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, while Lunsford managed 11.
Lunsford’s next bodybuilding show will be the 59th edition of the Olympia in November. We’ll see if the heavy quad training and post-workout hot dogs can clinch Lunsford the Sandow trophy.
References
Nóbrega SR, Libardi CA. Is Resistance Training to Muscular Failure Necessary? Front Physiol. 2016 Jan 29;7:10. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2016.00010. PMID: 26858654; PMCID: PMC4731492.
Featured image: @dereklunsford_ on Instagram
2022 Mr. Olympia silver medalist Derek Lunsford has a clear objective for the 2023 off-season: add lean muscle tissue to his already impressive X-frame to challenge reigning Mr. Olympia Hadi Choopan for the title on Nov. 2-5, 2023, in Orlando, FL.
Lunsford is training hard in the 2023 off-season, furthering the progress of eight pounds of lean tissue added in his previous off-season. The Tampa-based bodybuilder shared his quad-biased leg workout in a video published on his YouTube channel on June 26, 2023. Check it out below:
[Related: How Bikini Bodybuilder Daraja Weidemoyer Builds Her Glutes]
Derek Lunsford’s Off-Season Leg Workout
The 2021 212 Olympia champ did four exercises in his quad-focused workout:
[Related: Jeremy Buendia Relays 5 Tips To Young Bodybuilders]
Lying Leg Curls & Leg Extensions
Although this was a quad-focused leg day, Lunsford opened the workout with lying leg curls to warm up his hamstrings. He finds it helps him establish a robust mind-muscle connection and effectively loosens him up for the programmed heavy compound lifts.
Lunsford continued his isometric training with leg extensions to load his quads. He moved slowly through both the eccentrics and concentric, increasing time under tension and maximizing blood flow to his quads which will be trained heavily through the rest of the session.
Sumo Belt Squats
Lunsford focused on his adductors and vastus medialis via a wider-than-shoulder-width stance on the belt squat machine. The former 212 Olympia champ held onto the machine’s handles, taking his time on the eccentrics. He avoided locking out his knees at the top to maintain constant tension on the quads.
Lunsford opened with two 45-pound weight plates on the machine. He reached four total plates for his second set and six for his third. His final set loaded eight 45-pound plates and two 25-plates on the machine. After his third set, he mentioned how far he’d come in the past two years:
This was my max two years ago when I was getting ready for the 212 [Olympia].
[/quote]
[Related: Looking Back to Look Forward — How Jennifer Dorie Trains Legs One Month Before a Pro Show]
Pendulum Squat
Lunsford’s fourth exercise was the pendulum squat. Its movement trajectory allows Lunsford to bias his quads while minimizing strain on his lower back and knees.
After completing three sets, Lunsford performed a double drop set to failure. Training to failure can deliver requisite muscle fiber stimulus to enhance strength and muscle development. (1)
[/quote]
Lunsford’s burnout set featured 15 reps with four 45-pound plates, reps 16-30 with two plates, and reps 31-45 without plates on the machine.
“Right now, as I’m trying to build strength and stay full and grow, there’s no need to keep tearing down the muscle,” said Lunsford after wrapping up his leg session. “You want to be able to recover, grow, and then get back in and do it again.”
Post-Workout Hot Dog Eating Competition
After his leg workout, Lunsford and Classic Physique bodybuilder Bartley Weaver engaged in a friendly hot dog-eating competition. Weaver downed 42 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, while Lunsford managed 11.
Lunsford’s next bodybuilding show will be the 59th edition of the Olympia in November. We’ll see if the heavy quad training and post-workout hot dogs can clinch Lunsford the Sandow trophy.
References
[*]Nóbrega SR, Libardi CA. Is Resistance Training to Muscular Failure Necessary? Front Physiol. 2016 Jan 29;7:10. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2016.00010. PMID: 26858654; PMCID: PMC4731492.
Featured image: @dereklunsford_ on Instagram
Click here to view the article.
