Derek Lunsford is the reigning Mr. Olympia. At the 2025 show he completed a season sweep of the Arnold Classic, the Pittsburgh Pro, and the Olympia itself — reclaiming the Sandow he lost in 2024 and becoming only the second man ever, after Jay Cutler, to win the title back after losing it.
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He is also the only bodybuilder in history to win Olympia titles in two divisions: the 212 crown in 2021, then the Open title in 2023 after judges handed the Indiana native a special invitation to move up.
At 5'6" and around 225 pounds on stage — reportedly pushing 250 in the 2026 off-season — he gives up several inches and a lot of bodyweight to rivals like Samson Dauda and Nick Walker. He beats them on shape, condition, and a work rate nobody in the sport questions.
This guide covers his training split, the exact sets and reps from his documented sessions, his diet under nutritionist Chris Aceto, and the plan for his title defense at the 2026 Mr. Olympia (September 24-27, Las Vegas).
Training Philosophy
Lunsford spent his defining years — 2021 through 2024 — under Hany Rambod, training FST-7: capping each muscle with seven high-rep sets on short rests to chase the deepest pump possible. When Rambod stepped back after 2024, Lunsford rebuilt his team around nutrition legend Chris Aceto and Brazilian trainer Fabrício Pacholok.
The branded protocol went; the style stayed. His documented 2025-26 sessions are high-volume failure training: supersets, drop sets, partials after failure, deliberate three-second negatives, and pauses in the stretched position of nearly everything.
Intensity scales with the calendar. Off-peak he trains five days a week; in Olympia prep it becomes six, plus fasted morning cardio as the show approaches.
"All go for the Olympia. It's time to be a machine. We'll just eat, train, and sleep bodybuilding for the next 13 weeks."
Weekly Training Split
His documented prep split gives legs two dedicated days — one quad-focused, one hamstring-focused — with chest, arms, shoulders, and back each getting their own session.
| Day | Focus | Training Style |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Legs (Quad Focus) | Extensions, hack and pendulum squats |
| Day 2 | Chest | Presses, flyes, band work |
| Day 3 | Arms | Curls and pressdowns, high volume |
| Day 4 | Rest | Recovery |
| Day 5 | Shoulders | Raises first, presses after |
| Day 6 | Legs (Hamstring Focus) | Curls, lunges, adductors |
| Day 7 | Rest, then Back | Cycle restarts; 6 days/week in prep |
Chest Day
From his filmed sessions, chest day opens with cable flyes to pre-stretch the pecs before pressing — then stacks dumbbell, machine, and Smith work with bands added for accommodating resistance.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cable Fly | 3 | 8-12 | Pre-exhaust, deep stretch |
| Incline Dumbbell Press | 4-5 | 8-12 | Cornerstone upper-chest builder |
| Incline Dumbbell Fly + Hammer Press | 2 | 10 | Superset |
| Banded Decline Dumbbell Fly | 2 | 12 | Band tension at the top |
| Smith Bench Press | 2-4 | 5-15 | Heavier finisher, spotter on hand |
| Seated Calf Raise | 4 | 12-15 | Calves ride along on upper days |
Shoulder Day
This is the session he filmed five weeks out from winning the 2025 Olympia. Note the order: rear delts and lateral raises come first, pressing comes last — delts are pre-exhausted before a single press is loaded.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reverse Machine Fly | 3 | 8-12 | Rear delts first |
| Dumbbell Rear-Delt Fly | 3 | 8-12 | Strict, chest supported |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 3 | 8-12 | Controlled, no swing |
| Smith Shoulder Press | 3 | 10-15 | Ascending weight each set |
| Pec Deck | 3 | 10-12 | Front-delt and pec tie-in finisher |
Back and Leg Days
Back sessions are built on rack pulls — a documented 405-pound top set for 10 — plus chest-supported T-bar rows and unilateral low rows, all with three-second negatives and a pause at full stretch.
Leg days are where his preps get famous. During the 2025 Olympia run he documented leg extensions for six sets of 15-20 to failure with two-to-three-second peak holds, hack squats heavy enough to need smelling salts first, pendulum squats, seated leg curls with isometric holds, walking lunges, and adductor work.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rack Pull | 3-4 | 8-10 | Top set 405 lb x 10 |
| Chest-Supported T-Bar Row | 3-4 | 8-12 | 3-second negatives |
| Unilateral Low Row | 3 | 10-12 | Pause at full stretch |
| Leg Extension | 6 | 15-20 | To failure, 2-3 sec peak holds |
| Hack Squat | 3-4 | 8-12 | Heavy top sets |
| Barbell Walking Lunge | 2-3 | 10-12 | Each leg, prep staple |
Diet
Lunsford doesn't count his own calories — Chris Aceto does. Every meal is weighed protein and carbs, adjusted week to week off what the mirror and the scale say.
A documented prep day from 11 weeks out: 3,346 calories at 409 grams of protein, 270 grams of carbs, and 70 grams of fat across six meals plus a pre-workout shake — egg whites with chicken and oats, then a rotation of sirloin, cod, and chicken over rice, closing with chicken and broccoli.
His current 2026 prep, nine weeks out, runs five documented meals: eggs with toast, blueberries, and oats; 400 grams of rice with chicken; a 75-gram protein shake; steak and rice; shrimp and broccoli.
"We are now starting to reduce the fat, reduce some of the carbohydrates, increase the cardio, because it's time to get shredded."
In peak prep the feeding schedule escalates to as many as nine smaller feedings a day. Off-season, around 80 percent of his food comes pre-cooked from a meal-prep service so the eating never becomes the bottleneck. His documented supplement partners: Evogen through 2024, Jocko Fuel protein and creatine through 2025, and Dragon Pharma — whose Isophorm whey shows up in his current prep — from March 2026.
The Defense
Lunsford is skipping every show before the Olympia in 2026. His daughter was born in February, and the plan since has been singular: one prep, one stage, one title to keep. By June he was already posting shredded 14-weeks-out updates, and he has said publicly he believes he can hold the title for the next three years.
Standing between him and that reign: Andrew Jacked's momentum, Nick Walker's redemption run, and a rebuilt 350-pound Samson Dauda. The full field is in our Mr. Olympia 2026 preview.
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Not everyone has two hours a day for an Olympia split. If time is your constraint, EMS training condenses a full-body strength stimulus into a 20 minute session.
Lunsford's documented supplement rotation has tracked his sponsors — Evogen greens and pre-workout in 2024, Jocko protein and creatine in 2025, Dragon Pharma whey in his current prep — but the categories never change: whey to hit the protein target Chris Aceto sets, creatine daily, a pre-workout before the six-day weeks, and a greens powder for the micronutrient base.