Bodybuilding legend Jay Cutler carved out a successful career thanks to balanced chest development. In a recent YouTube video shared on June 25, 2025, he broke down his top three chest movements for building big and full pecs.
Jay Cutler is one of the most recognizable faces in bodybuilding today. He won four Mr. Olympia titles in his prime and remains the only Men’s Open competitor in history to win back the prestigious title after losing it. While he no longer competes actively, Cutler’s dedication to training is still as strong as ever.
When he’s not sharing insights into today’s Open class, he’s offering workout advice to his massive fan base. Growing the chest can be a challenging task, and to get the job done, Cutler incorporates pyramid sets alongside these three key exercises.
Jay Cutler’s Top 3 Movements for Growing a Massive Chest
Find his selections below from his recent YouTube video:
- Incline Dumbbell/Incline Machine/Incline Barbell Press
- Flat Dumbbell Press
- Fly
An incline chest-focused exercise was first on his list, whether it’s an incline dumbbell, machine, or barbell. He shares that these will focus on the entire chest and also work the front delts and upper pecs.
“My top three chest movements, incline dumbbell, incline machine, and incline barbell. That is going to focus on the full chest, work a little bit more of the front delts and the upper pecs.”
Dumbbell presses on a flat bench were his next selection, which he described as the ‘meat and potatoes’ of any chest routine.
“Flat dumbbell press, that exercise is going to be the meat and potatoes necessary movement in anyone’s routine. If I was to do a chest workout every single week, I’m always doing dumbbell presses,” Cutler shared.
Lastly, Cutler always utilizes a fly movement on chest day. This could be a cable fly, pec deck, or dumbbell fly, just as long as the lifter focuses on stretching the pec fibers out.
“Fly movements, whether it’s a cable fly, a pec deck, a dumbbell fly, whatever it may be, really stretch those fibers out.”
Cutler isn’t the only expert in the field imparting chest workout advice, as Dr. Mike Israetel has also tackled the matter. He advocated for fly movements during warm-ups, along with lengthened partials and slower eccentrics to drive growth.
Jay Cutler built an all-time best chest during his time on top of the sport. He believes these three exercises performed consistently set the stage for more size and fuller pecs.
You can watch the full video from the JayCutlerTV YouTube channel below:
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