IFBB Professional League Men’s Open bodybuilder Regan Grimes is expected to compete at the 2025 New York Pro and is currently preparing for it. Grimes has been sharing aspects of his prep; on Jan. 15, 2025, he divulged his top-three go-to triceps exercises:
- Rope Pressdown
- Single-Arm Overhead Extension
- Dip Machine
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Rope Pressdown
Grimes began with the rope pressdown to develop the back of the triceps’ lateral head. He suggests not leaning too far back or standing too close to the weight stack. He stands close to upright and moves the rope toward the floor, slightly away from his body.
Research has concluded that you may get even more out of the exercise using cables by keeping the cable or the handle between your fingers, such as placing the rope ends between the middle and ring fingers while holding the ends. (1)
Single-Arm Overhead Extension
Grimes’s next movement was the single-arm overhead extension with a dumbbell. He sat on a seated bench with a fixed back pad and lowered the weight behind his head as far as he could before lifting it back to the starting position.
A good range of motion is key, but Grimes advised against forcing the weight down further than it naturally goes to lower the risk of injury.
Be as natural as possible. Don’t force your shoulder and arm into a position it doesn’t want to go in. If you can, bring your elbow forward.
——Regan Grimes
If you are uncomfortable balancing a dumbbell, a cable should be suitable for similar benefits. (2)
Dip Machine
Grimes’ final exercise was the machine version of the dip to target the medial head of the triceps. He advised lifters could substitute bodyweight dips if they don’t have access to a machine. Advanced trainees could push themselves even harder with ring dips. (3)
Regardless of the variation, Grimes expressed that the chest must remain high, and the elbows should not flare. Don’t lean toward the floor, as that will shift the stimulus.
Lifters who train these exercises should perform one to two warm-up sets for each, followed by two working sets. The first working set should result in failure at no more than 10 reps. Grimes recommends the second be performed with a lighter weight in the 12-15 rep range.
[Lowering the weight] will help keep good form and get a bigger pump.
——Regan Grimes
Grimes is not expected to make his 2025 season debut until the 2025 New York Pro. It will be his first pro competition since the 2023 Mr. Olympia, where he placed ninth.
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References
- Rendos, N. K., Heredia Vargas, H. M., Alipio, T. C., Regis, R. C., Romero, M. A., & Signorile, J. F. (2016). Differences in Muscle Activity During Cable Resistance Training Are Influenced by Variations in Handle Types. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 30(7), 2001–2009. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001293
- Maeo, S., Wu, Y., Huang, M., Sakurai, H., Kusagawa, Y., Sugiyama, T., Kanehisa, H., & Isaka, T. (2023). Triceps brachii hypertrophy is substantially greater after elbow extension training performed in the overhead versus neutral arm position. European journal of sport science, 23(7), 1240–1250. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2022.2100279
- McKenzie, A., Crowley-McHattan, Z., Meir, R., Whitting, J., & Volschenk, W. (2022). Bench, Bar, and Ring Dips: Do Kinematics and Muscle Activity Differ?. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(20), 13211. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013211
Featured Image: @regangrimes on Instagram
