Hunter Labrada is switching things up in the last stretch of the 2022 Olympia prep to bring a fully conditioned physique to the stage. American professional bodybuilder Hunter Labrada is one of the top contenders of the IFBB Pro League’s Men’s Open division. He is the son of legendary bodybuilder Lee Labrada and has inherited his love for bodybuilding from his parents. The 30-year-old rose to prominence with wins at the 2020 Tampa Pro and the 2021 Chicago Pro. He last competed at the 2021 Olympia and achieved a fourth-place finish. Labrada will attempt to improve his standing at the 2022 Olympia where he is set to go up against a stacked roster.
The efforts poured into the competition prep are bearing fruits as he looks to be in amazing shape in his recent physique updates. The 2020 Tampa Pro winner recently went through a full leg day workout. The video of this session was uploaded on Hunter Labrada’s personal YouTube channel. Let’s look at how he trained his legs now.
Hunter Labrada goes through a demanding leg workout
Labrada is entering the final stage of his prep five weeks out of the 2022 Olympia.
“Things have changed a little bit. We’re at a point where I am fragile enough that I am not fullsending sets into oblivion, especially on legs,” Labrada said about his present training regimen.
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The 30-year-old has added volume and intensity to his training with rest-pause methods and drop sets. The goal is to keep the output high and bring a fully conditioned physique to the stage. Labrada’s current training split includes:
Previously, the 2020 Tampa Pro winner was training the legs once every nine days. However, he feels comfortable to train every muscle group once every five days as he is not going too heavy in the workouts.
“We’re at a point right now where every time I touch (the legs) and they improve. So the increased frequency with a decreased amount of weight to lead to failure in ten sets… I think that’s good for my legs. So looking forward to pushing hard and finishing this out strong…”
Seated Leg Curls
Labrada started the training session with this hamstring isolation movement. The seated leg curls are one of the most recognized lower body movements around the world. This exercise helps tremendously with warming up the knees. Therefore they make for an excellent first exercise in a lower body workout. The Labrada Scion did a few sets of this exercise and took to the next exercise.
Leg Extensions
After filling the hamstrings with blood, Labrada targeted the quadriceps with leg extensions next. Leg extensions are undoubtedly effective in developing quadriceps, but they can be detrimental to knee health if not performed correctly. Hunter Labrada cranked out a few solid sets of this exercise before taking up the first compound movement of the day.
Pendulum Squats
The pendulum squat is a compound movement that primarily focuses on developing quads and glutes. However, they can be made more hamstrings focused by modifying foot placement.
Labrada got a few sets of this exercise under the belt to fire up the legs.
Walking Lunges
The 2021 Chicago Pro winner next took to the walking lunges. This compound movement strengthens the legs as well as the core, glutes, and hips. Labrada pushed through a few sets of walking lunges and jumped into the next one.
Hip Adduction Machine
The adductors are a group of muscles in the inner thigh. They are responsible to adduct (bring together) the thighs and stabilizing the pelvis trunk when you stand on one leg.
Hunter Labrada got a few good sets of this exercise under his belt and took to the final exercise of the day.
Standing Calf Raises
Labrada wrapped up the training session by adding stimulus to the calves. The standing calf raise works the gastrocnemius muscles as seated calf raises that work the soleus muscle that lies underneath it. Labrada trained his gastrocnemius muscles with standing calf raises and wrapped up the training session.
Overall, the workout included:
- Seated Leg Curls
- Leg Extensions
- Pendulum Squats
- Walking Lunges
- Hip Adduction Machine
- Standing Calf Raises
Hunter Labrada’s father Lee Labrada recently stated that Hunter will retire from competitive bodybuilding once he wins the Mr. Olympia title and focus on his life after bodybuilding. However, winning the title this year is a Goliathan task for every competitor. The roster is filled to the brim with high-level talent working towards a common goal. Veteran bodybuilder Samir Bannout recently predicted the top five bodybuilders at the 2022 Olympia and Labrada’s name does not appear in that list. However, the 30-year-old is training hard to beat the competition. It will be interesting to see what the scorecards show on Dec. 18.
You can watch the full workout video here, courtesy of Hunter Labrada’s personal YouTube channel:
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