On July 2, a few weeks before the Mr. Olympia competition, Derek Lunsford shared a full arm workout session on YouTube.

During the session, Lunsford was seen doing workouts such as standing concentration curls, V-bar triceps pushdowns, and overhead triceps extensions. What caught the attention of veteran bodybuilder Victor Martinez was Lunsford's use of EMS shock therapy during that workout session.

On July 25, Generation Iron shared an X post that read, “Victor Martinez Questions Why Derek Lunsford is Using EMS Shock Therapy to Grow His Already Huge Arms.”

On the X post, Martinez was asked about his experience with Lunsford’s video. In response, Martinez said, “Yeah, it's good. I like it. It has its purpose…. but I don't know why Derek is using it.”

Later, when one host said that Lunsford already has the size, Martinez also agreed with the statement, “Detail, man. I don't know, man.”

Now the question is how it works.

According to the bodybuilder, “It stimulates it where it connects the muscle. So if you are going to train it, you have a better response.” However, with EMS, proper training is needed because EMS shock therapy alone does not fully work on muscle.

In the end, Martinez again said that, “But Derek, arms are huge…. So I don't know what he was trying to do.”

He means Lunsford doesn't need it.

It works by sending controlled electrical impulses to targeted muscles and adds extra contractions during each rep. As a result, a more intense contraction occurs with less external weight.

During the session, Lunsford was observed asking his training partner to increase the intensity.

During the triceps pushdowns, Lunsford was seen saying, “I really can’t explain what this feels like. It just feels really good.”

According to Lunsford, the extra contraction can help him achieve greater muscle activation than traditional lifting can provide.

He said, “It’s just the craziest stimulation in the muscle… I just always feel like I get such a better contraction without the elbow pain.”

While Martinez expressed doubt about the use of EMS, Lunsford knew the move would attract some criticism from fans, and that's why he already had a response.

Derek Lunsford’s response to critics after using EMS shock therapy

Lunsford knew that using EMS would become a talking point in the bodybuilding world.

So, in the video he addressed the critics by saying,

“I really could not care less what people think or say about me using these because it works. I could have a good workout, and I do have good workouts without it, obviously. Like, do you have to have it? No, but it’s a tool.”

After finishing the session, he said, “Even though the weight wasn’t crazy and the volume wasn’t too much, the intensity of the workout was a lot. It’s a completely different stimulus that I’m used to.”

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Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Ashvinkumar Patil