A leg workout fit for considered one of the largest Mr. Olympia contenders.
Almost a yr after ending fourth on the 2021 Mr. Olympia — a career-best finish — bodybuilder Hunter Labrada is hungry for more. As considered one of the highest contenders for the 2022 Olympia title, Labrada would undoubtedly love to depart his mark on the game by standing on top of the rostrum in Las Vegas, NV, on Dec. 16-18, 2022. His rigorous commitment to his nutrition and training might help him accomplish that ambitious goal while living as much as his legendary father’s legacy, Lee Labrada, who won the 1985 Mr. Universe and placed within the top-four at seven consecutive Mr. Olympia contests.
On Nov. 9, 2022, Labrada posted a video to his YouTube channel where he powers through a demanding leg workout. The session is part of Labrada’s “Road to the O” video series, sitting roughly six weeks before the onset of the newest edition of bodybuilding’s flagship competition.
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Here’s a whole rundown of Labrada’s leg routine as he preps for his third crack on the Mr. Olympia.
Seated Leg Curl
To start out his workout, Labrada elected to work in some seated leg curls. The movement can warm up the knees while importantly helping to develop hamstring mass and strength. The athlete accomplished a couple of casual sets before proceeding forward.
Leg Extension
In the following phase of his routine, Labrada implemented some heavy leg extensions. The athlete clarified that when the load gets heavier, the load’s leverage can lift people out of the seat. That, in turn, reduces their range of motion but additionally diverts attention from the quads. To account for this potential issue, Labrada adjusts the seat and straps in with a seat belt to make sure he can higher isolate his quads and perform high-rep sets.
Pendulum Squat
The center portion of Labrada’s workout saw the bodybuilder exhibit some pendulum squats. The pendulum squat emphasizes the quads and glutes, where an athlete performs essentially the identical movement as a conventional back squat on a machine — except they don’t must worry about maintaining balance with a loaded barbell of their hands. Labrada worked through some difficult, high-intensity sets with a heavy resistance band added for increased tension.
Walking Lunge
After working with some machines, Labrada performed a body weight movement with walking lunges across the gym floor. It was apparent Labrada focused on proper technique with proper control over a couple of sets.
Hip Adduction Machine
As a high-level bodybuilder, except for the health advantages of stabilizing the trunk, Labrada cannot afford to neglect his adductor muscles when training his lower body. The athlete had a concise explanation for the right way to best perform hip adductions for optimum results.
“Each time you’re doing this, you would like to maintain a level of neutrality when it comes to external and internal hip rotation. You don’t need to be pushing out of your feet along with your knees coming off the pad.” Labrada maintained.
Standing Calf Raise
Labrada concluded the leg session with focused work on standing calf raise machine, before donning trunks for posing practice under the watchful eyes of his coaches and training partners.
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Alongside stars like two-time reigning champion Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay, Labrada can be considered one of the larger names present on the 2022 Mr. Olympia. If he continues his “Road to the O” with rewarding leg workouts like this, he might even be the primary headline by the competition’s end.
Featured image: hunterlabrada on Instagram