The 2023 Mr. Olympia feels great about his road ahead for the 2024 bodybuilding season.
Many bodybuilders strive for the coveted X-frame physique with a small waist, broad shoulders, and well-developed quadriceps. Achieving this aesthetic not only showcases the fruits of their labor but also has the potential to secure titles. One movement that will be looking at today that helps build broad shoulders is the Smith machine press, which Mr. Olympia Derek Lunsford uses in his shoulder training.
When building an X-frame physique, focusing on the shoulders is a fantastic starting point. However, with numerous workout routines available, selecting the right one to incorporate can take time and effort. Whichever routine you choose, make sure it provides a substantial pump. Recent research conducted in 2022 has established a direct correlation between pumps and muscle growth, highlighting that the greater the pump you experience after training, the more muscle growth you can expect to achieve (1).
In this post, we explore a variety of shoulder exercises from Mr. Olympia himself, Derek Lunsford. Lunsford gets a massive pump from these shoulder movements to develop that X frame physique.
| Full Name: Derek Lunsford | ||
| Weight | Height | Date of Birth |
| 225 – 240lbs | 5’6” | 05/14/1993 |
| Division | Era | Nationality |
| Men’s 212, Men’s Open | 2010s – Till Date | American |
Derek Lunsford is already in training for the 2024 and is pumped about the new season.
“Let’s go 2024, new level baby next level 2024 starts now. I got DMX up in my head right now. The best is yet to come; I’m telling you, bro. I’m telling you, I’m feeling it dude another year training, another year committed, another year of discipline. I’m telling you something different is coming this year. Higher heights, new level, it’s not going to be the same.”
The champion recently shared a powerful five-move combo on his YouTube channel designed to target and develop his deltoids specifically. Let’s explore these exercises and his training routine for achieving impressive shoulder pumps.
Derek Lunsford’s Smith Machine Press & Shoulder Training
You can watch Derek Lunsford’s full shoulder workout below:
The 2023 Mr. Olympia starts with dynamic stretches and specific warmups for his training. His warmups included arm circles, shoulder stretches, bilateral machine lateral raises, and cable tricep pushdowns. Research on ten athletes shows a correlation between increased muscle performance after warming up (2). Here are the exercises that Derek Lunsford uses to build massive shoulder muscles.
| Exercises | Sets | Reps |
| Machine Lateral Raise | 3 | 8-12 |
| Dumbbell Shoulder Press | 3 | 8-12 |
| Smith Machine Shoulder Press | 3 | 8-12 |
| Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly | 3 | 10-15 |
| Standing Dumbbell Lateral Raise | Dropset | To Failure |
Machine Lateral Raise
Derek Lunsford started his shoulder workout with machine lateral raises. He did this routine unilaterally, hitting 8-12 reps for each set. Studies show this is the optimum range for muscle hypertrophy (3).
Machine lateral raises target your medial delt. Using a machine keeps constant tension on your muscles, unlike with dumbbells, where the intensity changes through the degree of the movement. Doing this routine unilaterally can also help find and fix any muscle imbalances.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
The following exercise in Lunsford’s workout was the dumbbell shoulder press. For this exercise, he put on elbow sleeves and worked with a spotter at some point. Lunsford did three sets of this exercise and stopped his movements before lockout to keep the tension in his muscles constant.
The main focus of dumbbell shoulder presses is your anterior delts. However, this movement also hits your other delts, triceps, and chest muscles. The dumbbell shoulder press is a compound exercise that can strengthen and build your upper body and physique when incorporated into your routine.
Smith Machine Shoulder Press
The Smith machine shoulder press was Lunsford’s next routine, and he did three sets. He increased the weight for each set and eventually needed some light spotting to finish his reps. Shoulder presses are a great compound exercise for building your shoulders. Doing this exercise on the Smith machine offers more stability than using dumbbells or barbells. This allows you to focus on your contractions and improve your mind-muscle connection, which could lead to more muscle growth.
Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly
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After shoulder presses, Mr. Olympia went for the dumbbell rear delt fly. He did three sets of this routine but increased his rep range to 10-15. Lunsford also did two sets seated and one set in the standing position.
Dumbbell rear delt flyes work on your rear and lateral delts with support from your rhomboid and traps. The standing variation of this routine also engages leg muscles like your glutes and hamstrings for stability due to the hip hinge position. Doing dumbbell rear delt flyes also increases the strength of your shoulders and is an effective way to improve your posture.
Standing Dumbbell Lateral Raise
As his final shoulder movement, Derek Lunsford did standing dumbbell lateral raises. He did a drop set of this to burnout as a big finisher. This study on 16 men showed that compared to regular sets, a single drop set leads to more muscle hypertrophy (4).
The standing dumbbell lateral raise he rounded up with works on your lateral, front, and upper traps. However, gripping the dumbbells in your hands also recruits your wrist flexors. This exercise is a bodybuilding stable for crafting wide and well-rounded shoulders.
After this routine, Derek Lunsford states that everything is feeling pumped.
“It’s a good day today. Did some good pressing movements, hit the rear delts, hit the side delts. Everything feels pumped.”
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References
- Hirono, T., Ikezoe, T., Taniguchi, M., Tanaka, H., Saeki, J., Yagi, M., Umehara, J., & Ichihashi, N. (2022). Relationship Between Muscle Swelling and Hypertrophy Induced by Resistance Training. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 36(2), 359–364. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003478
- Andrade, D. C., Henriquez-Olguín, C., Beltrán, A. R., Ramírez, M. A., Labarca, C., Cornejo, M., Álvarez, C., & Ramírez-Campillo, R. (2015). Effects of general, specific and combined warm-up on explosive muscular performance. Biology of sport, 32(2), 123–128. https://doi.org/10.5604/20831862.1140426
- Schoenfeld, B. J., Grgic, J., Van Every, D. W., & Plotkin, D. L. (2021). Loading Recommendations for Muscle Strength, Hypertrophy, and Local Endurance: A Re-Examination of the Repetition Continuum. Sports (Basel, Switzerland), 9(2), 32. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports9020032
- Fink, J., Schoenfeld, B. J., Kikuchi, N., & Nakazato, K. (2018). Effects of drop set resistance training on acute stress indicators and long-term muscle hypertrophy and strength. The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness, 58(5), 597–605. https://doi.org/10.23736/S0022-4707.17.06838-4
