Lee Labrada’s Workout Routine and Diet Plan

Lee Labrada is one of the most celebrated bodybuilders of all time. The era of the 80s and 90s saw his insane physical development which made him win numerous bodybuilding titles.

Even though he couldn’t win the coveted Mr. Olympia title in his career, every single time he was a very strong contender for it. So wouldn’t it be great to know about the fitness regime of such a legendary bodybuilder who is still a source of inspiration for many? Certainly, it would.

So let’s throw some light on Lee Labrada’s fitness regime which gave him a physique that would be remembered for many generations.

Lee Labrada’s Workout Principles

Lee Labrada is 5 feet 6 inches tall. His body weight during his competing days used to lie between 185-195 lbs. He took inspiration from bodybuilding legends to build his lean, muscular and aesthetic physique.

Lee Labrada’s workout plan followed a High-Intensity Training protocol. But his rep count on most of the exercises lay between 6-12 reps. He used a weight that was quite challenging enough but not too heavy to mess up his exercise form.

Lee Labrada used to train 5-6 days a week. It took him three workout sessions to train his entire body. His weekly workout split looked like the following:-

• Monday- Chest, shoulders and triceps
• Tuesday- Back, biceps and forearms
• Wednesday- Legs and abs
• Thursday- Cardio/Rest
• Friday- Chest, shoulders and triceps
• Saturday- Back, biceps and forearms
• Sunday- Cardio/Rest
• Monday- Legs and abs

Now let’s get to know more about his workout routine and his exercise selection in the next section.

Lee Labrada’s Workout Routine

Lee Labrada’s workout routine followed a high-volume training protocol. Such kind of high-volume training adequately stimulated his muscle fibers thereby facilitating greater muscular growth.

Labrada’s training sessions usually extended for about 2 hours. In those 2 hours, he used to hit each of his muscle groups with different exercises. This allowed him to train his muscles from different angles leading to their complete development.

For instance, when he used to train the bigger muscle groups like legs and back, he went up to performing 12-16 different exercises for each of them. He trained his chest and shoulders with 10-12 different exercises and his biceps, triceps, and forearms with 6-9 different exercises.

Now let’s throw some light on the different exercises that Lee performed for each of his muscle groups:-

Workout 1- Chest, shoulders and triceps

Chest

• Barbell bench press- 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
• Dumbbell flys- 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
• Incline dumbbell press- 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
• Incline dumbbell flys- 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Cable crossovers- 3-4 sets of 12 reps
• Dumbbell pullover- 3-4 sets of 12 reps

Shoulders

• Dumbbell overhead press- 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
• Lateral raises- 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
• One-arm lateral raises- 3-4 sets of 12 reps
• Seated cable side raises- 3-4 sets 12 reps
• Barbell upright rows- 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps

Triceps

• Bench dips- 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
• Dumbbell skull crushers- 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps
• One-arm dumbbell overhead extensions- 3-4 sets of 12 reps
• Triceps pushdowns- 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps

Workout 2- Back, biceps and forearms

Back

• Barbell deadlift- 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
• Underhand lat pull downs- 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Bent-over barbell rows- 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Single-arm dumbbell rows- 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
• Seated cable rows- 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Dumbbell shrugs- 3-4 sets of 12 reps

Biceps

• Barbell curls- 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Hammer curls- 3-4 sets of 12 reps
• Preacher curls with dumbbells- 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Concentration curls- 3-4 sets of 12 reps

Forearms

• Barbell wrist curls- 3-4 sets of 12 reps

Workout 3- Legs and abs

Legs

• Barbell back squats- 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
• Leg press- 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Single-leg leg press- 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps
• Lying leg curls- 3-4 sets of 12 reps
• Seated leg curls- 3-4 sets of 12 reps
• Stiff-leg deadlifts- 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
• Leg extensions- 3-4 sets of 12 reps
• Standing calf raises- 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps
• Seated calf raises- 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps
• Calf presses on leg press machine- 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps

Abdominals

• Cable crunches- 3-4 sets of 20-25 reps
• Hanging leg raises- 3-4 sets of 15-25 reps

Cardio

Labrada performed cardio to keep his body lean. He used to perform cardio by running for 25-30 minutes 2 days a week.

