If anyone is sipping something tasty from the fountain of youth, it’s bodybuilding veteran Lee Labrada. In a recent YouTube video, the 64-year-old phenom guided fans through his leg workout, targeting the hamstrings, quads, and calves.
Even though Lee Labrada conducted most of his bodybuilding tenure in the 1980s and 90s, his vascularity, conditioning, and muscle volume haven’t gone anywhere. He once tested himself against legends like eight-time Mr. Olympia Lee Haney and Rich Gaspari but now can enjoy the fruits of his labor in retirement. Lee has also watched his son, Hunter Labrada, evolve into a thriving Men’s Open talent, who recently finished sixth on the Mr. Olympia stage in 2023.
Boasting jacked quads in his sixties, if there’s anyone to take leg training instructions from, it’s Lee Labrada. Below, he details how you can reap maximum muscle-building benefits from his killer leg day workout, which is safe for lifters of all ages.
Lee Labrada Offers Safe and Effective Leg Workout With Tips
Check out the exercises Labrada used to hit his quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves:
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- Body weight squats (warm-up)
- Split squats
- Leg press
- Leg extensions
- Hack squats
- Lying leg curls
- Hyperextensions
- Seated calf raise
- Standing calf raise
Body weight squats
Perhaps the most crucial aspect of the workout is warming up, says Labrada. He believes this practice can help prevent injuries.
“Getting blood into the muscle it’s going to make the muscle tissue more elastic. It’s going to help to warm up the tendons and make them more elastic and it’s going to make you less prone to injuries.”
Split squats
Offering form tips on split squats, Labrada advises lifters to allow their knee to travel over the foot.
“I want the knee to travel over the foot. That’s important to keep the joint aligned with the toe of the corresponding foot. I’m trying to keep the knee not so much going forward; I’m trying to keep it basically as perpendicular as I can and then just dropping my body. It throws more of the emphasis on the glute.”
Leg press
Due to its easy setup, Labrada believes the leg press machine is ideal for those who lack extra time to exercise.
“Even when you’re on limited time you can get a great workout, it doesn’t take long. In fact, sometimes when you set a timeframe deadline to do it and I finished it in 15 minutes, or I got to finish it in 20 minutes, you’re a lot more focused.”
Leg extensions
In between sets of leg extensions, Labrada showed off his impressive quad definition but stressed that his legs aren’t as big as his son’s arms.
“I don’t even think they [my qauds] are as a big as one of Hunter’s arms,” said Lee Labrada. “He’s always saying I’m out-angling him.”
Hack squats
Although hack squats are a regular exercise in his routine, Labrada tweaked his right hip flexor and explained why it is beneficial for him to avoid this particular movement:
“I’m going to be fully transparent with you guys because I think that it’s a learning lesson in not pushing something where you can set yourself up for an injury. When I came in here today, I have my right hip flexor slightly tweaked. That’s why I’m not doing these hack squats today. I want to be fully transparent with you guys and just use that to emphasize the point that if something is bothering you, work around it.”
Lying leg curls
Labrada emphasized that older lifters should focus on stimulating the muscles not annihilating them.
“If you’re a little bit older like I am, if you’re a mature lifter, the idea is to stimulate not annihilate.”
He adds that the hamstrings will tire out on lying leg curls, but says it is best to avoid excessive body English or momentum.
“Use your hamstrings and not a lot of cheating and swinging. There’s going to come a point where your hamstrings are going to get tired, you can use a little body English but don’t be excessive with it. I’ve seen guys that would load these things up with too much weight and they end up just swinging, not a good idea. You want to make sure that the tension stays on the hamstring.”
Hyperextensions
By pivoting the hips during hyperextensions, Lee Labrada taxes the hamstrings more effectively.
“The important thing here is to make sure that your hip joint is in front of the edge of the pad. The reason for that is that you want to make sure that you’re keeping your back fairly locked and that you’re pivoting at the hip to throw the emphasis on the exercise of the hamstrings.”
Seated calf raise
Labrada explains how to properly exhaust the calf muscles during seated calf raises.
“In this seated position, you inactivate the gastrocnemius which is what you see from the back of the calf. And it helps to train the soleus and all of the other sundry muscles that you’ll find there in the calf.”
Standing calf raise
During sets of standing calf raises, Lee Labrada underscores that weaker body parts should be addressed at the beginning of a workout, not at the end.
“For those of you that are looking to bring up your valves. I think this goes for weak body parts in general. Anytime you have a weak body part, train it early in your routine while you still have energy and focus. Don’t leave it for the very end,” shares Lee Labrada.
Never using age as an excuse, Lee Labrada remains committed to optimized health and longevity, even offering guidance for those over 50. He recently shared three game-changing tips for those aiming to improve their fitness, which centered around doctor visits, eating habit changes, and checking hormone levels.
Lee Labrada’s workouts and tips are backed up by decades of experience competing at the highest level. The next time you’re at the gym, try out his patented leg workout for maximum gains!
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Watch the full video from the Labrada Nutrition YouTube channel below:
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