Derek Lunsford, the 2-time Mr. Olympia in the Men's Open division, is known for his massive physique, fitness habits, and determination. He regularly receives appreciation for his workout videos and posts from his 1.5 million Instagram followers.

However, very few know the struggles Lunsford had to face in his early days.

On July 28, MulliganBrothers shared a short clip on its Instagram channel in which Lunsford discussed some struggles he faced.

In an Instagram post, Lunsford said, “There are so many challenges when it comes to being the best in the world at Mr. Olympia. I really felt like I was never going to make anything of myself. I was told this repeatedly: that I was worthless, I would never make anything of myself”.

Lunsford faced many early challenges, including financial strain and self-doubt. He first started as a wrestler in his college days. However, according to him, wrestling was never his chosen profession, and he joined it just to establish his own identity.

However, Lunsford transitioned from wrestling to bodybuilding between 2012 and 2013. But the road was not easy for him either. Having invested nearly all his money in training early on, Lunsford often relied on his mother to buy his basic prep foods, like chicken.

However, Lunsford had that nonstop desire to become Mr. Olympia, and for that he trained hard and fought every battle.

As in the Instagram post, he said, “All you can think about is just this crazy outcome. There's no escaping it until my name is called the Olympia champion.”

He proved all the critics wrong by winning his debut at the 2015 Indianapolis Championships.

Not only that, Lunsford shocked the world by winning the 212 Olympia in 2021, then the open division in 2023 and 2025.

Although he earned the 2025 title, that was the hardest time for him because just 20 minutes before his 2025 Mr. Olympia competition, Lunsford lost his grandmother.

The loss was so intense that Lunsford said, “And it's still, to this day has kind of messed me up”. According to him at the last time his grandmother said, “No matter what happens, do the show”.

As the 2026 Mr. Olympia competition approaches, Lunsford is ready to face the most intense routine with a specific mindset.

Derek Lunsford’s mindset for dealing with 2026 Mr. Olympia prep

On July 29, the YouTube channel of Mulligan Brothers Interviews shared a short clip of Lunsford, in which he discussed his mindset for handling the intense workouts for Mr. Olympia.

Talking about the feeling and mindset, Lunsford said, “It's like this tunnel vision. It's almost like the blinders come on and you get into this tunnel-vision mindset. And all you can think about is, Alright, these are the things I need to do, and I'm going to achieve this crazy outcome.”

Lunsford revealed that when he set a goal, he locked himself out from the outside world until he reached his target.

“Everything else is completely shut out. I'm in this tunnel. It's like I'm living in a box, and it's just, Okay, next task, next task, next task. Everything else is just completely not happening.”

Do you think this tunnel vision mindset is good for achieving success?

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Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi