Retro athlete: lee labrada

[EG News]

He was nearly perfect. After winning the middleweight class of the 1985 NPC Nationals and IFBB World Championships at 25, Lee Labrada won his debut pro show six months later. The following year, in his Olympia debut, he was third. Over 24 pro contests from 1986–1995, Labrada never missed a posedown. He won seven pro titles and was second eight times, including the 1989 and 1990 Olympias. His career is even more remarkable when you consider this 5'6" Cuban-American competed at under 190. He slayed goliaths who outweighed him by more than 50 pounds because of his superb proportions and aesthetic lines.

What truly made Labrada unique was his training style. HIT (high-intensity training) is most associated with mass monster Dorian Yates, whom Labrada battled on the O stage 1991–93. But classicist Labrada was a HIT man, too. He worked his muscles with maximum intensity and minimal volume. The result was one of the IFBB’s all-time highest winning percentages and a body today’s classic physique competitors should emulate.



Weider Health & Fitness

FLEX FACT

LABRADA NEVER PLACED LOWER THAN FOURTH IN THE MR. OLYMPIA (SEVEN ENTRIES). SINCE 1980, ONLY TWO OTHERS CAN CLAIM THAT: LEE HANEY AND DORIAN YATES.

LABRADA ON AB TRAINING

• “On each crunch rep, tense your abs hard and roll your sternum toward your pelvis as far as you can. Hold contractions for two seconds.”
• “Hanging leg raises are vertical crunches. Contract your abs hard and lower your legs slowly.”
• “Push each set to absolute failure.”
• “Rest one minute between sets.”

LABRADA’S AB ROUTINE

• Crunch | SETS: 3–4 | REPS: 10–20
• Hanging Leg Raise | SETS: 3–4 | REPS: 10–20

FLEX

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