One of the prominent body parts for a bodybuilder showing off their gains is the arms. Mr. Olympia 2023 champion Derek Lunsford grew popular for his extremely jacked arms and lats that gave him a winning advantage.
Despite not directly working towards the next championship, it was important to maintain the size of the arm. Lunsford walked his fans through a simple guide to working on his arms. Unlike usual days when he’d go to his regular gym, however, the icon revealed how he had been visiting local gyms to get his workout done these days.
The icon’s arm workout consists of 7 exercises, all ranging around four sets and 12-15 repetitions each:
- Seated Bicep Curls
- Preacher Curls
- Tricep Pushdowns
- Lying Tricep Extensions
- Dumbbell Curls
- Dumbbell Concentration Curls
- Seated Dips
Lunsford begins with four sets of seated bicep curls that act both as a warm-up and his first workout. He recommends performing all 12-15 repetitions in each set and wrapping up in an hour or so for maximum benefits. He then moves on to Preacher Curls. Here, the champion reveals how he never dives head first into his exercises when he works out at local gyms.
“I like to really test it out first. I try not to go, ‘okay well, I’ve done preacher curls before, let me just slap on what I know I can do.’ You don’t know because every machine’s different.”
The next two exercises focused on his triceps. With multiple sets of tricep pushdowns and lying tricep extensions, Lunsford aimed to get a good pump. One of his tricks to get optimum gains was switching between bicep and tricep exercises.
“Just switching it up man. You know you’re getting a lot of arm…like bicep-tricep activation, when you do any other upper body workouts. Whether it be shoulders, chest, back, whatever.”
After a couple of dumbbell curls, Lunsford finishes with full force, by wrapping up his workout with some concentration curls and seated dips. Four sets of these exercises were enough for the massive icon to get a good pump. Since his Olympia win, the champion has been focusing on his off-season prep to keep his crown for the next championship. Before his arm day at the gym, he even shared his shoulder day routine with fans.
Derek Lunsford reveals the secret sauce to his bowling ball shoulders
To get rounded out massive shoulders like the Mr. Olympia 2023 champion, he revealed a bunch of exercises that one could include in their routine. He kept his ideal set range of 3-4 with 12-15 repetitions each.
Amidst a wide variety of exercises, including shoulder presses, front raises, etc., Lunsford revealed the secret lay in the technique. He performed his dumbbell side laterals with slightly bent elbows and seated front raises with closely placed feet. These tips worked to make exercises more efficient, and fitness enthusiasts appreciated these tricks.
