Hot dogs as a post leg day?
The 2022 Mr. Olympia runner up, Derek Lunsford has made his goal for the 2023 Olympia clear, and that is to add more muscle mass to his frame, which is already packed full of muscle. His goal is to take the crown from the reigning champion, Hadi Choopan, at this year’s Olympia taking place Nov. 2-5, 2023 in Orlando, FL.
The 2023 off-season has brought many hard training sessions for Derek Lunsford, furthering the progress of eight pounds of lean tissue added in his previous off-season. Recently, the men’s open bodybuilder was kind enough to share his brutal quad-biased leg workout and high calorie refeed in a video published on his YouTube channel on June 26, 2023.
Check it out below:
Who is Derek Lunsford?
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Full Name: Derek Lunsford |
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| Weight | Height | Date Of Birth |
| 205-215 lbs. | 5’6’’ | 1993 |
| Profession | Era | Nationality |
| Bodybuilder, Fitness Coach | 2010 | American |
Standing at 5’6” and well over 200 lbs, he is currently one of the biggest names in modern bodybuilding. Derek Lunsford is at the top of the leaderboards in the sport. He is a professional bodybuilder and is the current Mr. Olympia Silver Medalist, after coming in a close second to Hadi Choopan in 2022. Lunsford was the 2021 212 Olympia champion, however he received a special invitation to compete in men’s open bodybuilding in 2022.
With his current off-season training, diet, and his placing in the 2022 Olympia, it is clear that he feels right at home on the open bodybuilding stage and is coming back with full intent of being Mr. Olympia. We were able to catch up with him and chat about his Olympia plan for 2023, check that out below.
Aside from his bodybuilding career, Derek Lunsford also offers coaching advice to others, on top of his insane work ethic to get the massive physique he has. Derek has also been under the training protocols of Hany Rambod, who is a well known coach in the professional bodybuilding world. Some of Hany’s other athletes have included Chris Bumstead, Jay Cutler, and Phil Heath.
Derek stated in an interview with Generation Iron how great of a coach Hany is, stating that he is very hands on and dedicates his time to his athletes, coaching them for their physiques but also the mind. Not to mention, Hany’s training is very intense, and Derek described it as “machine-like”. Check out that interview below!
All that being said, let’s dive into Derek Lunsford’s leg workout and refeed day!
Derek Lunsford Quad Focused Leg Workout
Let’s take a look at Lunsford’s leg workout below:
- Lying Hamstring Curl
- Leg Extension
- Sumo Belt Squats
- Pendulum Squat
Lying Hamstring Curl and Leg Extensions
Yes, this was a quad focused leg day but Lunsford still likes to begin the workout with lying leg curls to hit the hamstrings. These were a favorite exercise of Tom Platz, who had some of the best legs on the planet, and Lunsford uses the lying leg curl to warm up his hamstrings, as he finds it helps him establish a robust mind-muscle connection. It also effectively loosens him up for the heavier compound lifts that come later on in the workout.
The lying leg curl was followed by leg extensions to get blood flowing to his quads which are the main focus of the workout and will be put under heavier loads later on. Doing extensions first also warms up the joints, which can help reduce the risk of injury. Many times lifters will walk into the gym and get straight to the heavy compounds like barbell squats, hack squats, and so on, but you need to give yourself the proper warm up, which Lunsford does. Lunsford focused on time under tension, moving slowly through both the eccentrics and concentric.
Sumo Belt Squats
The first big exercise on the list was sumo belt squats, which Lunsford focused on his adductors and vastus medialis during this, and he placed his feet wider than his shoulders to do so. Again focusing on the mind muscle connection and taking his time on the eccentrics, holding the handles of the machine for stabilization. In order to keep constant tension on the quads, Lunsford avoided locking his knees.
Pendulum Squat
The next exercise in Lunsford’s arsenal was the pendulum squat. The movement path of a pendulum squat allows for the lifter to really focus on the quads while avoiding the taxation of the lower back and knees, which is exactly what Lunsford wanted out of this.
Lunsford completed three sets, then went even further and did a double drop set to failure, something you would typically see Tom Platz doing.
Post-Workout Hot Dog Eating Competition
The legs are one of the largest muscles to train, and therefore they need to be fed heavily when broken down to the extent that Derek Lunsford did. This is actually where a lot of lifters go wrong with their leg training, as they do not eat enough afterwards so the muscles cannot get the nutrients they need, and they are left with skinny legs.
Lunsford went for a high calorie refeed post leg day, teaming up with Classic Physique bodybuilder Bartley Weaver. What was the cheat meal of choice? Hot dogs. The duo engaged in a friendly hot dog-eating competition. Weaver managed to take down 42 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, while Lunsford came in second place at only 11.
The timing of Lunsford’s hot dog eating contest serves as the perfect reminder of the upcoming Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, which is held every Fourth of July in New York, and it is pretty much a staple of summer with over 40,000 attendees and millions of viewers all over the country. Weaver actually ate more hot dogs than James Webb, a famous competitive eater who came in third place at the 2022 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest with 41 hot dogs in ten minutes. He will be trying to win the title this year!
Anyway, Derek Lunsford’s has some time before his next bodybuilding show, which will be the 59th edition of the Mr. Olympia in November, so don’t worry, the extra weight from the hot dogs will be gone soon enough. There are just a few months to go before Lunsford is back on stage, and we will get to see if the heavy quad training and post-workout hot dogs paid off and he takes the crown from Hadi.
Wrap Up
Overall, Derek Lunsford’s training is nothing short of intense. While his exercise list may seem like a lot, it clearly is paying off as he has a fantastic set of legs. He trains hard, and his refeed days match that training intensity, as he downed 11 hot dogs post workout in a friendly hot dog eating competition with Bartley Weaver.
Do you think that Derek Lunsford could win the 2023 Mr. Olympia?
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