Jay Cutler had the attention of bodybuilding enthusiasts when he won his first Mr. Olympia title, beating reigning champion Ronnie Coleman. Since then, his physique has taken center stage, with a focus on his large chest and signature quads. Recently, he revealed his go-to routine to build a ‘Sandow-winning’ chest that got him four Mr. Olympia titles.
Cutler believes in volume training, with a fixed range of reps for each set. Even now, at 50, he trains and shares workout advice on social media, swearing by a rep range of 7-12. He has a routine of five exercises for his chest, including warm-up and final sets.
His first workout was two warm-ups and three working sets of incline hammer presses. Cutler would gradually “pyramid” the weights up with each set before moving on to the next exercise, the flat dumbbell press.
“I always used the biggest dumbbells in the gym, usually going at least 150 lbs, doing 12 reps pretty easily.”
His third exercise was flat dumbbell flys, which involved slightly less weight than the dumbbell presses but worked the middle part of the chest. Cutler picked 80-100 lbs dumbbells and would perform 12 reps of the exercise.
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The next exercise was cable crossovers. Here, the bodybuilding icon had perfected a personal technique where he would use a high pulley, draw the arms outwards, and squeeze the chest instead of bringing the hands down. This exercise worked the desired body parts with complete efficiency.
He wrapped up his routine with dumbbell pullovers. It is one of his popular workout essentials that leaves him with a good pump. Cutler had devised a gripping method that helped him pull heavy weights efficiently.
“I’m holding the dumbbell with a diamond grip, which I have the post of the dumbbell in between my hands, and I’m stretching the chest. I’m getting that blood flow in there.”
Jay Cutler recently tried his hands at his favorite exercise
Owing to his susceptibility to injuries and extreme workouts, Cutler had forbidden himself from some hardcore exercises that could cause trouble. This included one of his favorite activities – deadlifting. In an Instagram post, he joked about his restriction while he posted a picture corresponding to the situation.
The picture featured the icon standing, gripping onto a bar with heavy weights attached on either side. The caption under the post sarcastically quoted,
“I’m never dead lifting again”
After his bicep tear during his prime that hindered his performance, the former Mr. Olympia has been extremely cautious about lifting weights. Yet, at 50, he has set goals for aspiring bodybuilders to remain fit even after retirement.
