Lee Labrada – Complete Profile, Workout And Diet

Lee Labrada is a retired professional bodybuilder, published author, and current CEO of Labrada Nutrition. He competed in the 1980s and 1990s era of bodybuilding and achieved top four Mr. Olympia finishes in all of his appearances. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest bodybuilders who never won the Mr. Olympia title. This is his complete profile, biography, statistics, workout routine, and diet.

Lee Labrada (Bodybuilder)

Born: March 8, 1960
Birthplace: Havanna, CUBA
Residence: Houston, Texas, USA
Nickname: Mass with Class
Height: 5′ 6″ (170 cm)
Competition Weight: 185 lbs (84 kg)

Lee Labrada Biography

Early Life and Career

Lee Labrada was born in Havana, Cuba on March 8, 1960. While growing up, young Lee had an inclination toward physical activities and therefore developed a passion for fitness and while growing up. He started hitting the gym early on in life and by the time he was 16 years old, Lee Labrada had built a lean and muscular body.

During this time, Lee realized that he had the necessary building blocks to pursue a bodybuilding career. After making his bodybuilding debut at the 1978 AAU Teenage Mr. Jacksonville, Lee Labrada structured his training and diet to be able to compete on stage.

He dedicated four years of his life to getting the body composition required for competitive bodybuilding and returned to the stage at the 1982 NPC Texas Collegiate Championships. The hard work paid off as Lee Labrada walked away with a win. The victory stamped an approval on his career choice and the veteran bodybuilder never looked back.

Professional bodybuilding career

After a successful debut on the amateur bodybuilding stage, Lee Labrada spent the next couple of years elevating his physique and subsequently bodybuilding career to the next level. He stepped on the 1985 NPC National Championships stage with a singular goal to earn the IFBB Pro card.

Lee Labrada dominated the competition in the middleweight division en route to a thumping victory and walked away with a pro card. The Cuban-American bodybuilder competed professionally for the next ten years and created a lasting legacy in the sport of bodybuilding.

Winning the Mr. Olympia trophy is the ultimate goal of every professional bodybuilder’s career. Although Lee Labrada never won the coveted prize, he never placed outside of the top five in any of his seven Mr. Olympia appearances. Labrada came dangerously close to winning the Mr. Olympia title in 1989 and 1990 when he occupied the runner-up spot.

During his storied bodybuilding career, Lee Labrada won several other pro shows, including different Grand Prix competitions and the 1992 IFBB Pro World Cup.

Lee Labrada walked away from the sport of bodybuilding following a 4th place finish at the 1994 Mr. Olympia. He remains one of the greatest bodybuilders in history to never win the Mr. Olympia crown.

Life after retirement

Lee’s desire to help others reach their health and nutrition goals inspired him to found Labrada Nutrition in 1995 and create his line of award-winning sports nutrition and supplement products. Equally successful in business as he is in the gym, Lee led Labrada Nutrition to become one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the U.S. earning Inc. 500 status, in only 6 years.

In 2002, Lee was appointed the first Fitness Czar for the City of Houston by Mayor Lee Brown, where he helped launch “Get Lean Houston!”, A health and fitness initiative designed to get the city’s residents into better shape. Lee embarked on a massive public relations campaign that led to national TV appearances on CNBC, FOX, NBC, ABC, CBS, ESPN, and CNN’s Crossfire. Lee is credited with helping Houstonians shed the title of the “Fattest City in America” in 2003. Lee appeared on MSNBC’s Today Show with Matt Lauer when the announcement was made.

In 2004, Lee was inducted into the IFBB Pro-Bodybuilding Hall of Fame.

In 2005, Lee’s nutrition and exercise book, The Lean Body Promise, was published by Harper Collins. It became a Barnes & Noble.com Best Seller. Lee brings real-life experience to the nutrition and exercise techniques presented in his book, which speaks to anyone interested in making positive physical changes in their body.

In 2004 and 2008, Lee was a finalist in the Earnst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year competition.

