Derek Lunsford's Leg Workout for 2022 Men’s Open Olympia

Derek Lunsford is an American bodybuilder who has competed in the 212 division. He will be making the jump to the open division this year, despite being the reigning champion of the 212 title.

There's been a ton of speculation and concern regarding Lunsford's physique over the last few weeks. He recently competed as a guest at the 2022 Pittsburgh pro, where he was joined by Nick Walker, Hunter Labrada, and Brandon Curry.

The concern was regarding the fact that Lunsford would probably not be able to make the competition weight of 212 pounds. As such, he has been accommodated in the Open Men's Division.

Recently, the American bodybuilder shared a video of a brutal leg workout on social media. In this piece, we will take a look at his prep for the upcoming Olympia, and how he stacks up against his peers.

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Derek Lunsford's Leg Workout

Leg Curl

Lunsford kicks off his extensive leg workout with a leg curl. The leg curl, in this case, the seated variation, is a great exercise for warming up the hamstrings and getting things going. If you're strong enough, you can even go super heavy on this machine and give your hamstrings a proper workout.

Standing Leg Curl

Next, Lunsford performs a standing variation of the previous exercise. Why? Well, this exercise allows him to stand and still pack on as much weight into his reps as he can while giving him an alternative range of motion for his legs to work on. It also does a better job in isolating the hamstirngs, forcing the body to work extra hard to rep the weight.

Lying Leg Curl

Following the two aforementioned exercises. Lunsford does the lying leg curl. He prefers to operate in a high rep-range for this exercise, around about 20-25 reps.

“You have to have two things. You have to be locked in your position and engage the muscle. But it really just comes down to your effort,” he says.

Lunsford continued:

“I don’t mean how many reps you’re getting – that matters too, how much weight you’re doing – that matters too. But how hard you can squeeze it and keep constant tension and break that mental barrier of that pain that’s swelling up in the hamstrings.”

Machine Hip Adductor

Lunsford performs a few sets of the hip adductors. This exercise is a great warm-up but can also be included in your workout as a main exercise.

It's great for opening up the hips, which are vital when lifting weights, especially with the lower body. This exercise is clearly important to Lunsford as well but is often overlooked by the average gymgoer.

Belt Squat

After a few isolation exercises, it's time for some compound movements. The classic squat with a belt is a quintessential quadriceps exercise and one of the best to blowing the legs up.

Leg Press

After a brief posing session, Lunsford moves on to the next exercise: the leg press. This exercise is a relatively simpler one, and it allows him to go significantly heavier compared to squats or deadlifts.

Pendulum Squat

This is the penultimate exercise in Lunsford's leg day routine. This compound movement targets the entire leg muscle but doubles down on quadricep isolation. It makes sense that he would leave this for the end, as it can burn up the quads and drain energy.

Leg Extension

Lastly, the 212 champ likes to end things off with some leg extensions, bringing his exhilarating but exhausting workout to an end.

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Takeaway

While he may not have had his sights set in the open division, Derek Lunsford doesn't look out of place when posing with the Open Division mainstays.

He seems hard it work in his prep stage and will probably be a dark horse or even a strong competitor in this year's Olympia. One can only hope he finishes high, as his physique and conditioning has been brought over from the 212, where he's expected to be much heavier and fuller.