Hunter Labrada has his sights set on qualifying for the 2024 Mr. Olympia.
In the off-season, Men’s Open bodybuilder Hunter Labrada is fine-tuning his approach in anticipation of the new season. Having secured sixth place at last year’s Olympia, Labrada aims to break into the top five in this year’s contest.
| Full Name: Hunter Labrada | ||
| Weight | Height | Date of Birth |
| 235-245 lbs | 5’9” | 05/17/1992 |
| Profession | Era | Nationality |
| Bodybuilder | 2010 | American |
During a recent Q&A on his YouTube channel, Labrada divulged insights from his training regimen. He tackled queries about the benefits of creatine and outlined his training split for the 2024 season. Below, we explore the invaluable advice he imparted.
Labrada Talks Benefits of Creatine
Hunter Labrada thoroughly analyzes the creatine supplement and explains that it has undergone clinical trials and testing, proving its safety and beneficial effects. He also explained that the recommended dosage is 5 grams (1). Anything more than that is like pouring water into a filled cup.
“Once you get that five grams like daily for, I think it’s like two or three weeks, I forget what the study says, you’ll reach a point of saturation. Reaching that point of saturation is going to give you increases in strength. It’s going to give you increase in muscle mass, and it’s going to increase the hydration in your muscles, all of which are good things.”
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- Taking creatine supplements enhances the strength you need to perform intensive workouts and training sessions.
Hunter Labrada’s Bodybuilding Tips
Hunter Labrada also answers some personal questions about how to train if this is your first prep. He has some advice for natural bodybuilders, too. Here are some of the do’s and don’ts he shares for those in prep season.
Losing Weight While Preserving Muscle
He advises natural builders doing their first prep to stay as lean as possible while preserving muscle tissue. Labrada emphasizes that you lose a couple of pounds when trying to get lean, but at least try to keep it under 10 pounds. Still on the natural bodybuilders, Labrada talks about the importance of recovery when getting lean for a prep:
“Being natural, your recovery is going to be the biggest factor when it comes to getting lean for a prep. If you run yourself ragged in the gym, and you’re doing a ton of cardio, and you’re not eating a lot, your body will not hold up to that so that goes back to just taking your time being able to allow yourself 20 maybe even 24 weeks instead of your typical 14 or 16 like you hear people talking about for bodybuilding preps.”
Body Fat Percentage
Labrada also answers a personal question on whether he measures his body fat or lean muscle. He has this to say:
“I can like brag, I have 3% body fat because if you’re in shape, like truly in shape for bodybuilding, you should just be skin everywhere.”
Foods and Recovery
Hunter Labrada also discusses how certain foods, like white fish, digest well and contain less fat. Bodybuilders should consume them during their prep for best results. He also advises against training through an injury.
“There is no reason on God’s gentle Green Earth to be pushing through an injury. Pushing through an injury is how you make a minor injury a major injury or how you make a minor injury last like five times as long as it would have.”
Labrada’s Current Training Split
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Labrada says he’s currently on a four-day-a-week modified push-pull training split. He trains his arms and legs, then takes a day off and two days off after training his legs. Labrada admitted it was hard to do initially but eventually got used to it. He talks about the importance of rest days.
“If you haven’t tried training four days a week or at least giving yourself more rest days, you know, if you’re training seven days a week, stop. Try giving yourself a little bit more rest, and it could do a lot of good for you.”
Hunter Labrada talks about understanding your body and eating right. He says he only eats from two carbohydrate sources: jasmine rice and highly branched dextrin. He has these carbs during his intra and post-workouts.
Labrada advocates using heavy weights and the correct form when building bigger arms.
“One of the biggest drivers of growth is placing as much load as you can on the muscle while still using perfect form to accomplish the reps.”
Hunter shares his plans for the coming 2024 Mr. Olympia competition, saying he wants to qualify first.
“My plan for this year’s Mr. O is to qualify for it first. So, yeah, not one of those people to count their chickens before they hatch. Open bodybuilding is very competitive, and I need to qualify first. So I’m focusing on qualifying first.”
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References
- Naderi, A., de Oliveira, E. P., Ziegenfuss, T. N., & Willems, M. T. (2016). Timing, Optimal Dose and Intake Duration of Dietary Supplements with Evidence-Based Use in Sports Nutrition. Journal of exercise nutrition & biochemistry, 20(4), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.20463/jenb.2016.0031
- Avgerinos, K. I., Spyrou, N., Bougioukas, K. I., & Kapogiannis, D. (2018). Effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function of healthy individuals: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Experimental gerontology, 108, 166–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2018.04.013
