Olympia champion in the 212 categories in 2021 and Open in 2023, Derek Lunsford – one of the best bodybuilders today – announced last Tuesday (14) a partnership with Brazilian trainer Fabrício Pacholok.
According to the former athlete from Curitiba, training someone at this level “is a very big responsibility”. The objective of the work is to help the American return to the top of the planet (in 2024, Derek lost the Sandow to Samson Dauda and took third place in the Olympia).
In an exclusive interview with the Músculo blog, Pacholok says that their closeness began in 2022, when he accompanied one of his athletes on a trip to the United States. There, the professional had the opportunity to train alongside Lunsford and passed one of his variations to the bodybuilder, which left the door open for a possible joint work between the two in the future.
“At the end of the training, I asked if I could give him a suggestion and did the lateral raise with different weights for each phase of the movement. In the end, he told me he liked the variation and said he knew I had some ‘secrets’ to the development of the lower limbs. So, we scheduled a leg workout that never ended up happening”, he explains.
The two met on several occasions after this episode, but they never managed to train together. It was only in November 2024 that what was only in the imagination turned into a concrete proposal: “he sent me a message and asked if I would go to Florida. He said he would love to train with me.”
At least for now, Pacholok will only coach Lunsford during the 12 days he remains in the USA. The Brazilian, however, expressed his desire to be ‘performed’: “let’s let it happen… then we’ll talk. If he wants me to come back in the final stretch of his preparation for the next show, I’ll come back to help him.”
Lunsford’s next championship will be the Arnold Classic Ohio, considered the second most important bodybuilding tournament on the planet (below only the Olympia). This year’s competition will take place on February 28th and March 1st.
In addition to the 2023 Mister Olympia, Pacholok will also train two other American bodybuilders during his trip abroad: Terrence Ruffin, a Classic Physique athlete who has already won two editions of the Arnold Classic Ohio and was runner-up in the Olympia on two occasions, and Matt Grego, currently tenth placed in Olympia in this category.
LINK PRESENT: Did you like this text? Subscribers can access seven free accesses from any link per day. Just click the blue F below.
