Derek Lunsford Undergoes FST-7 Upper Chest Workout

Coach Rambod stresses the importance of posing between sets to Lunsford. 

Since earning his pro card in 2017, Derek Lunsford has made notable strides in bodybuilding. Initially competing in the 212 division, he received a special invite to the Men’s Open category last year. During that event, he delivered an outstanding performance, securing the second position, narrowly edged out by the reigning Mr. Olympia Hadi Choopan. Seven weeks from 2023 Olympia, Lunsford uploaded a chest workout where Coach Hany Rambod walks him through FST-7 training. 

Coach Hany Rambod has an impressive list of clients, including Men’s Open winner Hadi Choopan. You might also recognize Phil Heath, Jay Cutler, Jeremy Buendia, and Chris Bumstead. Between them, Coach Rambod’s athletes have won 22 Olympia titles.

Derek Lunsford and Hany Rambod have been working together since 2021. Under his tutelage, Derek Lunsford catapulted to a first-place finish in the 212 category after a previous 4th place finish. Lunsford also received the invite to participate in the Men’s Open, where he came second despite his height of 5’6”.

In this post, Coach Rambod takes Derek Lunsford through an FST-7 upper chest workout as part of his Mr. Olympia preparations. The FST-7 is a brainchild of Coach Hany Rambod and works by using high reps and high-intensity exercise to lengthen your fascia and induce muscle growth. In a video shared by Rambod’s supplement brand, Evogen Nutrition, the coach took Derek Lunsford through this routine for his chest and shared valuable tips, which we examine below. 

Derek Lunsford’s Chest Workout

 

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A post shared by Derek Lunsford (@dereklunsford_)

When you first hear FST-7, you may think of it as a specific program, but it’s not that. Instead, it’s a principle that you can add to any exercise to train specific muscles. FST-7 believes in stretching the fascia, a soft architecture that holds major muscles like your trunk, pecs, traps, delts, and glutes (1).

If you’re wondering why the focus is on stretching the fascia, Coach Rambod believes this will give your muscles more room to expand. While no study has been looking into it yet, it’s been backed by many professional bodybuilders. The FST-7 is ideal for intermediate to advanced athletes, those who want to break out of a plateau, and people who are short on time. 

In this training, we see the coach help Derek Lunsford apply FST-7 as he does five exercises. We also see him coach Lunsford to do FST-7 flex sets, a practice of posing between sets. Coach Rambod says,

“Those prepare you for when you’re getting ready for a show to actually be able to create that tension on stage. And why that’s important is that if you don’t practice that, you’re going to end up getting shaky on stage. So that’s why posing in between sets, doing posing practice, all of those things are so important when you’re getting ready for a bodybuilding show.”

Incline Machine Chest Presses

The machine chest press is a routine that targets your pecs and chest muscles. However, the incline chest press pushes the focus of this exercise to your upper chest. This movement also targets your front delts and triceps.

Derek Lunsford did ten reps of this exercise using 45-pound weights on each side. He also didn’t allow his arms to lock out to keep constant tension on his muscles, which led to more significant hypertrophy. Lunsford didn’t flare his elbows and kept his scapula depressed to avoid too much interference from the anterior delts. 

Low Cable Flyes

Low cable flyes are an excellent exercise for inducing chest growth. This routine targets your upper and inner chest but also engages your delts. Using a cable machine for this exercise also helps to keep constant tension in your muscles.

Lunsford set the cable at its lowest and used a supinated grip with D-handle attachments. He then assumed a staggered stance and turned his pinkies up during the concentric part of his movement. This will help you achieve peak chest contraction at the top of your range of motion. 

Incline Dumbbell Presses

The incline dumbbell press builds your pecs, front delts, and triceps (2). It uses an extended range of motion in a stable position to induce muscle growth. The incline of this exercise, while targeting your upper chest muscles, also makes it easier on your shoulders than the flat variation. 

The incline dumbbell press was Derek Lunsford’s only free-weight exercise in this chest workout. For this one, Coach Rambod shares that using lighter weights for the first set helps to drill your movement mechanics, making your form better. Lunsford used a neutral grip and kept his elbows close to target the upper pecs further. 

Standing Machine Chest Flyes

The standing machine chest fly also targets your chest and shoulder muscles. It’s an isolation exercise for the chest, and using a machine helps you focus on your training rather than worrying about stability. It also gives constant tension throughout your range of motion, leading to greater muscle growth.

Derek Lunsford used a Panatta Standing Multi-Flight machine. He used a neutral grip and arched his back to make the exercise favor his chest. Coach Rambod states that he prefers this machine because it’s fixed and allows you to focus on your mind-muscle connection.

Machine Flat Flyes

Machine flat flyes target your chest, shoulders, and triceps. As a result of no incline or decline with this exercise, both your upper and lower chest muscles are targeted for total chest building. Using the machine also helps to remove the need for balance, like with dumbbells or barbells.

The machine flat flye was Derek Lunsford’s final movement for this chest workout with Hany Rambod. He rounded up by doing four sets of this exercise slowly to induce muscle growth. Coach Rambod says this machine uses typical handles and creates more time under tension. Research shows that time under tension induces muscle hypertrophy and growth (3).

You can watch Lunsford’s training that took place seven weeks ahead of the 2023 Olympia below:

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References

1. Gatt, A., Agarwal, S., & Zito, P. M. (2023). Anatomy, Fascia Layers. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing.
2. Campbell, B. M., Kutz, M. R., Morgan, A. L., Fullenkamp, A. M., & Ballenger, R. (2014). An evaluation of upper-body muscle activation during coupled and uncoupled instability resistance training. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 28(7), 1833–1838. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000000349 
3. Mang, Z. A., Ducharme, J. B., Mermier, C., Kravitz, L., de Castro Magalhaes, F., & Amorim, F. (2022). Aerobic Adaptations to Resistance Training: The Role of Time under Tension. International journal of sports medicine, 43(10), 829–839. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-1664-8701