Hunter Labrada has resumed training after taking a few days off. The resurgent bodybuilder has a lot of work to do before stepping on the 2023 Olympia stage and he is making sure that each and every day is put to proper use.
Hunter Labrada is an American Professional bodybuilder that competes in the Men’s Open division of the IFBB Pro League. Having inherited the passion for bodybuilding from his father, the legendary Lee Labrada, Hunter rose to prominence in the professional bodybuilding circuit rapidly. He is a multiple-time Olympia participant and surged into the top five at the 2021 Olympia with a fourth place finish. However, the 2022 season did not yield expected results to the Labrada Scion.
Hunter Labrada addressed the sleep apnea and made some crucial changes to his training routine heading into the 2022 Olympia. But he ended up facing a sharp skid, finishing seventh at the show. However, instead of cutting corners, he took the blow straight on the chin and admitted that he fell short in a major way. Determined to rebuild himself, Labrada announced that he will compete in two Pro shows in 2023 before heading into Olympia.
In the off-season that followed, the 31-year-old made major changes in his diet and revealed his new training routine. He focused on aesthetics, conditioning and other aspects of his physique rather than chasing size. The results showed at the 2023 Tampa Pro that took place from Aug. 3-5. Labrada dominated the stage from the get go and emerged victoriously. The win earned him a direct qualification to the 2023 Olympia. The resurgent bodybuilder made a quick turnaround and returned to compete at the 2023 Texas Pro on Aug. 18-19, finishing second behind the defending title holder Andrew Jacked.
Hunter Labrada resumes training with a push-day workout
After performing on the 2022 Texas Pro stage, Labrada took a couple of days off, ate well, and recuperated from the stress of competition. He returned to his home gym and trained on push-day to get the focus back and prepare for the 2023 Olympia. The video of this session was posted on Labrada’s YouTube channel. So without further delay, let’s see how Labrada got back in the groove.
Seated Cable Chest Press
The Labrada Scion kicked off the workout with renewed enthusiasm and took to this cable machine movement. Cable machines keep the muscles under tension throughout the range of motion and help bring about hypertrophy more effectively. The uniform tension also makes it an excellent exercise to start things with.
Machine Incline Chest Press
The 2023 Tampa Pro winner next performed a few heavy sets of incline chest presses on a plate-loaded machine to target the chest and anterior deltoid muscles. He employed progressively heavier loads as the sets progressed. Labrada used elbow and wrist wraps to protect the joints and also utilized a healthy amount of chalk to ensure that he left no loose ends for the heavy sets.
“We’re working on the Atlantis incline today. Normally I work on the neutral handle. You’ll have a little bit more of the tucked arm path, it involves a little more triceps but it’s a lot more natural path for your shoulders in my opinion. So scooted out today, it’s a little more open and enjoyed how it felt attacking from different angles,” Labrada shared his experience of doing incline chest presses on the machine.
Pec Deck Flyes
Pec deck flye is among the most effective movements for pectoral muscle activation. They help improve the adduction strength of the upper body, which is as important as building the pushing strength for complete development. Labrada executed flawless sets of pec deck flyes for adding the final bit of stimulus to his chest and then moved on to the shoulder exercises.
Seated Machine Shoulder Press
The 31-year-old bodybuilder kicked off shoulder training with a seated machine overhead press. This compound movement is primarily an anterior deltoid builder. Labrada positioned himself at a high incline. Typically, this position engages the clavicular head of pectoral muscles more than the complete upright overhead press. A few heavy sets of this compound exercise followed and Labrada advanced over to another shoulder movement.
Machine Lateral Raises
Anterior and posterior deltoid muscles get activated during most compound pushing and pulling exercises. But the medial or lateral delts remain under stimulated unless targeted with specific exercises. Lateral raise is a great way to isolate the lateral delt and get that perfect bulging shoulder look.
Hunter Labrada got a few sets of machine lateral raises under his belt to focus on the lateral delts and jumped into triceps training.
Crossover Cable Triceps Extensions
Hunter Labrada has argued for the longest time that crossover cable triceps extension is probably the best exercise for tricep development. Full elbow flexion and stability of the shoulder joint are prerequisite for full contraction of the tricep muscles. This movement enables both, which makes it an excellent tricep builder.
Larbada pushed through a few sets of this exercise using both hands and followed up with some sets that were performed unilaterally. One important detail that should not be missed is that Labrada utilized a banded attachment to eliminate the forearm strength and put the focus solely on triceps. Labrada finished the exercise after a few sets with slow reps. He then focused his energies on getting a few compound bodyweight exercises.
Hanging Leg Raises and Crunches
In between the triceps exercises, Hunter Labrada performed a few sets of hanging leg raises and crunches to sprinkle some abs work in the mix.
Triceps Dips
Labrada took the triceps dips as the final exercise of the day. After pushing through a few sets to fire up the triceps more, the training session reached a conclusion and he called it a day in the gym.
Overall, the workout included:
- Seated Cable Chest Press
- Machine Incline Chest Press
- Pec Deck Flyes
- Seated Machine Shoulder Press
- Machine Lateral Raises
- Crossover Cable Triceps Extensions
- Triceps Dips
- Hanging Leg Raises
- Crunches
Hunter Labrada has made significant improvements to his physique following the 2022 Olympia debacle. However, there is still a long way to go before he can re-enter the top five of the 2023 Olympia. But if he pivots in the right direction following his experience of competing against Andrew Jacked, the 31-year-old can be a top contender once again.
Watch the full chest workout video below, courtesy of Hunter Labrada’s YouTube channel:
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