Dr. Mike Israetel recently dove deep into Jay Cutler’s career, as a way to show respect and analyze his training techniques. Cutler has enamored several generations with his physique and strength that he gained from intense training. From winning four Mr. Olympia titles to overthrowing the reigning champion, Ronnie Coleman, bodybuilding enthusiasts have always been grateful for his contributions to the industry. Naturally, many want to know the secret behind Cutler’s success, and it did not take long for Dr. Mike’s insightful video to go viral.
In his recent YouTube video, Dr. Mike went through a bunch of footage of the bodybuilding icon training through his prime. Although Cutler is now 51, not much has changed as far as his routine or physique is concerned. In fact, the doctor even recalled the first time he watched Cutler on stage, unable to process the sheer size and conditioning he brought to the competition.
Right off the bat, the exercise scientist was in awe of the bodybuilding icon’s range of motion and the depths he went to while performing Smith machine squats. Being flexible and having enough mobility while performing various exercises makes a significant difference in the pump one obtains.
This led to another crucial aspect of Cutler’s training sessions – his technique was impeccable. So much so that Dr. Mike associated it with his strong focusing skills that helped him work every muscle that he could visualize in his mind. All it took to train like Cutler was a medium for external focus, like a mirror, and some internal focusing.
“External (focusing) technique is super important for beginners to master, but Jay Cutler is like fifteen light years ahead of beginner. And at this point, it might be super awesome…to focus on the internal feel of the muscles.”
Training with professional bodybuilding as one’s goal can come with several approaches, including an increased volume approach that Cutler had adopted in his prime. However, Dr. Mike felt that this was the part where one could customize and play around with various methods to see what was most suitable. One could either toggle the number of sets, reps, or weights to see what gave a challenge and was not taxing on the muscles.
“Jay Cutler is not most people and he knows his body incredibly well, and super super intuitively.”
Evidently, Dr. Mike was impressed by Cutler’s training methods and his technique during his Mr. Olympia days. However, one couldn’t deny how this was in stark contrast with the way he usually analyzes celebrity fitness videos.
Dr. Mike defends his difference in criticism
Addressing the change in his approach to critically analyzing various workout techniques of public figures, Dr. Mike agreed that he treated Hollywood trainers differently. His justification for that stemmed from the popularity of the actor versus the returns they gave to the common folk. Moreover, a lot of Hollywood fitness content contains misinformation and complicated training approaches that he is against.
The exercise scientist clarified that while professional bodybuilders could also get their techniques wrong, they’d still offer a lot of value in their content. He believed that the takeaways from their routines are comparatively better than the content churned out by Hollywood celebrities. Therefore, he adopted a different approach to analyze these videos.
