Jay Cutler believes Derek Lunsford has a slight disadvantage if he gets bigger because of his height.
With the current state of the Men’s Open division, Derek Lunsford will have to work as hard as ever to retain his Mr. Olympia title in 2024. Jay Cutler recently discussed the division and Lunsford’s prospects for becoming a back-to-back champion. He offered some advice and it stemmed from Lunsford’s lack of height.
At 5-foot-6, Lunsford is a shorter competitor and Cutler believes that he should not be focused on adding size because of it.
“He just needs to be careful to not get too big. Where Ronnie and myself were able to get bigger, even Brandon Curry. We all put on size but when you have that limited structure-to-height ratio, you have to be careful to not get too big cause otherwise, you look compact.”
READ MORE: Jay Cutler & Brian Shaw Hit Mr. Olympia Back Workout
Lunsford upset Hadi Choopan during the Olympia just a few weeks ago. He became the first competitor to win in two separate divisions, doing to his 212 title from 2021.
During the 2023 Olympia, Lunsford was able to outdo the competition. Choopan finished as the runner-up while Arnold Classic champ Samson Dauda finished third. The contest was missing Nick Walker, who was forced to withdraw with a hamstring injury.
Jay Cutler Talks Derek Lunsford’s Height
Derek Lunsford quick put together one of the elite physiques in Men’s Open. He did it in one year after putting on significant amount of muscle mass in 2022. Now, it is about maintaining his physique and making improvements where necessary. Jay Cutler believes that putting on size is not the answer.
“Right now, you have to respect what he was able to do because he did improve from last year and he does have a height disadvantage because he is a little shorter so you know they alway aid a great big man will beat a great little guy. I hate to say little but he’s just shorter in stature but he is very wide and obviously, he’s got a crazy back and all that.”
View this post on Instagram
Cutler continued to discuss some contenders for the title next year:
“There are so many guy we can mention for the future. We were missing Nick Walker, which potentially, he could have been in that top three.
We also got Hunter Labrada…I mean, if he nails his condition, he’s fighting in that top four or five easily. He’s right there with Samson. We have new hopes such as Regan and Michal Krizo.
There are a lot of mentionable people, such a Andrew Jacked. Brandon, obviously he is a former My. Olympia.”
Right now, the title is with Derek Lunsford and will be until further notice. As he enter the prime of his career, Lunsford has plenty more to do and could improve even further.
“Derek, you know he’s at an age I think he is coming into his own. I mean, I won my first at 33. Phil Heath was 31, Ronnie was 34 so you talk about potential. He has a lot of peak years.”
For more news and updates, follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
