Hadi Choopan is busy adding new facets to his Mr. Olympia physique and becoming a long-reigning dominant champion. The reigning Mr. Olympia recently tackled a huge leg workout to fuel the growth necessary for bringing the second Mr. Olympia title to Iran.
One of the foremost figures in the professional bodybuilding world today, Hadi Choopan became the first Iranian bodybuilder to win the prestigious Mr. Olympia title when he dethroned Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay in 2022. His journey to the top was full of challenges, uncertainties and fear of the unknown. However, Choopan beat the odds to rise against adversity and etched his name in history.
Hadi Choopan started his professional bodybuilding career in the 212 division and made the switch to the Men’s Open division later. Before winning the 2022 Mr. Olympia title, the 35-year-old achieved top four finishes at the 2019, 2020 and the 2021 Olympia. In spite of this, Choopan’s name was pushed on the sidelines amid the hype around rising prospects. But The Persian Wolf killed the hype almost single-handedly with a dominant performance.
Choopan had to face the brunt of the worsening geopolitical relationship between Iran and USA for the majority of his career, which even kept him out of some prominent bodybuilding shows in the United States. According to coach Hany Rambod, Choopan nearly missed the opportunity to compete at the 2020 Olympia due to visa issues. But all of those hardships are a distant memory as Hadi Choopan is now the Mr. Olympia. He will attempt the first defense of his title at the 2023 Olympia that takes place from November 3-5 in Orlando, Florida.
Hadi Choopan goes through a leg workout
10 weeks out of the 2023 Olympia, Hadi Choopan is training with the determination of a reigning champion. He recently went through an intense leg workout and posted the video on his YouTube channel. While he has been seen lifting some serious weight in the gym off late, this particular session was dealt with moderate weights as Choopan focused mostly on technique. So let’s check out how the champion is working to stay ahead of the curve.
Single Leg Extensions
Hadi Choopan commenced the workout with this quad isolation exercise and performed a few sets unilaterally. This way, he could focus more on building the mind-muscle connection and also remove strength imbalances, if any.
Machine Hip Adduction
The reigning Mr. Olympia then switched over to working the adductor muscles on the machine. Located in the inner side of the thighs, adductors are responsible to adduct (bring together) the legs from the hip joint. Hadi Choopan got some solid sets of machine hip adduction under his belt and went forward with the first major compound exercise of the day.
Barbell Walking Lunges
Common lower body exercises like squats, deadlifts and leg press have great benefits in terms of strength and muscle gain. However, it must be noted that a vast majority of lower body movements are unilateral, meaning we use one leg at a time while doing those movements. Walking, climbing, running, and cycling are some relatable examples.
This is one area where walking lunges are extremely beneficial and they put significantly less amount of stress on the lower back. Hadi Choopan performed quite a few sets of barbell walking lunges to get a good day’s work and took to another compound exercise.
Leg Press
The Persian Wolf annihilated the lower body muscle fibers even further with this compound exercise. Although quads, hamstrings and glutes are the primary target muscles of this exercise, leg presses are far less demanding on the lower back due to the positioning of the body and enable pushing far heavier weights than the traditional free-weight exercises like barbell squats. Hadi Choopan moved weights for some grueling sets of this exercise while keeping the focus on the technique before taking up deadlift variations next.
Sumo Deadlifts and Barbell Romanian Deadlifts
Hadi Choopan took to the sumo deadlifts next and performed a few sets. This variation of deadlift lowers the center of gravity of the person due to the wide stance. As a result, the focus lies mainly on the quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes. Also, the range of motion is reduced and the person can lift a lot heavier weights compared to the traditional deadlift. The reigning Mr. Olympia next performed the barbell Romanian deadlifts which focus primarily on the lower posterior chain of muscles.
Seated Leg Curls
The training session reached its concluding part as Choopan took to this hamstring isolation movement. Leg curls are a great way to build the hamstrings. The seated variation of the exercise works the muscle from a lengthened position, which makes it more effective. Hadi Choopan executed this exercise to put an end to the training session.
Overall, the workout included:
- Single Leg Extensions
- Machine Hip Adduction
- Barbell Walking Lunges
- Leg Press
- Sumo Deadlift
- Barbell Romanian Deadlifts
- Seated Leg Curls
Hadi Choopan has looked tremendous in his most recent physique updates. The champion faced a tough challenge from former 212 Olympia champion Derek Lunsford at the 2022 Olympia. Lunsford has the ambition to become the first to-division Olympia champion and feels that he, along with the Persian Wolf will battle it out for the top spot once again.
Experts in the bodybuilding community back this claim but bodybuilding legend and 8-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman thinks Lunsford might dethrone Hadi Choopan at the 2023 Olympia. Some even believe that 2023 Arnold Classic winner Samson Dauda might surprise both men on the stage.
Being the king of the division, and by default, the sport, Hadi Choopan has a huge target on his back. However, he has to shut himself to the noise and focus his energies on getting the job done. The champ has worked hard in silence for decades to reach this position. It seems that he may guard the top spot at the 2023 Olympia with iron grip for a while.
You can watch the full workout video here, courtesy of Hadi Choopan’s personal YouTube channel:
Published: 2 September, 2023 | 9:17 AM EDT
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