Reigning Mr. Olympia Derek Lunsford is leaving nothing to chance in his out-of-competition preparation. With just a few weeks to go until his anticipated showcase at the prestigious Pittsburgh Pro 2026, Derek has a clear goal: turn his former arm weaknesses into brutal strengths. Now, he’s let the fans take a peek under the hood and show exactly how he plans to achieve it.
The secret weapon for biceps
Interestingly, to build the perfect biceps peak, Lunsford is currently experimenting with electrical muscle stimulation (EMS). He admits himself that it’s a great tool for reviving a routine, especially for lighter “de-load” weeks. He then likes to finish his biceps training with lifts on the bottom pulley, where he focuses on extreme stretching of the muscle. But as he says, by the end of the workout he’s often purely going on instinct:
“Sometimes you just change the plan on the fly because the body just feels different and better.”
Gently but hard on the triceps
When it comes to triceps volume, Derek steers clear of the classic straight-axe or rope pull-up. Instead, he doesn’t let up on cross pulldowns. The reason for this is simple – this angle is noticeably gentler on his elbows and shoulders, he doesn’t suffer any pain when doing it, and it can absolutely isolate the triceps.
Another mainstay of his training is triceps extensions with the pulley overhead. For these, he appeals to one crucial thing: the shoulders must remain 100% locked in at all times so that all the work is really done by the triceps.
The Pittsburgh show in May will soon show us how Derek’s thoughtful work is paying off. The competition doesn’t sleep, and rivals like Samson Dauda and Andrew Jacked won’t make his title defense at Mr. Olympia any easier!
The Key To My Arm Growth | Mr Olympia Offseason Prep
No posts have been made yet.
