Bodybuilder Derek Lunsford recently underwent a rigorous lower body workout. With a high-volume shoulder workout, the reigning Olympia 212 champion kicked off his preparations for the 2022 Olympia. Considered among the best bodybuilders of this era, Lunsford achieved the dream of winning the Olympia 212 crown by dethroning Shaun Clarida at the 2021 Olympia. Prior to that, he secured runner-up finishes in 2018 and 2019. Lunsford showed up in great shape at the 2020 Olympia as well. However, he had to make peace with the fourth place that year.
2022 Olympia will take place from December 15th to 18th in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Lunsford is leaving no stones unturned for another historic performance. Lunsford went through a heavy hamstring, glutes, and quadriceps training session as a part of his Olympia prep. The video of this session was uploaded on Lunsford’s personal YouTube channel.
Derek Lunsford’s leg day workout
Warm-up – Hip Adduction and Hip Abduction exercise on the machine
Lunsford started the leg day workout with hip adduction and hip abduction on the machine. These movements served as warm-up exercises to get the blood flowing into the legs for the heavy workout that followed.
“I’m just going to warm up my hips a little bit. Just to get some blood flowing here, get loosened up and then I’m going to do hamstring exercise that isolates my hamstrings and get some extra blood flow and a good pump in there.”
Lunsford performed three warm-up sets of both exercises and maintained a 10 to 12 rep range in all the sets. The 29-year-old did not perform working sets of these exercises and moved on to the next exercise after getting sufficiently warmed up.
“These (warm-up exercises) are just as important as everything else that I do. Everything I do in the gym has a purpose and you’ve got to put everything in each set.”
Lying leg curls
Derek Lunsford first targeted the hamstrings next and performed the lying leg curls. In some of his previous videos, Lunsford mentioned that the leg curls are far less stressful for the knees than most other exercises. Therefore he prefers to start the leg day workout with this movement.
The 212 Olympia champ performed three sets of single-leg curls with very short rest periods in between. Following this, he took a big jump in weight and performed a top set of eight to ten reps. Lunsford tends to perform a back-off set in most of his exercises to get cleaner reps with perfect technique and he followed the same pattern for this exercise as well.
Romanian Deadlift
What followed the leg curls was one of the most effective exercises for the lower body – the Romanian deadlift. Lunsford performed the first set with a single plate and worked his way up to four plates in subsequent sets – taking a full plate jump each time. The top set included five plates and Lunsford cranked out ten reps (as seen in the video). As usual, a back-off set with three plates followed to get a few reps with clean technique and a perfect range of motion.
“I’m lit up. I’m happy. That’s what I came for. About halfway done now. I’m happy but it’s not my best. I gave my best today but I can do more. That’s what’s exciting for me,” Derek Lusford said after finishing all the sets.
Leg press
Lunsford jumped into the heavy sets right away and performed the first set with five plates to fire up the target muscles. Taking big jumps with each consecutive set, Lunsford performed the top working set with ten plates. Lunsford finished the exercise with a high-volume double drop set that might seem like an impossible feat for a lot of beginners. While speaking about the drop set, the reigning 212 Olympia champ said:
“Once again, a good set here but not my best. My best would be a little bit heavier. But overall the volume in the set was not bad. So, 12 reps with 12 plates on each side. I dropped it to nine and got another 12 and then I dropped it down to six plates on each side and got 15 reps. So they all felt really good.”
Seated leg curls and leg extensions
Derek Lunsford performed these hamstrings and quad-focused exercises to wrap up the leg day workout. Lunsford stated that he prefers to perform leg extensions on a plate-loaded machine. However, he used a pin-loaded machine for this. These exercises served as the finisher for the day. Lunsford shared his thoughts on the day’s work during the closing comments and said:
“I love leaving the gym feeling like I absolutely smashed my workouts, you know. After a brutal leg day I’m leaving the gym absolutely wrecked. I love it but I hate it, you know. ‘Coz I’m gonna go home tonight, lay on the couch, get up to get a meal or use the bathroom and it’ll take me a whole two minutes just to get off the couch!”
Overall, the workout included:
- Hip Adduction and hip abduction on the machine
- Lying leg curl
- Romanian Deadlift
- Leg press
- Seated leg curl and leg extensions
Derek Lunsford has been quite candid about his intention to compete in the Open Pro division eventually. While his Olympia prep has already started, the 29-year-old has not confirmed if he will compete in the 212 division or make the move up to the Open pro division at the 2022 Olympia.
During the guest posing at the 2022 Pittsburgh Pro, Derek Lunsford looked capable of going head-to-head against the likes of Brandon Curry, Nick Walker and Hunter Labrada. In addition to this, Lunsford’s coach Hany Rombod and Olympia president Dan Solomon have raised concerns over his ability to make 212.
However, assuming he competes in the 212 division at the 2022 Olympia, Derek Lunsford will have to face formidable challenges like Kamal Elgargni and Shaun Clarida. Irrespective of which division he competes in, Derek Lunsford is giving his 100 percent in the training and it will be interesting to see how his career unfolds.
Courtesy of Derek Lunsford’s personal YouTube channel, you can watch the full workout video here:
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