Hunter Labrada is approaching his training cautiously in hopes of improving his position at Olympia 2022 from last year by bringing a perfect physique to the stage. Labrada is an IFBB Pro bodybuilder and one of the top contenders in the Men’s Open division. He is the son of bodybuilding legend Lee Labrada and inherited the passion, ability and genetics to become a top bodybuilder. The 30-year-old earned his IFBB Pro card by winning the 2018 NPC National Championships. Labrada has won two professional bodybuilding contests so far in his career.
Tampa Pro’s victory in 2020 earned him direct qualification for the 2020 Olympia, where he finished eighth. The Scion Labrada then returned to the drawing board and won the 2021 Chicago Pro to qualify for the 2021 Olympia and worked his way into the top five, finishing fourth at the show.
Labrada is in the middle of his preparation to compete for Olympia 2022, where he will face familiar foes like Nick Walker and Hadi Choopan as well as highly touted newcomers like Andrew Jacked, Michal Krizo and Blessing Awodibu. The 2021 Chicago Pro winner’s progress appears to be on point as he looked shredded in a recent physical update.
Labrada regularly shares bodybuilding wisdom and workout tips on his Youtube channel. Despite the busy training schedule, he discussed the importance of good quality sleep and tips for developing legs on the hip adduction machine. Labrada crushed a full lower body workout as part of his competition preparation. The video of this session has been uploaded to his YouTube channel. So without further ado, let’s see how Labrada worked his legs.
Hunter Labrada goes through a leg workout
Labrada trains his legs once every nine days and therefore has about four leg workouts until Olympia 2022. During this workout he performed compound and isolation movements to a complete development of the lower body, from the glutes to the calves.
Bending the legs while seated
Scion Labrada started training with this isolation move. In addition to targeting the hamstrings, leg curls are effective for warming up the knees. Although lying leg curls are a more popular exercise for the hamstrings, studies show that seated leg curls are more effective in hamstring development because they provide a greater range of motion. Labrada performed a few sets of this exercise and moved on to the next isolation exercise.
Leg extension
The 2020 Tampa Pro winner then performed leg extensions. It is an isolation movement that targets the quadriceps. During this exercise, the knees act as a lever. The weights are lifted off the ankle while the butt acts as the stationary point. The 30-year-old explained that when the weight is heavier, you tend to lift your butt a bit to help with the lift, which reduces range of motion.
Labrada adjusted the seat so that his knees were higher than his buttocks and strapped himself into the seat. This helped him isolate the quads better. After performing a few solid sets of this exercise, Labrada jumped into more intense compound movements.
Pendulum squat
The pendulum squat is a compound movement ideal for overall thigh development. However, the main emphasis is on the quadriceps and glutes. The pendulum squat can be modified for greater hamstring stimulation by adjusting foot placement. Labrada did a few heavy sets of this exercise and moved on to the next one.
walking lunge
Labrada later adopted this bodyweight move. In addition to working the quadriceps and hamstrings, walking lunges also strengthen core, glute, and hip muscles. Labrada performed a few sets of this exercise with slow, controlled movements before moving on to the next exercise.
hip adduction machine
While the glutes, hamstrings, and quads take up most of the lower body routine for most people, the adductors are often overlooked. However, since Labrada is aiming for the Sandow, he doesn’t leave those muscles unguarded. The adductors are present on the inside of the thighs. They help bring the legs together and stabilize the pelvis and trunk when standing on one leg.
“Any time you do this, you want to maintain a degree of neutrality in terms of external and internal hip rotation,” Labrada said of the technique for doing this exercise.
The 2021 Chicago Pro winner performed a few sets of hip adductions on the machine and embarked on the final exercise of the day.
Incline Standing Calf Raise
Labrada wrapped up the workout with a few sets of standing calf raises on the Icarian machine. Unlike the seated calf raises, the standing variation works the gastrocnemius muscle.
Hunter Labrada 2022 Olympia Leg Training
Overall, the workout included:
Labrada will enter Olympia 2022 aiming to dethrone defending champion Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay. However, the Men’s Open division roster is awash with talent, and veterans and newcomers alike are all working towards a similar goal.
Labrada edged out Walker for fourth at the 2021 Olympia, and the latter intends to beat Labrada with conditioning this year. If Labrada continues to train with furious intensity and discipline, he can undeniably emerge a winner when the results are announced on December 18.
You can watch the full workout video below, courtesy of Hunter Labrada’s YouTube channel:
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