However, he doesn’t over-rely on it. Owing to his fast metabolism, it was quite natural for him to stay lean, and that too without spending too many hours performing cardio.

Switching It Up

Lee Labrada was well aware of the idea that sticking to the same exercise routine day in and day out can stall his progress. Hence, he used to switch up his exercise routine on a regular basis.

He did so by either changing the exercises or their order, increasing/decreasing the number of sets/reps, and incorporating certain intensity techniques.

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Lee Labrada’s Diet Plan

The amount of dedication that Labrada showed toward sticking to his nutrition plan is simply unparalleled. Throughout his bodybuilding career, he used to weigh every single food item that he consumed. He did this to make sure that his everyday caloric intake is on point.

Lee Labrada’s diet plan consists of numerous nutritious food items. Some of them were sources of complex carbohydrates such as yams, rice, oatmeal, and beans, lean proteins, and healthy fats. He also used to eat yogurt and fresh fruits.

At present, Labrada’s nutrition plan is a lot different from that of his competing days. It has high amounts of calories and a certain part of them comes from good sources of fats such as olive oil and fish oil.

During his competing days, Lee Labrada’s meal plan for the day consisted of 6 meals. He claims that having 6 meals a day also kept his metabolism levels in check.

Now let’s find out what all food items were there in Lee Labrada’s meal plan:-

Meal 1

• 1 cup oatmeal
• 10 egg whites
• 1 cup zero-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp fish oil

Meal 2

• Whey protein shake

Meal 3

• 8 oz chicken breast
• 1 cup vegetables
• 10 oz sweet potato
• Almonds
• Cashew
• Seeds
• Nuts

Meal 4

• 8 oz chicken breast
• 1 cup vegetables
• 5 cups rice and black beans
• Granola muffin

Meal 5

• 8 oz salmon
• 10 oz sweet potato
• 1 cup vegetables
• Orange roughy or halibut
• Sorbet

Meal 6

• Whey protein shake
• 1 tbsp fish oil

Lee Labrada’s diet plan had a major share of proteins. He kept the proportion of his carb and fat intake variable in accordance with his training goals.

Keeping a Log

Being enormously disciplined with his eating habits, Labrada used to keep a log of his diet plan and exercise routine. Doing so enabled him to keep track of his training progress in accordance with his diet plan.

Off-Season Diet Plan

Labrada relied on a healthy and nutritious diet plan even in his off-season. He used to up his daily caloric intake but made sure that it is coming from nutritious food items only. He used to have 6 meals a day and consumed 40 grams of proteins in each of his meals.

Lee Labrada’s Supplements

Being a professional bodybuilder requires one to rely on a complete nutrition plan. Since Lee Labrada was quite conscious about his nutrition plan during his competing days, he included certain supplements into it as well so that it becomes as wholesome as possible.

Lee Labrada’s supplements stack included the following:-

• Pre-workout
• Whey protein
• BCAA
• Glutamine

Lee Labrada used to go through intense workout sessions to develop his body. To ensure his energy levels stay at peak during his training hours, he used to take a pre-workout supplement.

He consumed whey protein shakes and BCAA to keep his body in an anabolic condition. Both supplements are rich in their amino acids profile that facilitates greater muscle growth.

Labrada also consumed glutamine to ensure that his muscles repair well from his brutal lifting sessions.

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Final Words

Lee Labrada’s fitness regime followed a scientific approach to building a physique. And this in turn resulted in giving him one of the best physiques of his time. So if you too want to attain physical perfection just like Lee Labrada, the info mentioned in this post will serve you pretty well in that matter.

Just ensure to make certain modifications to it based on your exercise experience and training goals. And also be consistent with following your fitness regime. We can assure you that doing so will get you the physique that you always aspired for.