Derek Lunsford’s Intensive Chest & Arms Routine 13 Weeks Before Olympia

Lunsford likes to perform preacher curls unilaterally and bilaterally on the machine. 

Earning the Mr. Olympia title is reserved for the elite, demanding immense dedication, hard work, and discipline to reach this zenith of achievement. Derek Lunsford, the current Mr. Olympia, embodies these qualities, demonstrating unwavering commitment to his craft.

Lunsford’s journey to the apex of bodybuilding is both remarkable and inspiring. He first captured the Olympia 212 title, then transitioned to the Men’s Open category, clinching the title on his second attempt. Significantly, he became the first athlete to secure titles in two different divisions, marking a historic moment in the competition’s legacy.

Yet, reaching the summit has only fueled Lunsford’s ambition further. In preparation for the 2024 Mr. Olympia competition this October, the champion recently shared a glimpse into his rigorous chest and arm workout, showcasing the intensity and dedication that continue to drive his success. Discover the details of his training below. 

 

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“All go for the Olympia. It’s time to be a machine. We’ll just eat, train, and sleep bodybuilding for the next 13 weeks,” Derek Lunsford says.

Derek Lunsford’s Chest & Arms Workout In Prep for Olympia

With just 13 weeks to his major competition, Derek Lunsford is focused and ready to crush his upper body workout just in time for the 2024 Olympia. Here is a list of his exercises.

Incline Dumbbell Press

The current Mr. Olympia starts his exercises by grabbing a pair of dumbbells and lying on an incline bench to perform a dumbbell press. He does a couple of reps on his first set, applying slow concentric movements. Then, he takes a break for his intra-workout drink and goes for his second set progressive, adding weights. 

Performing the incline dumbbell press targets your pecs, anterior deltoids, and triceps muscles. It’s an effective exercise for building and strengthening your upper body muscles and requires a lot of stability to execute. Lunsford does about five sets of this exercise, hitting about 10 to 12 reps. 

Incline Machine Chest Fly

Next on his list of upper body exercises, Lunsford loads the fly machine and preps to do an incline machine chest fly. He does a couple of reps on the machine, getting a good chest squeeze and full stretch. On his final set, he has a spotter to help him power through his remaining reps as he almost hits failure. This study shows that performing reps to failure can increase muscle strength and growth (1).

The incline machine chest fly primarily works on the pectoral muscles but recruits other secondary muscles like the delts. Lunsford performs three sets of about 10 to 12 reps on this exercise.

Machine Vertical Chest Press 

Derek Lunsford breathes before focusing on his next exercise, the vertical chest press machine. He uses a neutral grip and does a couple of reps utilizing a full range of motion. This causes his chest muscles to fully extend and flex, which is good for muscle hypertrophy. 

Lunsford takes a break to take his intra-work drink and finishes his remaining sets for this exercise, as he has a spotter to help out when he approaches failure. This study shows taking pre-workouts can improve exercise performance (2).

Vertical chest presses target the upper pecs and recruit other muscles, like the triceps and shoulders. Derek Lunsford performs 3 sets of this exercise, with a rep range of 9 to 14.

Incline Bench Dumbbell Fly

Next, Lunsford grabs dumbbells for an incline bench dumbbell fly. He gets a good stretch and performs slow eccentric movements, effectively hitting the target muscles. Then, the 2023 Mr. Olympia takes a break and talks about his mindset, looking forward to the competition in October. He believes the champion sets the highest standards and expectations on himself, and that is what he intends to do.

“Putting in the work. Staying disciplined, staying committed, persevering, sacrificing, and the best way to do that is just to stay focused. Eliminate all the distractions and that’s the way to stay the most consistent.” 

Performing the fly on an incline, Lunsford causes a deep stretch of the upper pecs, inducing muscle growth. He uses a neutral grip for this exercise and does two sets of multiple reps.

Smith Machine Bench Press

For the Smith Machine bench press, Derek Lunsford loads up the weights and uses a shoulder-width length grip. He does about 5 to 11 reps on this exercise, hitting ‌four sets.

The Smith machine bench press works your pecs, anterior delts, and triceps. Doing this exercise on a Smith machine provides stability. This helps you focus on building the target muscle with a better mind-muscle connection.

Cable Chest Fly

Derek Lunsford then takes the cable fly machine to perform a cable chest fly. He powers through this exercise, doing two sets of about 19 to 21 reps. Cable chest flyes are a great isolation exercise to add volume to your pecs. 

EZ Bar Curl

To work his biceps, Lunsford reaches for an EZ bar to do some standing curls. He uses good form, standing straight with his knees slightly bent, and does a couple of reps, charging up himself and saying, “It’s a fight to be the best. Let’s go c’mon focus!”

The EZ bar curls give the biceps a good pump and also work and strengthen the elbow flexors, forearms, and wrist joints. Lunsford performs two sets of this exercise with 11 to 14 reps.

Alternating Dumbbell Curl

“I’m determined. I’m not going anywhere. Let’s go. Let’s go!” Lunsford says as he grabs a pair of dumbbells. He powers through this exercise, doing one set of 22 intense reps as he looks in the mirror.

Alternating dumbbell curls are an effective curl exercise that targets your biceps. Alternating your arms during this exercise helps you focus more on the target muscles and builds a stronger mind-muscle connection, which helps with muscle growth.

Machine Preacher Curl 

Finally, Lunsford gets on the preacher curl machine for his chest and arms workout finale and starts with a single-arm preacher curl. He unilaterally works both arms, doing three sets of about 11 to 15 reps for each arm. Lunsford then takes a break and switches to bilateral training. He does about 16 reps, concluding his intense arm and chest exercise for the day.

Watch Derek Lunsford’s full chest and arm workout courtesy of his YouTube channel below:

Wrapping Up

After Derek Lunsford’s intense chest and arms workout, Lunsford mixes a bottle of protein powder and says he’s excited for prep season and plans to retain his Mr. Olympia title. As you can see from his workout session, he’s primed, focused, and ready.

“That’s it. Chest, biceps, smashed. Another great workout, 13 weeks out from the 2024 Mr. Olympia, 60th Mr. Olympia, where we’re going back-to-back, baby. All focus, no gas, no brakes. This is it, man. We’re here to stay.”

Follow Generation Iron on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to stay updated on Olympia competitors’ workouts! 

References

1. Nóbrega, S. R., & Libardi, C. A. (2016). Is Resistance Training to Muscular Failure Necessary?. Frontiers in physiology, 7, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2016.00010
2. Martinez, N., Campbell, B., Franek, M., Buchanan, L., & Colquhoun, R. (2016). The effect of acute pre-workout supplementation on power and strength performance. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 13, 29. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-016-0138-7