Derek Lunsford decided to stack on an insane amount of weight during his latest leg day.
Derek Lunsford is the reigning Olympia champion and it seems clear that he wants to defend his title come October. Lunsford has shared many workouts and physique updates on social media during his offseason. Recently, Lunsford crushed a new PR of 900 pounds on the hack squat machine for 12 reps during a “heavy” leg day.
RELATED: Derek Lunsford’s Offseason Workout For 3D Delts
Lunsford jumped Hadi Choopan at the 2023 Olympia to win his first Men’s Open title. He became the first competitor to win a Sandow Trophy in two different divisions. Now, he has become an elite competitor in the biggest division and continues to put on size to improve his physique. Lunsford has felt good this offseason and continues to crush workouts in the gym.
“I’m loving it. I’m wanting to go lift like an animal but at the same time, today is one of those days where it’s like, I really need to see how this warmup goes. I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself to perform in the gym.”
Lunsford listened to his body during this leg day and it led to a new PR.
Derek Lunsford Leg Workout
Derek Lunsford admitted he felt good ahead of this workout and showed it off over the course of five exercises:
Leg Extensions
The first exercise of the day was the leg extension machine. Derek Lunsford let this act as his warmup to get his joints ready. Lunsford does not like to come in heavy because of the risk of injury.
“I’m telling you man, by just easing into the workout and getting my joints warmed up, the muscles connected, I think that’s how I’ve been progressing so much and why I’ve been so strong.”
Lying Leg Curls
Lunsford targeted hamstrings next with lying leg curls. This is a movement where Lunsford likes to use multiple methods to target the muscle differently.
“I like to switch it up. If I notice myself doing it one way, like bringing my knees a little wider, I do it like that more. Then I’ll switch it up and bring my knees closer, pinching my knees together as I come up.”
Hack Squats
Once Lunsford was all warmed up, he felt good enough to load up the hack squat machine with 900 pounds. He showed off his insane strength by hitting a new PR with 12 reps. Last year, Lunsford hit 800 pounds for 12 reps and was able to take a massive jump.
“Bro, PRs every week. Literally, at least one or two workouts a week are a PR. I got to like eight and I was like ‘look, it was seven or eight and it was like dude, you got 12.'”
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Vertical Leg Presses
Vertical leg presses were next during a quad-focused leg day.
“We went heavy on a couple of exercises, especially this one here so we can back off the weight and do a little more volume all at once, really get as much blood in the thighs as possible.”
Standing Calf Raises
The workout ended with standing calf raises. After this session in the gym, Derek Lunsford took some time to relax before drinking his protein shake and working on his next meal.
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