Hunter Labrada Provides Technique Breakdown for Each Movement in His Leg Training

The 2023 Arnold Classic saw Samson Dauda raise the trophy of the second-most prestigious contest in professional bodybuilding. Along with that victory was his qualification for the 2023 Mr. Olympia contest scheduled for Nov. 2-5, 2023, in Orlando, FL.

Due to the new Olympia qualification system that requires non-Olympia champions or previous year’s podium finishers to win a pro show to qualify, many of the sport’s top tier will have to compete in and win a pro show before November. One of those bodybuilders is 2021 Olympia fourth-place finisher Hunter Labrada, who took to his YouTube channel on March 3, 2023, to share the first leg day of his new training split that emphasizes adding mass. 

Check out Labrada’s hypertrophic leg day in the video below, wherein he also shares his go-to pre-workout concoction: 

[Related: Hafthor Björnsson and Dan Bell Deadlift Together at the 2023 Arnold Sports Festival]

Hunter Labrada’s Pre-Workout

Labrada’s measured pre-workout contains the following:

• 80 grams of intra-carbs
• 10 grams of EAAs
• One scoop of Labrada Pro Series Pump
• Five grams of Creatine

Once to the gym, the first order of business is rolling out the muscles on a foam roller that does not appear to be the most comfortable for Labrada, though beneficial nonetheless. While most gym-goers might use an app on their phone to log the weights, reps, and sets of their training sessions, Labrada still prefers using a pencil and logbook.

This is what makes it fun for me.

Labrada stresses the importance of logging one’s training, so the trends from week to week and month to month are recognizable. Knowing if strength gains or any other measurable metric is on an upward trajectory, or plateauing is valuable for making requisite adjustments to hit the long-term goals.

[Related: Trey Mitchell Beats His Previous Thor’s Hammer World Record Time at the 2023 Rogue Record Breakers]

Hunter Labrada’s 2023 Quarter One Leg Workout

• Seated Hamstring Curls
• Leg Extensions
• Leg Press
• Unilateral Hip Press
• Adductors
• Standing Calf Raises

After a single working set of each compound movement, Labrada still feels sore several days after, which informs him that adding additional volume at this stage would be premature.

Five working sets for hams and quads — not a lot.

When setting up the seated leg curl, the pivot point of the machine should be in line with the knee — as that is the pivot point on the body. The pad under the heels should not be too high up the calf. The higher up the leg the pad is (i.e., the closer it is to the knee joint), the less torque is placed on the joint and, therefore, less load on the target muscle group (read: hamstrings). Perform the leg curls by driving the knees up into the pad and pressing the heels straight down rather than behind you.

Moving on to leg extensions, the active range of motion is the distance until external rotation would relieve tension on the quads. With the hips packed tight to the pad, the legs should remain internally rotated to where the quads could apply pressure to an imaginary yoga block between them. If the hips externally rotate at the bottom of the movement, the tension is lost from the quads as the athlete is beyond their active range of motion.

Labrada does not add weight to any movement until he can perform 13 clean reps without any hiccups in form.

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