Bodybuilder Regan Grimes is increasing the intensity of his training with each passing day as he prepares for the 2023 competitive season. Grimes is an IFBB Pro bodybuilder that calls the Men’s Open division his home. The 29-year-old had a successful competitive season in 2021 and made his Olympia debut that same year, finishing fifteenth at the show. After a series of strong performances at the 2021 Legion Sports Fest Pro and the 2021 Egypt KO Pro, where he finished second and first respectively. However, consistent performances eluded him in 2022 as he had to make peace with seventh place finishes at the 2022 Arnold Classic and the 2022 Boston Pro.
Although he had earned the direct qualification to compete at the 2022 Mr. Olympia with his 2021 Egypt KO Pro win, Grimes decided to pull out of the show and focus on improving his physique to be able to stand against the most elite crop of the division. He has taken a hiatus from competition since and continues to work hard to take his career to the next level. Recently, Grimes went through a grueling lower body workout under veteran bodybuilder and Milos Sarcev’s guidance at the Torture Gym in Las Vegas, Nevada. The video of this session was posted on Regan Grimes’ personal YouTube channel. So without further delay, let’s take a closer look at the detailed account of this training session.
Regan Grimes goes through a leg workout
The 29-year-old bodybuilder has been working hard to improve his physique after making the difficult decision to sit out the 2022 Mr. Olympia. At the beginning of the video, Grimes stated that he has been making steady progress after incorporating new exercises into his training routine. However, he is not rushing the comeback to the stage. According to him, it will be at least 16 weeks before we can see him compete in a professional bodybuilding show.
“We’re looking at 16 weeks plus! I’ve not given away completely yet what I’m doing but I will say that it is further than sixteen weeks away. So I’m getting excited, super happy with the exercises that I’ve added from taking this long off-season. So yeah, it’s going to be a good year…” Regan Grimes said.
Milos Sarcev explained that the leg training session was Regan Grimes’ first one in the Torture gym in Las Vegas.
“This is the very first workout and you’re gonna have to be true to the name (Torture). I’m gonna torture him and I’m not gonna hurt him. I’m super excited, Sarcev stated.
With that Sarcev instructed Grimes to start the session and guided him all the way through.
Superset – Leg Extensions and Lying Leg Curls
Regan Grimes started the training session with this superset to work the quadriceps and hamstrings. Leg extensions isolate the quads and help warm up the knee joints. Lying leg curls are the most recognized variation of leg curls that work the hamstrings and also warm up the knee joints. However, they put significantly less stress on the knee joints. Grimes performed a few sets of these exercises to warm up the lower body before jumping into heavier compound movements.
Giant Set – Horizontal Leg Press, Linear Hack Squats, Machine Squats, and Leg Extensions
Sarcev next guided Grimes through this superset consisting of quad-focused compound movements. He instructed Grimes to work with extremely slow movements to feel the quads and experience the pain in a positive way. By this time, it was clear why Sarcev said that the workout was going to be ‘true to the name Torture’.
The superset consisted of a horizontal leg press, which is a triple extension compound movement that involves simultaneous Hips, knees, and ankle plantar flexion. It works all the muscles in the lower body without putting a lot of stress on the lower back. The remaining two compound movements in this superset, the machine squats and linear hack squats also have similar benefits and work the lower body muscles from different angles and positions. Leg extensions, the final exercise in the giant set, helps put more emphasis on the quadriceps.
Regan Grimes pushed through all these exercises under Sarcev’s watchful eye and moved on to the next set of exercises.
Giant Set – Hack Squats, Leg Press and Partial Machine Squats
Grimes performed this superset consisting of three different compound movements and went back to doing some quad work.
Superset – Leg Extensions, Linear Hack Squats
Milos Sarcev next instructed Regan Grimes to do these exercises to work the lower body further. However, instead of Performing regular reps, he guided the Canadian bodybuilder to do these exercises with extremely slow motion. He also ensured that Grimes held the position at the top of the rep to keep the muscles under tension for longer duration.
Giant Set – Machine Romanian Deadlift, Lying Leg Curls and Horizontal Machine Squats
This hamstring-focused giant set served as the final set of exercises in Regan Grimes’ leg workout. He first started with the machine Romanian deadlifts. This variation of deadlifts works the entire posterior chain of muscles. Also, it is one of the most potent movements for hamstrings activation. Grimes next performed the lying leg curls to add more stimulus to the hamstrings and performed horizontal leg press next. After doing all the sets within this superset in rapid succession, Regan Grimes called it a day.
Overall, the workout included:
- Superset – Leg Extensions and Lying Leg Curls
- Giant Set – Horizontal Leg Press, Linear Hack Squats, Machine Squats, and Leg Extensions
- Giant Set – Hack Squats, Leg Press and Partial Machine Squats
- Superset – Leg Extensions, Linear Hack Squats
- Giant Set – Machine Romanian Deadlift, Lying Leg Curls and Horizontal Leg Press
Regan Grimes made the difficult decision to let go of an opportunity to compete at the 2022 Olympia. It shows that he is aware of the improvements he has to make. The realist attitude has helped him make gains during this self-imposed layoff. It is certain that when he decides to come back, it will only bring good results.
You can watch the full workout video here, courtesy of Regan Grimes’s personal YouTube channel:
Published: 25 March, 2023 | 8:58 AM EDT
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