With the Las Vegas Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium playing host to WrestleMania 41, one of the grapple game’s biggest stars visited the team’s training facility ahead of bell time, where he earned an honorary Raider’s jersey and demonstrated why he is still the measuring stick as far as performance is concerned in WWE.
While Roman Reign’s may have been on the losing end of an emotional triple threat match at WrestleMania 41 last weekend against CM Punk and Seth Rollins, there’s no doubt that when it comes to putting in the work outside of the ring, the “Tribal Chief” is still unmatched. As one of the global wrestling promotions biggest stars, Reign’s finds himself split between matches and a burgeoning career on the big screen, but he never skips a gym session.
“It’s funny because a lot of people call me a part-timer,” said the man who became one of the longest reigning wrestling champions of all-time in a recent IG video. “A lot of people got a lot of things to say about my schedule. I’m no part-timer. I’m a full-time cash cow. Every second that I’m breathing, I’m working. That’s how this whole thing works. Proof of concept.”
To further demonstrate his proof of concept, Reigns visited the Las Vegas Raiders’ Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center in Henderson, Nevada, where he was seen getting his sweat on and was awarded with an honorary jersey for his monumental efforts. “Raider Nation, acknowledge me,” beamed Reigns, as he took his souvenir presented to him by team officials including Las Vegas President Sandra Douglas Morgan.
Roman Reign’s Upper Body Raider Workout
This workout is assembled from various clips on social media, aggregated for your iron pumping pleasure. To complete, perform 2 to 3 sets of each exercise with 10 to 12 Reps and select a weight that brings you towards 80-100% failure with every set. This will put you in the all-important range of hypertrophy.
- Mid Cable Chest Fly
- Lat Pulldown (Swiss Multi-grip Attachment)
- Front Plate Raise
- Dumbbell Row
- Standing Cable Upright Row (Triceps attachment)
- Incline Bench Reverse Dumbbell Flies
- Seated Dumbbell Concentration Curls
- Standing Bicep Cable Curls (Arm Curl attachment)
Roman Reign’s Upper Body Workout Breakdown
There is a reason than many football players go on to become professional wrestlers and that’s because of the power required to move an opponent’s bodyweight under intense conditions. While at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Reigns was a member of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team along with Calvin Johnson. One of his career highlights included earning first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) honors in 2006 after recording 40 tackles, two recovered fumbles and 4.5 sacks. So, “The Tribal Chief” knows a thing or two about upper body strength.
By using both cable movements and free weights, Reign’s raids his upper body with a combination of compound movements, where multiple muscle groups are recruited, along with isolation movements that really tax one focused area. The WWE Superstar builds his chest with exercises such as the cable chest fly and incline bench reverse flies. His back is worked by lat pulldowns but is also used as a base for exercises like the front plate rase and upright rows, so it’s not just his triceps that will feel the burn here.
Reigns’ biceps are blasted by a combination of seated dumbbell concentration curls and standing cable curls to tear down those muscle fibers and stimulate them to build back stronger. It’s the kind of workout that separates the WWE champs from the pro wrestling chumps, but to try this session for yourself, you don’t need to be a WrestleMania main eventer. Simply try to aim for a weight that will push you to failure, and depending on your level of experience, feel free to adjust the number of sets up or down. Then, when you are done, don’t forget to acknowledge your Tribal Chief!