On July 26, 2022, Derek Lunsford took to his YouTube channel to share what the reigning 212 Olympia champion called a “strength-building” chest workout. Lunsford’s demanding morning routine is a small sneak peek into his ongoing training for the 2022 Mr. Olympia on December 16-18 in Las Vegas, NV. 

[Related: How to Do the Dumbbell Bench Press for a Bigger, Stronger Chest]

While he’s hard at work preparing for the Olympia, Lunsford sits in an enchanting position. 

In a mid-July production of OlympiaTV on YouTube, Chief Olympia Officer Dan Solomon suggested that the reigning 212 Olympia champion is “nowhere near 212 [pounds] at this point.” If that’s the case, Lunsford can have to potentially join a fellow 212 peer in Kamal Elgargni and make the leap to the Men’s Open division at December’s prestigious contest. (On the time of this writing, Lunsford has not addressed Solomon’s comments, and it isn’t clear which division he’ll compete in.)

That development would track with what Lunsford’s coach, Hany Rambod, alluded to in a May 2022 episode on his YouTube channel. When discussing Lunsford staying within the 212 category on the Olympia, Rambod said, “It’s going to be difficult, it’s super difficult.”

Notably, Lunsford did step in on the last minute for two-time reigning Mr. Olympia Mamdouh Elssbiay (2020-2021) to guest pose in the course of the 2022 Pittsburgh Pro in May — and was alongside fellow Men’s Open athletes similar to Brandon Curry, Hunter Labrada, and Nick Walker. Nonetheless, with that being a last-minute decision, Lunsford apparently had less preparation for the guest pose than in an official competition.  

Whatever division Lunsford does find yourself competing in December, it doesn’t appear to be he’ll have much of a problem along with his mass-building and conditioning. If this multifaceted chest routine says anything — he’ll be ready for any obstacle ahead. 

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Here’s an outline of Lunsford’s latest chest workout:

Incline Machine Chest Press

Before he dives head-on into his full workout, Lunsford warms up with a couple of sets on an incline chest press machine. Lunsford stresses this portion isn’t meant to be anything strenuous. It’s more about preparing his chest muscles. 

“I’m just going to do these two sets to get the blood flowing,” Lunsford says. “Simply to get a deep stretch in my chest and prepare myself before I am going and do the dumbbell presses. That is just purely a warm-up. This isn’t an exercise I count.”

Incline Dumbbell Press

Lunsford’s first “real” working sets concentrate on heavy weights and low reps with an incline dumbbell press. He begins with 70-pound dumbbells before closing with 150-pounders and 18 reps on his last set. 

“I’m attempting to keep the reps 10 to 12 right away,” Lunsford notes. “I actually have a nasty habit of doing like 12 to fifteen. I’m really attempting to make sure that that if I would like to achieve strength.”

Plate-Loaded Chest Fly

Once Lunsford powers through his heavy weight, low-rep incline dumbbell press, he quickly transitions to powering through some chest flyes on a plate-loaded fly machine. The bodybuilder appears to have one 45-pound plate adorned on either side. 

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Cable Chest Fly

Lunsford complements his machine flyes with the cable version of the exercise. The athlete emphasizes that positioning the cables and his elbows is paramount to an upper chest focus with this movement. 

“We wish to maintain the cables high, about shoulder high, or perhaps a little bit above,” Lunsford starts. “And keep the elbows high and arms high and hit the upper chest. It’s a little bit different from what we did on the plate-loaded flye.”

Chest Dips

After difficult his upper chest, Lunsford next takes to some chest dips. These vary from tricep dips in that leaning forward focuses more on the chest muscles while a straight torso position emphasizes the triceps.

Sometimes, with exercises like these, I am going a little bit too fast. I actually gotta slow it down. It felt good.

Cable Chest Fly

As Lunsford moves to shut the workout, his lower chest muscles are next on the agenda with cables. This time around, he barely lowers his arms and has them pointed toward the ground to work the lower a part of his pectorals. 

[Related: How To Do The Triceps Pushdown For Bigger Arms]

Machine Chest Press

Lunsford’s chest workout comes full circle on the usual machine chest press. With it being the tip of his chest routine, Lunsford notes that this final segment is more about stretching his muscles to assist construct flexibility and strength. 

“I’m attempting to get as big of a stretch I can get on this too because, as I said, that is about constructing strength and size,” Lunsford says. In case you don’t have a very good range of motion or flexibility, then I’d recommend you guys really make that a priority in your training too.”

Leg Raise

Just like the recent workout of one other elite bodybuilder, Chris Bumstead, Lunsford decides to throw in some leg raises to crunch and stretch out his abs.  

“I’m form of stretching here, opening up my chest, and on the way in which down, I’m crunching,” Lunsford explains. “At the identical time, I’m bringing my legs up. It’s one among my favorite ab exercises.”

[Related: Two-A-Day Workouts Explained: Better Results Without Overtraining]

Lunsford’s Road Ahead 

The approaching months may very well be significant for Lunsford’s bodybuilding profession. If he does stick around within the 212 division, he’ll go for a second straight title on the Olympia in December. If he makes the transition to the Men’s Open class official, it wouldn’t be a stretch to contemplate him a viable contender to face on the rostrum. 

The 2022 Mr. Olympia will occur on December 16-18 in Las Vegas, NV.