On Dec. 29, 2021, IFBB Pro League Men’s Open bodybuilder Regan Grimes posted a video on his YouTube channel taking fans through one of his chest workouts. At the time this video was released, Grimes had just started his prep for the 2022 Arnold Classic, scheduled for the weekend of Mar. 3-6, 2022 in Columbus, OH. It will be Grimes’ first time competing at this particular contest.
This particular workout was filmed 12 weeks away from bodybuilding’s second most prestigious show. Grimes has had a successful string of contests following his 15th place result at the 2021 Mr. Olympia. The Canadian competitor placed second to Shaun Clarida at the Legion Sports Fest on Oct. 24, 2021. He then followed up that placing with a victory in Egypt at the KO Pro contest less than two weeks later, qualifying him for the 2022 Olympia. Finally, he placed third at the Prague Pro on Nov. 14, 2021, which Samson Dauda won.
One key to Grimes’ success is his new coach, Milos “The Mind” Sarcev. The 90’s competitor took Grimes under his wing after the Olympia, and they’ve worked together in lockstep since. Sarcev met Grimes for this workout at Iris Kyle’s Powerhouse Gym in Las Vegas, NV.
Before the session began, Grimes revealed his pre-workout breakfast. It included 300 grams of steak (cooked medium) along with an unknown amount of potatoes and cream of rice.
The Workout
After Grimes walked into the gym, Sarcev coached him up on what he expects from the young bodybuilder.
“I need the crazy, overstretched, expanded rib cage. I want the muscle to be completely stretched, right?” Sarcev requested. “So, we’re going to be a little more careful, but I need a little more heavy weight, and then I need crazy squeezes.”
Flat Dumbbell Flye + Flat Dumbbell Press
Grimes began with dumbbell flyes followed by dumbbell presses on a flat bench. He used the same dumbbells for both exercises to minimize transition time during the superset. Aside from warming up, Sarcev emphasized that he wanted Grimes to focus on both stretch and contractions at this point of the workout.
Grimes repeated this superset with 35-pound dumbbells. The sets weren’t filmed in their entirety. Sarcev is known to favor 10-rep sets — the same number that research has found to be effective for muscle growth — but the exact numbers weren’t disclosed in this video.
Flat Chest Press Machine
Now that Grimes is warmed up, Sarcev has him take his place on a flat chest press machine. The coach asked the trainee to perform four-to-five-second long negatives before exploding up. After Sarcev counted 10 reps with two 45-pound plates on each side of the machine, he advised Grimes to flare his elbows out (which goes against the standard advice of keeping the elbows tucked).
“For me, the more the chest is out, the more stretch,” Sarcev explained while demonstrating the movement with his elbows out wide. “When I go [elbows in], I don’t have as much stretch.”
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Grimes proceeds with his next set, this time with an additional 45-pound plate on each side. He then moves back to the dumbbell section to perform more flyes. He uses 50-pound dumbbells for this round. Grimes does another superset of these two movements with a pair of 25’s added to the machine, and 70-pound dumbbells for the flyes. This phase of the workout ends with Grimes doing one more set of machine presses with four big plates on each side of the machine.
Incline Chest Press Machine
Citing that he doesn’t want to drain Grimes of any more energy, Sarcev has him start on the incline chest press machine with four 45’s on each side directly. After 10 reps, two more 45’s are placed on the machine, which Grimes moves 10 more times.
Two more 25’s are added, and Grimes goes again. After eight reps and two partial reps, the duo moves on.
45-Degree Smith Machine Incline Press + Standing Cable Flye
Grimes begins another superset pairing by bench-pressing on a Smith Machine bar with two 45’s on each side for, you guessed it, 10 reps. Grimes then marched over to a cable station to perform standing flyes with his lower back against a pad.
The Men’s Open competitor moved back and forth between the two stations for three supersets total with no rest in between. The weight for the presses was reduced down to one plate per side. Sarcev offered assistance on some forced reps after Grimes reached failure.
45-Degree Smith Machine High Incline Press
After a brief break, Grimes resumes the training. He stayed on the Smith Machine, but this time he pressed up more towards his neck and used a shorter range of motion. Sarcev had him flex in between sets at this point as well. Four sets were shown on the video.
Machine Flye + Decline Machine Press
The focus shifted to the lower chest at this point. The new pairing for Grimes was machine flyes and decline machine presses. The weight Grimes used wasn’t revealed. During the flyes, Grimes leans forward slightly to emphasize the lower portion of the pecs.
Cable Crossover + Plate Loaded Machine Incline Press + Plate Loaded Machine Decline Press
The workout wraps up with Sarcev guiding Grimes through a triset — traditional cable crossovers followed by incline and decline presses on plate-loaded machines. Grimes didn’t rest at any point.
On the crossovers, he took a couple of steps out from the station to maximize the stretch when the handles were separated. He emphasized the contraction when those handles were brought together by the force in his chest. As soon as he returned the weights to their stacks, he hustled to the next station. While performing the second movement, Sarcev appeared excited at what Grimes was displaying during the conclusion of this session.
“Look, look at the striations. Do you see?” Sarcev asked.
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One 45 was on each side of both pressing machines. Grimed pumped out as many reps as he could on both movements. One triset was shown on camera before the video concluded. It wasn’t clear if Grimes will use this workout throughout the entire prep, or if changes will be made as the show gets closer.
Watch the Arnold Classic
Grimes will be among 14 men competing at the Greater Columbus Convention Center with hopes of winning the 2022 Arnold Classic. For more information or to buy tickets and VIP packages for the contest, go to www.arnoldsportsfestival.com.
Featured Image: Regan Grimes on YouTube
