Olympia fans were in for a treat recently as Hany Rambod trained his legendary clients; Derek Lunsford and Hadi Choopan in the same epic session. As expected, they demonstrating some monster muscle by executing machine incline barbell rows. Here’s what went down, and why you should follow your leaders.
Hany Rambod knows a thing of two about constructing the physiques of bodybuilding champions. During his coaching career, the decorated director of discipline has taken his students to a total of seven Mr Olympia titles and 24 Olympia trophies in total. It’s no wonder that they call him “The Pro Creator,” and this week, Hany shared a glimpse of two of the biggest pros in bodybuilding history at work.
Derek Lunsford and Hadi Choopan Rep to Failure With Standing Machine Incline Rows
Standing inclined rows with a handle on each side are similar to those executed with the T-Bar but can hold more weight plates. They are a great pulling exercise that will work the lats on either side of your back, rhomboids around the neck and shoulders, trapezius in the upper back and neck, along with other recruited muscles such as the core, hamstrings, glutes, forearms, biceps, and triceps.
Looking to gain every grain of muscle possible before they square off at the 2024 Olympia, the reigning champ Derek Lunsford partnered-up with the runner-up, and 2023 ‘O’ trophy winner Hadi Choopan. Choopan was also crowned as the 2024 Arnold Sports Festival Men’s Open winner back in March. While these men may go to war on stage, they literally have each other’s backs in the weight room. “Alright, let’s go,” encouraged Rambod as the lifting began.
Egos were checked at the door as both men only had themselves to compete against here. Choopan started out with four 45-pound plates on either side of the machine (360 pounds / 163 kilograms in total) making ten slow and controlled reps before quickly drop setting down to with no rest to 3 plates per side (270 pounds / 122.4 kilograms) and then making 9 reps before hitting failure.
Next up was Derek Lunsford who started out with 3 plates stacked on either side, stopping at 11 reps before dropping straight down to 2 plates on either side (180 pounds / 81.6 kilograms). He performed 5 reps before dropping down again to 1 plate either side (45 pounds / 20.4 kilograms).
Working to the limit, Lunsford hit another 3 reps before Choopan offered some support for the final 3. The brotherhood of iron was on full display here. Of course, who can lift the heavier weight or can make the most reps is of no concern to the Olympia judges, but if their work ethic is anything to go by, the two warriors could once again find themselves squaring off in the finals. Try standing incline rows for yourself for added back mass, and checkout the 2024 Olympia to find out who comes out on top.
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