Legendary bodybuilder Jay Cutler continues to train hard and get better with each passing day. Bodybuilding was not merely a profession for the 49-year-old but a passion as he maintains excellent shape at nearly 50 years of age. Cutler is a retired American professional bodybuilder that is best known for winning the prestigious Mr. Olympia title a whopping four times in his career. A distinguished figure from the 2000s era of bodybuilding, the Massachusetts native dominated the professional bodybuilding scene for the majority of the decade.
His rivalry with 8-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman is regarded as one of the greatest in the history of the sport. After trying for nearly half a decade, Cutler managed to dethrone Coleman and end his eight-year unbeaten run at the 2006 Mr. Olympia. He then went on to secure the title three more times in 2007, 2009, and 2010. To this day, Cutler remains a rarest of a rare example of a champion that reclaimed the title after losing it in 2008 to Dexter Jackson.
After retiring from the sport in 2013, Jay Cutler has remained an integral part of the bodybuilding industry. He is one of the most prominent voices of the sport. He routinely discusses the current affairs in the bodybuilding industry on his podcast as well as on other public platforms. Recently, Jay Cutler went through a chest workout and posted its video on his personal YouTube channel. So without further delay, let’s take a closer look at the detailed account of this training session.
Jay Cutler goes through a chest workout
Jay Cutler prefers to club calf exercises with other muscle groups once every five to seven days. He started the chest training session by doing some calf work first.
Calves
Standing Calf Raises
One of the most effective exercises for calf development is the standing calf raise. It works the gastrocnemius muscles in the calf region. However, the gym did not have the necessary piece of equipment. Jay Cutler used weight plates on the ground to elevate his feet and performed standing calf raises on the Smith Machine.
Seated Calf Raises
Cutler then proceeded to perform seated calf raises on the machine and performed a few solid sets there. This variation of calf raises activates the soleus muscle that lies underneath the gastrocnemius and often gets ignored. The 49-year-old bodybuilder explained that initially it was not fun to do this exercise but once he figured out the right seating position for the seated calf raises, he started enjoying the exercise a lot more.
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“This was one of the exercises where I just didn’t feel it a lot. I had to figure out the right positioning to get under it,” Cutler said.
Chest
Machine Chest Press
Cutler started the chest workout with a machine chest press and performed a couple of warm-up sets.
“Always my go-to warm-up. We’re at elevation here in Las Vegas…” Cutler stated.
He followed the warm-up with a few working sets and kept the rest periods between the sets at about 45 to 60 seconds.
Incline Chest Flyes Machine
While pressing movements improve the pushing strength of the upper body, flyes help with improving the adduction ability of the arms and pectoral muscles. For complete development of the chest, it is essential to incorporate both types of movements in the chest / push day workout.
Cutler took to the incline chest flyes next and performed the exercise on a plate-loaded machine.
Flat Dumbbell Press
The 49-year-old bodybuilder hails this as his favorite chest exercise. Although it is generally believed that the incline pressing movement works the upper chest, flat presses work the middle part of the chest and the decline presses work the lower pecs. However, the 4-time Mr. Olympia does not believe in it and feels that every variation of chest press works the entire chest with a slight differences in emphasis on one or the other part of the muscle.
He highlighted the common error people make in flat dumbbell press and then explained the correct technique to do it:
“So one thing about dumbbell presses and you’ll notice it in all my videos… So the wrong way to do it is to come up and press those dumbbells together. Why? Because when you’re doing that movement and you’re coming up (and pressing the dumbbells together), you’re bringing your triceps in… So when everyone goes and hits the dumbbells together, ideally you want to treat it like a straight up and down movement.”
As I’m doing that, I’m squeezing the chest right? So the point is to keep the shoulders back and the chest out. A lot of people aren’t feeling this movement because they can’t keep their shoulders back!”
Jay Cutler pushed through some solid sets of flat dumbbell press and took to the final exercise of the day.
Power Press
The 49-year-old bodybuilder wrapped up the training session with a power press – a standing / leaning variation of chest press – on the DynaBody power press machine.
Overall, the workout included:
Calves
Chest
- Machine Chest Press
- Incline Chest Flyes Machine
- Flat Dumbbell Press
- Power Press
Although he is approaching his 50s, Jay Cutler trains seven days a week without fail. Maintenance is the primary goal of his training at this stage. However, he continues to inspire millions of people around the world to take up a healthy lifestyle and training routine.
You can watch the full workout video here, courtesy of JayCutlerTV YouTube channel:
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