Legacy

Lee Labrada is one of the world’s most well-known and celebrated bodybuilding legends. He holds 22 professional bodybuilding titles, including the IFBB Mr. Universe. Labrada is one of the few pro bodybuilders in history to consistently have placed in the top four at the Mr. Olympia competition (the “Super Bowl” of bodybuilding) for seven consecutive years; a feat he shares with Arnold Schwarzenegger. He has appeared on the covers of more than 100 bodybuilding and fitness magazines and has been featured on CNBC, FOX, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN and ESPN as a fitness and nutrition expert.

Competition History

• 1982 NPC Texas Collegiate Championships – 1st place
• 1982 NPC Junior Gulf Coast Championships – 1st place
• 1983 NPC Texas Championships, middleweight – 1st place and Overall winner
• 1984 NPC USA Bodybuilding Championships, Light heavyweight – 2nd place
• 1984 NPC National Championships, Middleweight  – 5th place
• 1985 NPC National Championships, Middleweight – 1st place (Earned the IFBB Pro Card)
• 1985 IFBB Mr. Universe – 1st place
• 1986 IFBB Night of Championships – 1st place
• 1987 IFBB Mr. Olympia – 3rd place
• 1988 IFBB Mr. Olympia – 4th place
• 1988 IFBB Grand Prix Greece – 1st place
• 1988 IFBB Grand Prix Britain – 1st place
• 1988 IFBB Grand Prix Spain – 1st place
• 1989 IFBB Grand Prix Netherlands – 1st place
• 1989 IFBB Grand Prix Finland – 1st place
• 1989 IFBB Mr. Olympia – 2nd place
• 1990 IFBB Mr. Olympia – 2nd place
• 1991 IFBB Mr. Olympia – 4th place
• 1992 IFBB Mr. Olympia – 3rd place
• 1992 IFBB Pro World Cup – 1st place
• 1993 IFBB Ironman Pro Invitational – 2nd place
• 1993 IFBB Arnold Classic – 2nd place
• 1993 IFBB Mr. Olympia – 4th place

Lee Labrada workout

Lee Labrada was never the biggest man on stage when he competed professionally. However, he dominated several competitions and came close to winning the prestigious Mr. Olympia crown several times because of his excellent physique. Labrada had great symmetry, conditioning, muscle definition, and aesthetics.

A carefully drafted training program enabled him to build that physique and Labrada could cement his position as one of the best bodybuilders of his generation with it.

During his days as an active bodybuilder, Lee Labrada took a high-volume approach to training. By this time, bodybuilders like Mike Mentzer had put forth the high intensity training system. However, that school of thought had fewer followers than high volume training.

Training Splits

Labrada’s training split changed from time to time depending upon the phase of work. He switched the exercise sequence and selection and added new facets to his workouts to avoid training plateaus.

However, the push-pull-leg was always his go-to training split. This training split involves separate training sessions dedicated to the upper body pushing and pulling muscles while another session targets the lower body.

Unlike the traditional bro split where a bodybuilder has dedicated training sessions for arms, shoulders, chest, back, and legs, the push-pull-leg training split combines chest-shoulder triceps, the pushing muscles, and back-biceps, the pulling muscles.

The push-pull-leg training split is believed to be more effective in terms of developing functional strength while also retaining hypertrophy benefits.

Lee Labrada worked the muscles from different angles and he used a higher number of exercise variations for the larger muscle groups. The veteran bodybuilder was known for being extremely serious about his workouts and did not waste time in the gym.

He took rest periods when he felt necessary and worked relentlessly otherwise. He tried to take most of his sets to failure, which helped him build and maintain lean muscle mass.

Lee Labrada typically performed 12 to 16 sets per week for larger body parts like the back and legs.

He adhered to a 10 to 12 set range for medium body parts like chest and shoulders. Meanwhile, smaller muscle groups like arms and calves had 6 to 9 sets of work dedicated to them.

