Regan Grimes has greenlit preparations for his next bodybuilding contest. On January 8, 2025, Grimes powered through an ’05 Jay Cutler-inspired back workout and announced plans to compete at the 2025 New York Pro.
“It’s a lot more volume than I’ve been doing as of late. So it’s going to be interesting. Going to be sore as shit for sure, but you know what they always say, there’s more than two ways to skin a cat and we’re going to do that today.”
Tipping the scales at a monstrous 300 pounds, fans have anxiously awaited Regan Grimes‘ return to the stage. He carries the mass of an elite Open competitor while boasting Classic lines, making him a unique threat to any bodybuilder in the league.
In 2023, Grimes competed in a handful of shows, going back and forth against Open star Nathan De Asha. He took second place at the Flex Weekend Pro before nailing his peak to win gold at the Europa Pro. Although the Olympia contest was stacked with talent, Grimes managed to carve out a respectable ninth-place finish, his highest achievement on the prestigious stage in the Open class.
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In addition to welcoming a baby into the world, Grimes used his time away from competition to build his physique. Now, with the 2025 New York Pro within his crosshairs, he walked fans through a back workout he’s implemented, which was inspired by four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler.
Regan Grimes Replicates Jay Cutler’s ’05 Back Workout in Prep for the 2025 New York Pro
Find his exercise selections below:
- High Bar Cable Reverse Grip Pulldown
- Dumbbell Rows
- T-Bar Rows
- Seated Cable Row Machine
- Incline Dumbbell Rows
- Rack Pulls
High Bar Cable Reverse Grip Pulldown
First, Grimes utilized the high bar cable reverse grip pulldown to add width to his upper lats.
“This is going to help with the upper lats and with width. This is why we’re going to hit this one,” he shared.
He explained that Cutler’s training style typically saw him leave reps in reserve with a focus on ‘pumping the muscles’ under substantial weight.
“His training style always left some reps in the tank. He does always like two reps shy of failure or three reps.
But as you can see, he never trains right right to failure, he’s basically pumping the muscles under a still a substantial amount of weight and load it’s just not to muscular failure.”
Dumbbell rows
Focusing on the middle back and thickness, Grimes used dumbbell rows and attempted to maintain a fast tempo.
“This is focusing on the middle back and thickness again. Jay does these very unique back in 2005. He almost looks like he’s ripping a chainsaw, he goes so fast,” adds Grimes. “I’m going to start with 90 and we’ll go from there.”
T-Bar Rows
While it was less time under tension than what Grimes was accustomed to, he credited the t-bar rows for working the entire back.
“Jay says the T-bar row works the entire back as a compound movement but also focuses a lot on the lower lats he says. That’s why we hit these today,” he shared. “It feels short, it feels too short the set because the time under tension is so much less than I usually do. You can’t hate it or you can’t talk shit about it because it works for Jay.”
Seated Cable Row Machine
Grimes worked in sets on the seated cable row machine, attempting to replicate the identical form used by Cutler in the prime years of his career.
“Again, those are for the middle back, helps thickness.”
Incline Dumbbell Rows
To properly tax the upper back and rear delts, Grimes used incline dumbbell rows.
“This is the upper back and rear delts,” adds Grimes. “This is a compound movement. It’s time to finalize the fried back. Get a little insurance on the back of mine to make sure it’s absolute toast.”
Rack Pulls
Finishing off the routine, Grimes hit rack pulls but instead of five plates on each side, decided on four to prevent any potential injuries.
“In Jay’s prime, he was doing five plates a side on this bad boy. I don’t know if I’m going to do five, but I think four is definitely in the cards.
Obviously, his five plates, he had been doing that for a long time on rack pulls. Don’t get me wrong, I could probably put five in and rip it but I don’t want to hurt myself just by chance.”
After spending a year away from competing, Grimes will have the opportunity to vie for his Mr. Olympia qualification at the 2025 New York Pro, taking place May 17, in Teaneck, New Jersey. Don’t miss the event; Fitness Volt will have comprehensive live coverage of the action!
RELATED: Regan Grimes Looks Shredded Weeks Ahead of Comeback Contest in Posing Update
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