Hunter Labrada’s goal at this year’s Mr. Olympia is to present an improved physique and better condition compared to last year. And in a video uploaded to his YouTube account, Labrada shared his thoughts on what form of cardio is best in preparing a bodybuilder.
IFBB professional bodybuilder Hunter Labrada is the son of bodybuilding Hall of Famer and former Mr. Universe Lee Labrada, who also owns his own supplement company. Born in Texas, Hunter grew up with his parents competing on stage. His mother, Robin Labrada, was also an athlete. Having been by her husband’s side throughout her career, Robin understands the world of bodybuilding better than most. Hunter has even stated that she values her opinion as much as her father’s when it comes to preparing for tournaments.
Following his 2020 Olympia debut in which he placed eighth, Hunter returned the following year to shock the world by finishing fourth. He also outpointed 2021 Arnold Classic champion Nick Walker, with whom he shares a fierce but healthy rivalry. They recently trained together and pushed each other to the limit.
Cardio work bodybuilder Hunter Labrada
“Everyone talks regarding fasted cardio as a must, but I don’t see it that way. I think the only reason you should or need to do fasted cardio is if you need something to get you out of bed early in the morning, help you develop a habit or schedule, or if it works well for you, but I don’t see it as an obligation, much less for a bodybuilder”.
Hunter explains why fasted cardio isn’t the best way to do cardio while preparing for a competition: “The idea that right out of bed in the morning, the fasted state is going to burn fat optimally compared to with doing fasted cardio at some point during the day is false. What do I mean by fasting point? Just got out of bed, you slept for six or seven hours. Your blood sugar level should be from bottom to bottom. There are no nutrients in your body. You are going to do cardio at your absolute fast point. Fasted cardio is basically the same thing.”
“I can back this up with my personal experience. I’ve used a glucometer for weeks to take my fasting blood glucose in the morning and right when I walk up the stairs following training and it’s within three or four points of each other. To say that fasted cardio is optimal for burning fat, false, it is not true. It’s a great time to do cardio…but at the end of the day, optimizing your cardio is even better.”
“Where you should add your cardio is really post-workout. For two reasons, one, you are at a perfect fasting point. And second, post-weight training oxygen consumption burns much more fat than cardio. So by doing it following training, we can multiply the effects. And the third thing I really like regarding post cardio is that your heart rate is already up. You don’t spend the first three, four, five minutes of your cardio session trying to get your heart rate up.”
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