Dennis James and his regular panelists, Milos Sarcev and Chris Cormier, were joined by Regan Grimes for Episode 234 of The Menace Podcast, and they picked up on an area that Grimes, who is headed to his fifth Mr Olympia contest in 2025, could improve on, in order to win the top prize.
Regan Grimes is having a great year so far. After winning the California Pro and qualifying for his fifth Mr Olympia event, the bodybuilder is now casting an imposing shadow over the competition. But while his physique is certainly on point, the experienced hosts picked up on an important area for Grimes to address if he’s to bring the best version of himself to Las Vegas in October—sleep.
Grimes, 31, told his legendary peers that he’s feeling great as he rides the wave of his current success, but he did let on that his biggest challenge is not about bench presses, but when to go to bed. “Honestly, the hardest part for me is getting good sleep,” shared the big man. “I’m just too happy and excited to live. I hate sleeping,” he continued.
Grimes told Chris Cormier that he tries to get to bed at midnight. “But I would say everything in prep, the hardest thing for me is sleep,” he shared. “That is the number one, like my kryptonite,” he admitted. Grimes further explained to Cormier that if he goes to bed at midnight and wakes up at 4am to use the bathroom, he often struggles to go back to sleep, meaning that he’s only getting around 4 hours total sleep per night.
Grimes mentioned to Sarcev that he uses a sleep apnea machine but can’t seem to sleep for too long. “As soon as I wake up, my mind is so busy,” he explained, noting that he usually wants to jump straight into some cardio instead of sleeping. “And you’re so hungry,” he adds. “If I get four and a half (hours), I’m like a new man,” he told the team.
Why Bodybuilders Need to Prioritize Sleep
When we tear our muscle fibers in the gym and refuel them in the kitchen to come back stronger, the next critical step is to get some shuteye in order for the recovery process to work its magic. That’s when the gains happen. Studies show that just once night of sleep deprivation can decrease muscle synthesis.
Sleep deprivation also promotes a catabolic environment, robbing you of that hard earned muscle. For this reason, bodybuilders should be looking to get 7-8 hours sleep at a minimum, but probably more because they have greater physical recovery requirements than the average member of the population.
“If you can get seven or eight, it would make you even better,” encouraged James. This point was respectfully taken by the Mr Olympia hopeful. “I’m trying to find the formula, to get myself to do that, but I haven’t found it yet,” reflected Grimes. Fortunately, time is still on his side. The average age of Mr Olympia has been getting older, with some analysts pointing to 35 years of age as being the optimum age for success, due to the fact that everything comes together size and prep wise around that time.
If Grimes can tweak his nighttime routine and get more sleep, he could potentially experience additional muscle growth without performing a singe extra rep.
To watch the complete episode, where the guys also discussed Grime’s origins in bodybuilding, where he is competing next, and his chances of one day winning Mr Olympia, see below.