Bodybuilding legend Jay Cutler still trains legs with a chip on his shoulder. In a YouTube video released on July 28, 2025, Cutler implemented a pyramid-style training approach to accelerate his leg gains inside the gym.
At the height of his career, Jay Cutler commanded the stage with sheer mass and granite conditioning. Qualities like these set the stage for Cutler to overthrow eight-time champion Ronnie Coleman. Though Cutler lost the Sandow in 2008 to Dexter Jackson, he solidified himself as an all-time great a year later.
He won back the honor and showcased his next-level lower body through his signature quad stomp pose. At 51, Cutler hasn’t forgotten how he built such a formidable set of legs and showed his fans the process behind the results.
Jay Cutler Smashes Brutal Leg Workout Using Pyramid Sets
Find his exercise selections from the YouTube video below:
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- Standing leg curl
- Stiff leg deadlift
- Seated machine hamstring curl
- Walking lunges w/barbell
- Leg extension machine
- Leg press machine
- Machine belt squat
- Pendulum squat
- Hip abduction machine
Standing leg curl
While initially skeptical of the movement, Cutler now appreciates the standing leg curl machine, but admits there’s a learning curve to it.
“The more I have done them over the years and got the technique down, they’re tremendous. It’s almost like a bicep curl,” he shared. “The platform you can adjust up and down.”
Stiff leg deadlift
Cutler proceeds with stiff-legged deadlifts but likes to keep a slight bend in the knee throughout repetitions. His goal is to keep the back out of the movement, harnessing power from his posterior chain.
“We’re getting a good stretch on these. We call these a stiff leg deadlift but it’s not really stiff leg because I bend my knees. I’m getting that stretch all the way to the glutes, hamstrings, calves, but trying to keep the back out of it. Ideally, it’s all in the glutes and hamstrings.”
Seated machine hamstring curl
The lying hamstring curl machine was out of commission, so Cutler improvised with the seated hamstring curl machine for three sets.
Walking lunges w/barbell
He took a short resting period and moved into walking barbell lunges for slow and steady repetitions.
Leg extension machine
Cutler likes hitting the leg extension before heavier compound movements because it warms up his knees and tendons.
“What I love about leg extensions, it’s a pre-exhaust movement before you go into the heavy stuff. You never want to go dive right into the heavy stuff if your joints aren’t warm, get the muscles pliable, get the blood in there, something that’s not so compound to start the movement. Isolation, keep the blood flow, keep the knees warm, get those tendons in position.”
Leg press machine
After getting blood into the legs, he pushed reps out on the leg press machine, pyramiding the weight up.
“I’m going to pyramid the weight up. Do a couple feel sets, get the blood in there. I’m going to go up a little bit and then I’ll do like three working sets.”
Machine belt squat
He admits he’ll be sore after this workout because his body isn’t accustomed to pushing through belt squats.
“I feel this in my teardrops. I feel it in my glutes. Some of these guys do a crazy amount of weight on this. I’ll definitely be sore from this tomorrow just because it’s something I don’t do as much.”
Pendulum squat
Even though he doesn’t need bigger legs, Cutler wants to maintain a certain level of size, especially since he was renowned for his lower body definition.
“I don’t go too heavy on this. Just enough to squeeze. The cool thing is, I don’t feel I need to get my legs bigger. I still kept a lot of that size that I don’t necessarily enjoy trying to fit into jeans and other things, but I guess when you’re known for your legs, you got to keep something.”
Hip abduction machine
As a finisher, the four-time Mr. Olympia focused on glute development with hip abductions.
“This is abductors. For you guys that are trying to build and females trying to build, I think this is the best exercise for that upper portion. I know a lot of you guys get in the machine and pivot yourself in there different, but I tend to finish with these, strengthen the glutes a little bit. It gets a little tightness in there,” he said.
Cutler has made health and longevity primary concerns in retirement. His rival and friend, Coleman, recently underwent emergency surgery following a health scare with sepsis that almost cost him his life. Moments like these have only motivated Cutler to continue pushing the pace inside the gym.
Having built one of the most impressive lower bodies the sport has seen, Cutler never underestimated his effort or exercise selections. He believes movements like these, when combined with pyramid sets, can help anyone achieve a bigger, stronger lower body.
RELATED: Jay Cutler Reveals How He Built 20-Inch Calves in His Prime
Watch the full video from the JayCutlerTV YouTube channel below:
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