IFBB Pro Regan Grimes takes us through a targeted shoulder workout published on his Youtube channel. We see Grimes training at the Lifting Factory gym in Las Vegas in the video below.
This video gives a glimpse into how Grimes is training for the 2022 Olympia later this year. Don’t miss this shoulder workout where Grimes explains some nuances in his training style.
Regan Grimes Shoulder Workout
Regan Grimes is a fan favorite in the bodybuilding world and has grown in popularity over the past few years since his big win at the 2018 New York Pro.
Earlier this year grimes competed at the 2022 Arnold Classic and 2022 Boston Pro but had sub-par performances. We learned that Grimes was battling Covid, which led to his less than stellar performances, so he decided to sit out competitions for the rest of the year and solely focus on the 2022 Olympia.
Let’s get into Grimes’ shoulder workout session as he’s preparing to compete in the biggest bodybuilding stage later this year.
To begin the video, he goes over his pre-workout stack of the supplements provided by his sponsor Yamamoto. This stack includes pre-workout, aminos, and more.
The first thing Regan does when he trains the upper body is to warm up the joints. We see him perform some rotator cuff warm-up exercises with dumbbells.
Rear Delt Cable Crossover
Regan says he likes to start his shoulder days with rear delts and the first exercise he chooses is the rear delt cable crossover. Facing the cable machine, he sets the pulley up at a high point and then reaches across his body to grab both cables.
Keeping a slight bend in his elbows, he keeps them up high to target the rear delts as he pulls on the cables out to the sides. He does a total of four sets, with the first two being warm-up sets. It looks like he’s hitting 10-12 with a few extra partials at the end of the working sets.
Rear Pec Fly
Regan's second exercise is the rear delt fly on a machine. Once again, he says to keep a slight bend at the elbows. He’s doing each rep with purpose here and really focusing on contracting the rear delts, although the traps can get more involved if you want to alter the body positioning slightly. He does sets with a rep range of 10-12 reps.
Dumbbell Lateral Raises
With the third exercise, Grimes gives a shout-out to Mike Van Wyck. He talks about doing a non-traditional lateral raise that combines a lat raise and an upright row.
You can think of this movement in two parts, start moving the weights out and then up with a slight rocking motion. He says with this variation; he can put more stress on his shoulders. We see him do about 3 sets of 12-15 reps of this exercise.
Machine Shoulder Press
Before beginning the fourth exercise, Regan tells us why he starts with the rear delts on shoulder days. He thinks it’s better to target the rear delts when you have more energy at the beginning of a session to help develop the 3D look that rear delts help create.
He uses a reverse grip when doing this shoulder press exercise, and we see him performing sets of 15-20 reps here.
Side Delt Raise On Machine
The fifth exercise Grimes does is going back to hit the side delts. Again, he focuses on really squeezing the muscle at the top with a slow 3-second negative on the way down.
Regan provides another pro-tip to always lead with the elbow and think of your hand as a hook so that all the tension is on the shoulder. With this exercise, he’s doing a few sets of 12-15 reps.
Seated Front Delt Raise
In the sixth exercise, we see Regan in a seated position doing front delt raises. He talks about letting the shoulder muscles stretch on the way down and that you should use a hammer grip and bring the dumbbells up in front of your body as the weights come up.
With this workout, we see how some slight variations of traditional exercises, like this take on the front raise, can really change up the way the muscles are targeted. Grimes is known for his delts, so we know that we can trust his tips and tricks.
Sample Regan Grimes Shoulder Workout
We modeled this workout on the one Regan completes in the video above. With each exercise, you should do one warmup set before 2-3 working sets.
- Rear Delt Cable Crossover: 2 sets x 12-15 reps
- Rear Pec Fly: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Dumbbell Lateral Raises/Upright Row: 3 sets x 12-15 reps (make sure to follow the prompt of combining the upright row with the lat raise)
- Machine Shoulder Press with Reverse Grip: 2 sets x 15-20 reps
- Side Delt Raise On Machine: 2 sets x 12-15 reps
- Seated Front Delt Raise With Hammer Grip: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
Note: Rest 1-2 mins between each set.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
This is a well-rounded shoulder workout that we hope you can try out. Make sure to put into practice some of the technique tips that Regan shared in his video.
For more Regan Grimes' workouts, check out Giant Sets Chest Workout With Grimes.
Kiel DiGiovanni
Author