IFBB pro-Derek Lunsford took to his Youtube channel with an interesting chest and calves combination workout. Read on to learn a new chest movement that you've probably never done before.
Derek Lunsford Chest & Calves Workout
Derek Lunsford is an American IFBB pro bodybuilder that's caught the industry's attention over recent years. He won the 2017 NPC USA Championships Overall to earn his IFBB pro card, then won the Tampa Pro 212 right after that.
Since then, he's competed in the Olympia every year and never finished worst than 5th place. Lunsford won the 2021 Olympia in the 212 division, and he plans to do it again this year.
With his track record, we can guarantee he knows what he's doing in the gym, so check out his chest and calves workout below.
Cable Chest Flys
Derek starts the workout on the cable machine as he's speaking to someone off camera. Lunsford says he usually starts with warmup sets of 15-20 reps, but today he's not going over 12 reps.
The first exercise we see Derek perform is the cable chest fly. He does one set standing up straight with slow controlled reps, then the camera cuts to him completing a set of flys where his body is bent over, and he's bringing his arms together down in front of himself.
Incline Dumbbell Press
After a brief posing session, Lunsford's second exercise is an incline dumbbell press but at a slight incline. It looks like he's performing sets of 8-12 reps here. We see him move up in weight with each set.
The first set starts with dumbbells weighing 40 kg (88 lb). By the fourth set, he's pressing 72.5 kg (160 lb ) dumbbells. He said the 10 plus reps he got felt great, and he thought about jumping up 20 lb in each hand, but at the end of the day, he's a bodybuilder that focuses on hypertrophy, not strength.
Incline Dumbbell Flys X DB Hammer Press
Derek moves on to incline dumbbell flys, where he executes each rep in a slow eccentric and concentric movement while focusing on squeezing his pecs. After his last rep of flys, he goes right into a dumbbell hammer press.
Decline Dumbbell Flys With Resistance Band
As the camera cuts to Derek's next exercise, we see an unorthodox setup where he has a resistance band wrapped around his back while holding each end in his hands along with the dumbbell handles.
After he finishes up some reps, he talks about why using the band in conjunction with the dumbbells works so well. He says the band creates extra tension that pulls his shoulders back, so you really have to squeeze at the top of the exercise, which is different from a normal dumbbell fly, where the exercise usually gets easier as you bring your arms together.
Decline Dumbbell Press With Resistance Band
Lunsford then uses the same technique with the resistance band as we see him completing some decline dumbbell presses with the band. This exercise seems to tax him to the max as he went to failure.
Smith Machine Bench Press
Next up, we see Derek performing bench press on the Smith machine. His technique and form should be noted, as he has his elbows flared out a bit to target the upper chest. He's also trying to get a maximum pump, so he's doing faster partial reps up to 15.
Seated Calf Raise
After his chest exercises wrapped up, Derek hopped on the seated calf raise, where we saw him perform 3 sets of 8-12 reps. The majority of the reps done here were super slow on the way up and down until he busted out some rapid-fire partial reps towards the end. He finished off with a dropset where he went to failure.
Seated Toe Raise
This is a rare exercise to see in most gyms. It's the opposite of a calf raise, where you'll lift your toes up instead of targeting the tibialis anterior at the front of the shins.
At the end of the video, Derek talks about why he hit the chest and calves on the same day. He then imparts some motivation by saying even if you don't feel like going to work out, sometimes you have to push yourself. He says it's not about ego lifting; it's about coming to the gym and doing the work to improve his physique.
Always focus on form!
Sample Derek Lunsford Chest & Calves Workout
We don't know the exact set and rep scheme featured in the workout above, but we'll go with the range he spoke about briefly. This workout is meant to get a great pump, so focus on the form and contraction, not the total amount you're lifting.
- Cable Chest Flys: 3 sets x 8-12 reps (change upper body position each set: start standing up straight, then finish the last set with your body hinged forward)
- Incline DB Chest Press: 4 sets x 8-10 reps
- Superset: Incline DB Flys x DB Hammer Press: 2 sets x 10 reps (each exercise)
- Decline DB Flys With Band: 2 sets x 12 reps
- Decline DB Press With Band: 1 set x 8-12 reps
- Smith Machine Bench Press: 2 sets x 12-15 reps
- Seated Calf Raise: 4 sets x 12-15 reps (the last set is AMRAP dropset, reduce weight 30%)
- Standing Toe Raise: 2 sets X AMRAP
Note: Keep 1-2 min rests between sets.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Derek Lunsford is one of the top bodybuilders in the world, and we can see he's taking it super seriously to remain the 212 Olympia champion this year. We loved to see some unorthodox movements like the dumbbells combined with the resistance band, and we can't wait to give it a go!
Kiel DiGiovanni
Author