Lunsford has had his personal battles but is on a mission for Olympia glory.
This coming November in Orlando, FL, Derek Lunsford will chase ultimate greatness in the game of bodybuilding. After ending on the 2022 Mr. Olympia runner-up, the superstar athlete will plan to unseat defending champion Hadi Choopan from his throne on the 2023 edition of the bodybuilding mega-contest. With several months still to go before the subsequent Olympia, Lunsford offered a thoughtful update on his training progress and a few of his own personal adversity.
On June 13, 2023, Lunsford appeared on the Hany Rambod podcast to debate where how his 2023 Olympia preparation goes. The athlete also offered some clarity on his battles with anxiety, especially in stepping on stage as an elite competitor. Notably, Rambod is Lunsford’s coach.
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Being Lunsford’s coach, Rambod is intimately aware of Lunsford’s approach to training and nutrition. He explained that Lunsford normally tries to decelerate the meat of his preparation around three months before the Olympia. Nevertheless, Lunsford’s jam-packed schedule can sometimes make such a goal difficult.
If it holds, that planned timeline will coincide with around early August 2023.
“Normally about 10 or 12 weeks out we [Lunsford and Rambod] attempt to shut it down,” Rambod said. “So, we’re far enough out, we have now loads of time. But I feel what he’s [Lunsford] alluding to is the undeniable fact that he’s been so busy, while you’re out always, even within the off-season, it’s hard to even get all of the meals in since you’re traveling … to get all the really good, high-level workouts in since you’re using gyms that you just’re probably not accustomed to.”
While he apparently feels good for the time being, Lunsford would jump into the conversation to make clear that he’ll really appreciate training in environments he’s aware of again.
“Things are good right away, training is nice,” Lunsford began. “I’ve made solid improvements because the [2022] Olympia. But I really need to get into my very own routine at home, my very own gym, and have the ability to simply crank up the training over these next couple of months, obviously.”
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Lunsford could possibly be a primary example that even when skilled athletes are on top of the theoretical world, they’re not resistant to the identical struggles as an Average Joe or Jill. As he charges headlong toward his first hopeful Olympia title later this fall, Lunsford maintained he first needed to fight off a heavy bit of tension and depression.
From an athlete that some might see as “indestructible,” so to talk, the honesty appeared illuminating.
Lunsford’s noble battle stays ongoing.
“There was a degree in my life where I used to be in such a dark place, man.” Lunsford explained. “So depressed that it was to the purpose that I literally didn’t even need to be here anymore … I believed it was the placings on the time nevertheless it was really just how I viewed myself. I just form of began realizing, ‘Oh, man, I’m not the individual that I actually need to be.’ I would like to be one person, I say I’m one person, but I’m acting otherwise. I don’t prefer it. And I would like to actually live my life higher.”
Featured image: @dereklunsford_ on Instagram