Lee Labrada’s bodybuilding workout split at the peak of his career looked something like this:

Workout 1 – Push Day / Chest, Shoulder and Triceps

• Barbell Bench Press – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Flat Dumbbell Flyes – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Incline Dumbbell Flyes – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Incline Dumbbell Press – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Dumbbell Pullover – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Cable Chest Flyes – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Dumbbell Lateral Raises – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Dumbbell Shoulder Press – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Barbell Upright Rows – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• One-Arm Dumbbell Lateral Raises – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Seated Cable Lateral Raises – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Cable Triceps Pushdowns – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• One-Arm Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extensions – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Lying Dumbbell Skullcrushers – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Bench Dips – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps

Workout 2 – Pull Day / Back, Biceps and Forearms

• Reverse Grip Lat Pulldown – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Bent Over Barbell Rows – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• One-Arm Dumbbell Rows – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Seated Cable Rows – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Dumbbell Shrugs – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Barbell Deadlifts – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Dumbbell Concentration Curls – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Barbell Curls – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Dumbbell Hammer Curls – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Dumbbell Preacher Curls – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Barbell Wrist Curls – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps

Workout 3 – Legs and Core

• Leg Press – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Back Squats – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Leg Extensions – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Single-Leg Squats – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Leg Curls – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Stiff-Leg Deadlifts – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Seated Leg Curls – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Seated Calf Raises – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Standing Calf Raises – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Calf Press on Leg Press Machine – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Cable Crunches – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
• Hanging Leg Raises – 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps

Lee Labrada Diet

Bodybuilding Diet

Lee Labrada followed a simple meal plan during his bodybuilding career where he ate six meals every day. Each meal consisted of a minimum of 40 grams of protein. He also ate healthy quantities of fats and carbohydrates in the diet. However, the fats and carb intake changed according to the stage of training like competition prep or off-season.

Typically, Hunter Labrada’s full day of eating during his bodybuilding career looked like this:

Meal 1

• Egg Whites – 10 no.s
• Oatmeal – 1 cup
• Greek Yogurt – 1 cup
• Fish Oil – 1 tablespoon

Meal 2

• Whey Protein – 1 scoop

Meal 3

• Chicken Breast – 8 ounces
• Sweet Potatoes – 10 ounces
• Vegetables – 1 cup
• Nuts – Almonds, Cashews, Seeds

Meal 4

• Chicken Breast – 8 ounces
• Rice and Black Beans – 1.5 cups
• Vegetables – 1 cup
• Granola Muffin

Meal 5

• Salmon – 8 ounces
• Orange Roughy or Halibut
• Sweet Potatoes – 10 ounces
• Vegetables – 1 cup
• Sorbet

Meal 6

• Whey Protein – 1 scoop
• Fish Oil – 1 tablespoon

Lee Labrada’s current diet

Lee Labrada hung up the posing trunks nearly 30 years ago. However, he has not fallen off the track decades after retirement and continues to stay in great shape. However, with changing times, his diet has undergone some significant changes.

That being said, Lee Labrada still eats a clean whole food diet. But it is not calorically restricted so the veteran bodybuilder does not have to employ his willpower to stay in good shape.

He eats a lot of lean protein foods like fish and chicken. He does not shy away from including dairy items in his food to get a healthy amount of fats and proteins. To get the necessary carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other micronutrients, Labrada eats rice, yam, fruits, vegetables, and oatmeal.

One thing that has not changed is his reliance on clean whole foods. Even at this stage of life, the legendary bodybuilder stays away from ultra-processed foods, or packaged snacks that are high in simple carbohydrates, sugar, and salt.

Therefore, it is no wonder that Lee Labrada looks like someone who could rock the stage at any time with a little bit of preparation.

Personal Life

Lee Labrada attended the Northwestern University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Houston. Labrada enjoys a stable family life with his wife Robin and three sons, Hunter, Blade, and Pierce.

Lee’s son, Hunter Labrada is also a renowned professional bodybuilder. One of the foremost competitors in the Men’s Open division, Hunter has competed in the Mr. Olympia competition several times and achieved a fourth-place finish at the 2021 Olympia.

To Conclude…

Winning the Mr. Olympia crown is the ultimate goal of every bodybuilder. But the harsh reality is that a vast majority of bodybuilders will never realize that goal. Lee Labrada is a perfect example of someone who does not need the Mr. Olympia tag to be great. His career stands as testimony to the fact that you can achieve greatness not only in bodybuilding but also in every field and create a unique place for yourself without winning the ultimate prize.

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