Derek Lunsford To Work With New Coach Chris Aceto For The 2025 Arnold Classic

Born and raised in Petersburg, Indiana, Derek Lunsford is no stranger to the Olympia stage. His incredible back development and humble personality have made him a crowd favorite for many years. 

In 2021, he won the 212 Mr. Olympia title, narrowly edging out Hadi Choopan. In 2023, he won the open Mr. Olympia title, becoming the first competitor to win two divisions. In doing this, he beat current Mr. Olympia Samson Dauda and former Mr. Olympia Hadi Choopan. 

Many would say that Derek has already reached the pinnacle of his career. However, he’s leaving nothing to chance in preparation for the 2025 Arnold Classic competitor. After his surprise entry, Derek recently announced that he’ll be working with well-known coach Chris Aceto. 

Chris Aceto is no stranger to high-level bodybuilding, coaching former Olympia champions including Jay Cutler and Shawn Rhoden. However, his announcement didn’t come without criticism from former competitors. Here’s the low down on what happened and what it means going forward.

Derek Lunsford Announces His New Coach

Derek Lunsford recently announced that he’ll be working with well-known coach Chris Aceto in preparation for the 2025 Arnold Classic. He took to YouTube to confirm the rumors, sparking widespread debate throughout the bodybuilding world.

“The big news is I’m now working with Chris Aceto. We started working together 15 weeks out from the Arnold. We started speaking a few weeks after the Olympia but hadn’t locked anything in for certain”.

Winning the 2023 Open Olympia title meant that Lunsford became the first cross-division champion. Following this, he dropped to third at the 2024 Mr. Olympia. After the retirement of his coach, Hany Rambod, many wondered what he would do in the upcoming 2025 season.

Lunsford had been training with former bodybuilder Chris Cormier in the offseason before announcing his partnership. He went on to further clarify his new intentions, discussing his dream of working with world-renowned coaches.

“Between Hany Rambod and Chris Aceto, they are the two coaches that I have always admired the most as an up-and-comer in the NPC, as an amateur aspiring bodybuilder. I always had the dream of working with one of them or both of them”.

However, his appointment as Derek’s coach was met with criticism by former bodybuilder and commentator Shawn Ray.

“Someone needs to take me to the next level. Someone needs to challenge me in the gym. Aceto hasn’t been in the gym or been on any of the bars. His is an experiment that could go really good or really bad. He certainly didn’t need to bring this element into his camp”.

Shaun Ray then began a back-and-forth with interviewers, claiming that top-tier athletes don’t need coaches. Following this, Aceto responded in a recent appearance on the RXMuscle podcast.

“Anyone can criticize my coaching ability. What Shawn overlooks, and that’s why I put it up on my Instagram, is I’ve coached 126 bodybuilders to professional wins, 48 different athletes”.

With this, it remains to be seen whether Chris will be able to improve Derek Lunsford. On February 27, 2025, we will start to find out!

Why Did He Choose Chris Aceto And What Were The Reactions?

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Derek Lunsford burst onto the bodybuilding scene in 2015, winning the open title at the NPC Indianapolis Championships. After winning Rookie of the Year, he won his pro card and began to make a name for himself.

In September 2024, Derek announced that he would be working with Hany Rambod, widely regarded as one of the best. This meant that he would share a coach with other high-level competitors. These included former Mr. Olympia Hady Choopan and six-time Classic Olympia Chris Bumstead.

With 25 Olympia coaching titles to his name, Hany is no stranger to winning titles. However, the long-time coach recently announced his retirement after winning his sixth Classic Olympia with Chris Bumstead. This came at a time when Hady Choopan once again took second and Derek dropped down to third. 

Following his recent disappointment, Derek announced that he would take a step back to consider his options. At this time, no one knew his future competitive plans or who would coach him going forward. 

The recent news of Derek’s entry into the 2025 Arnold Classic competition came as a surprise. Many thought he would take the rest of the year to work on weak points identified in his Olympia loss. Going from first in the 2023 Olympia to third in the recent competition represented a huge downshift in his aspirations. 

Following his Arnold Classic announcement, many still wondered who his new coach would be. Others questioned whether he would even have one in time for the event. However, Derek took to YouTube to put any rumors to bed, announcing his new coach as Chris Aceto.

Chris Aceto is no stranger to the bodybuilding stage. Throughout his two-decade career, he’s built his reputation as a bodybuilding guru. During this time, he’s coached four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler and former Mr. Olympia Shawn Rhoden. 

This is what Chris had to say on The Menace Podcast, run by well-known bodybuilder Dennis James:

“I’m always learning from people I coach. As a coach, you can never know it all, period”.

Following this, Dennis asked Chris about the things he looks for when deciding whether to take on a new athlete.

“What I hope for when I’m working with someone is that they can keep the focus on themselves. In other words, there’s not a lot of confidence a lot of times in coaches, even if they have a good track record.”

Derek knows what it’s like to win at the highest level and has previously worked under top-level coach Hany Rambod. Therefore, it would seem like both men offer a good fit for what each is looking for when working together.

Derek’s Thoughts On Chris Aceto As His New Coach

After announcing his new coach, Derek discussed how the new relationship has already made him a better bodybuilder. He also talked about what he’s looking to improve and the mistakes made at the 2024 Mr. Olympia.

“Based on last year’s Olympia, I came in pretty flat, so filling out was a priority first of just like putting that volume back in the legs. Also, being able to make the improvements without going into full-blown off-season. Making sure that I was keeping the waist tight and accentuating my proportions”.

Following this, he explained that Chris Aceto has been using a more aggressive dieting approach than Hany Rambod.

“If he feels like hey, he needs to make this call of go have a burger and fry right now, then he’ll do it. He’ll make that call whereas a lot of coaches sometimes, they get a little hesitant”.

“That being said, we’re seven weeks out from the Arnold, so he just pulled the food away. So I don’t see any burger and fry happening, any sort of aggressive food in the meantime”.

As two of the most accomplished faces in the bodybuilding world, the new partnership represents an exciting development. Derek will look to gain some momentum back for the 2025 season. Chris will look to prove the doubters wrong and showcase why he’s widely regarded as one of the best.

Following the Arnold, Derek will look to become only the second Open Pro to win back the Sandow. If successful, he’ll join the likes of Jay Cutler and cement his name as one of the all-time greats.

Conclusion

With the 2025 Arnold Classic approaching, competitors will start to dial in their competition preps. After just over 11 weeks of working together, time will tell whether Chris and Derek will form a lasting partnership.

Chris is no stranger to top-level coaching. However, will he be able to bring something new to Derek’s physique and aspirations for the 2025 bodybuilding season?

Whatever happens, we’re counting down the days until the showdown takes place. With several Olympia champions and $500,000 up for grabs, the 2025 Arnold Classic will be a competition to remember. Keep an eye out for more competition updates here at Endomondo as we approach the big day!

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