Weekly, Olympia 2022 contender Guild Hunter turns to his YouTube channel to advise applicants bodybuilders and anyone who loves to progress in the gym. On September 13, 2022, Labrada addressed a topic that countless gym-goers have probably wondered about: How should a enhanced athlete — that is, someone who uses some type of steroids — does he train compared to someone who does not take anything? Listen to Labrada’s thoughts in the following video:
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Publisher’s note: Bar Bend it is not intended to make a moral or ethical statement regarding the athlete’s actions. This article reports on the information submitted by the athlete. Bar Bend it is not a medical resource and does not endorse the recreational use of performance-enhancing drugs.
Enhanced Training Vs. not improved
Labrada first breaks down what steroids do:
[Steroids] greatly improve your recovery capabilities, which means we can get more work done in the gym than someone who isn’t [on them].
According to Labrada, many professional bodybuilders tend to use a low volume, High intensity training schedule, which means heavier weights for fewer sets. Because Recovery time is longer for natural weightlifters, says his training emphasis should be at the same volume level or lower than the enhanced lifters. Labrada considers anything over 12 sets of work per body part to be a lot of volume.
It may sound strange for a natural lifter to follow the strategy of an enhanced athlete, but Labrada explained:
“You have to pick and choose your battles [in the gym]”, says Labrada of the unenhanced athletes. “You need to have the volume as low as possible to cause a increase response. Anything past that is just extra work that you have to recover from. And as we said, your recovery is [hamstrung] being a natural athlete.”
[Related: Hunter Labrada Talks Best Chest Exercises for Growth, Fixing Muscle Imbalances, and More]
It’s about recovery
Since unimproved lifters will likely need more time to retrieveLabrada feels they should max out their games and not put up with extra volume that causes excessive fatigue.
At the end of the day, the best thing you can do as an unimproved lifter is lift like an improved lifter.
Labrada added a warning: high volume, progressive overload programs work best for enhanced athletes due to faster recovery. He thinks it’s better suited for improved lifters to maximize progress.
More tips from Hunter Labrada
Hunter Labrada offers weekly training tips on his YouTube channel and Instagram page. Here’s more of his advice:
Featured Image: Hunter Labrada on YouTube
