Time is running out before competitors meet in Orlando, Florida for the highly anticipated 2023 Mr. Oylmpia. In a recent Prime Time Muscle podcast, Chris Cormier and judge Terrick El Guindy assessed the potential of Hunter Labrada and Andrew Jacked at the nearing contest.
Since his arrival in the IFBB Pro League, attention has been on Hunter Labrada, son of bodybuilding great Lee Labrada. As a Men’s Open Pro, Labrada cemented himself as a world-class talent after taking fourth place at the 2021 Mr. Olympia show, where he outpointed Nick Walker who landed in fifth.
Instead of maintaining a busy schedule, Labrada shut down the 2022 season solely for Mr. Olympia. However, when he graced the big stage last December, he fell to seventh place. The drop was a tough pill to swallow for the bodybuilding champ, who assured his fanbase that he would return better than ever.
Labrada made his comeback at the 2023 Tampa Pro in August and proved his naysayers wrong with a strong victory. Sticking to his original plan, the 31-year-old participated in the Texas Pro against Andrew Jacked but narrowly took second in a close event. While some believe Labrada took a hit in momentum before Olympia, the Open star was pleased with the outcome, having collected valuable on-stage experience.
Terrick El Guindy, Chris Cormier Talk Hunter Labrada ‘Exposing’ Derek Lunsford at 2023 Mr. Olympia
Before Terrick El Guindy offered his hot take, Chris Cormier urged Hunter Labrada to improve his midsection and overall conditioning.
“I would like to see more abs. I see Hunter doing a lot of training videos. I hardly see any ab training videos Hunter, hardly ever. If not ever. But more attention to the back and I know you’ve been doing it, I know you’ve been doing a great job with that getting good guidance in that area and getting good training in that area.”
“Improving the conditioning… was a major factor. But the abs and the back I thought was where he really needed to work on, the side triceps is a staple, that shot is a staple, that shot is a staple, but more and more abs. You can’t have all these bells and whistles going on in your body and not have strong abs to support all of that.”
Cormier believes Labrada spilled over last year, and explained how that happens at bodybuilding contests:
“When you start to put carbs in your system, the glycogen storage is going to get to its limit and then it’s going to spill over, that’s what they call spilling over and I’ve done the same thing.”
Considering Labrada’s progress, Cormier believes he’s “catching his stride” as he inches closer to Olympia, pointing to the Open competitor’s improved back and lats.
“The back double biceps it’s better than it’s ever been in his life. He’s catching his stride now, pulling back, he’s got the striations across the lats, the Christmas tree is in, I can just see the improvements more and more as we get closer to the Olympia here,” said Chris Cormier.
According to El Guindy, Labrada has a “hybrid” physique similar to Derek Lunsford. For that reason, he believes Labrada to be Lunsford’s “kryptonite” if he continues to improve.
“Out of all the guys, including Derek Lunsford, he is a hybrid. He [Hunter Labrada] has a small waist and can carry a lot of muscle. He could actually be one of the few guys in the lineup who can actually expose Derek Lunsford because despite the fact that Derek Lunsford is very wide, Hunter is just as wide maybe a little bit less, but he has a smaller waist than Derek Lunsford. So Hunter could be the kryptonite for Derek Lunsford if he continues to improve like Chris said, the back double biceps,” explains Terrick.
El Guindy & Cormier on Andrew Jacked’s Potential: ‘He Has the Genetics to Be Mr. Olympia’
Next, El Guindy and Cormier examined Andrew Jacked’s potential and advised him to fill out his hamstrings.
“Let’s talk about his potential. He has the genetics, this is not an if or a maybe, he has the genetics to be the Mr. Olympia, Andrew Jacked. When you look at him backstage or on stage, you are seeing something special. He has the space, especially on the back double biceps to become a Joe Stubbs okay.”
“One thing that Andrew Jacked needs is you see the hamstrings right here? We need a little bit more hamstrings and we need more cuts. There seems to be a slight film of water on this physique meaning that if this guy gets dry we’ll see deeper separation,” explained Terrick El Guindy.
Cormier suggested Jacked carefully craft his physique for Olympia because he lost size by prioritizing conditioning at the 2023 Arnold Classic.
“It’s way harder [to fill out hamstrings when you’re taller]. With the length of his legs we saw when he tried to go extra hard in conditioning at the Arnold Classic we saw the legs lean out also. It wasn’t so thick like it was at the Texas in the previous year. So that’s where he’s going to have to be very careful when it comes to choosing what type of look he’s going to go for,” Chris Cormier shared.
“If Samson Dauda was not on the map, everybody would be talking about this guy. Samson Dauda messed it up for Andrew Jacked. He took the sail out of Andrew Jacked,” Terrick El Guindy said.
As for Chris Cormier, he believes Andrew’s shoulders and chest are strengths, whereas his lower body is a weakness.
“For sure, for sure. I think the same. But we do know that in that area of the chest, the abs, the shoulder to shoulder, that’s just granite. That’s his strength, even here on the side triceps, you see that mass with the traps, the shoulders, the chest… that’s his strength. The weakness is going to be in the legs. It’s going to be down here. I want to see separation in the calves Andrew,” said Cormier.
Labrada has shared his ambitions for the upcoming Olympia despite keeping a low profile during his preparation. Speaking in an Olympia TV interview, Labrada was candid about his future on the Olympia stage and emphasized that if he comes in shape, he can make the top five. However, if he’s off his game, Labrada said he’d be lucky to crack the top 10.
The 2023 Mr. Olympia competition is almost here. All roads lead to the reigning and defending champion Hadi Choopan, who has been largely counted out by bodybuilding veterans heading into the marquee event.
RELATED: Milos Sarcev Talks 2023 Olympia Chances of Derek Lunsford, Nick Walker, Hadi Choopan & Samson Dauda
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