Some exercises are loved. Others are simply kept, because a champion believes they do a job nothing else quite does. 🏋️
For Derek Lunsford, the walking lunge fell into that second group. He has spoken about it openly, not as a favourite move, but as a demanding one he refused to leave out.
This guide looks back at what Lunsford has said and shown about walking lunges, in his own terms, and updates the story around it. It describes his training history. It is not a workout plan, and it does not promise any result.
Lunsford first reached the top of the sport’s open division at the 2023 Mr. Olympia, beating reigning champion Hadi Choopan. That win is the backdrop to the original version of this article, first published in January 2024.
Since then, his record has moved on. He won the 2025 Arnold Classic open title in Columbus, Ohio, on 1 March 2025, ahead of Samson Dauda and Andrew Jacked. He had also announced he would compete at the 2025 Pittsburgh Pro. Readers wanting his full career story can find it in his biography on this site.
He went on to win the Pittsburgh Pro in May 2025 and reclaim the Mr. Olympia title in October 2025, then finished third at the 2026 Olympia behind Nick Walker and Samson Dauda.
Walking Lunges, in Lunsford’s Own Account
In the video discussed in the original article, Lunsford talked through walking lunges with dumbbells or with a barbell on his back. He described them as exhausting, whichever way they were done. 😅
That honesty is part of why the clip stood out. He did not present lunges as an easy favourite. He presented them as hard work he still rated highly.
Why he kept them in
Lunsford’s point, as reported at the time, was about stretch and blood flow late in a session. He felt lunges gave his legs a deep stretch that other moves did not quite match.
He also said he did not feel the same pump from lunges as from some other exercises. The move stayed in his training anyway, because of what it added rather than how it felt.
In his own short summary, he called them “Super effective, you can’t skip them.” That line captures the whole attitude: respect for a move he did not enjoy, kept for its place in a complete session.
The stretch and the finish
The original account placed lunges towards the end of a workout, where the stretch mattered most. Lunsford linked that finishing stretch to overall leg development, rather than to any single muscle in isolation.
He also talked about squeezing and contracting during his training in general. Lunges, in his telling, contributed something different — length and stretch — alongside that contraction work.
The mindset behind the hard sets
There is a mindset thread running through Lunsford’s comments too. He has described thriving on challenges, including exercises that are not naturally enjoyable. 💪
That attitude fits the rest of his career. A bodybuilder at his level does not only repeat favourite moves. He keeps the awkward, tiring ones that serve a purpose.
It is also why this guide has lasted. The lunge lesson is not about a secret variation. It is about a champion doing an unglamorous move, properly, because he believed it belonged.
Why do walking lunges stand out in Lunsford’s training talk?
Because he rated them highly while admitting he did not love them — a rare, honest combination.
Did he use dumbbells or a barbell?
Both, according to the original account: dumbbells in hand, or a barbell across his back.
Where did lunges sit in his session?
Towards the end, where he valued their stretch and blood flow most.
Lunsford’s story has kept moving since this guide first appeared, and his training talk remains part of it. The walking lunge lesson, though, stays simple: the hard move earned its place, and he said so plainly. 🏆
For more on Lunsford himself, see his biography and his shredded-physique feature on this site, plus our report on his 2025 Arnold Classic win and his announced 2025 Pittsburgh Pro appearance.