Bodybuilding legend Jay Cutler still represents the sport to the best of his ability in retirement. In a recent YouTube video, Cutler walked fans through a demanding back workout, offering insights into training and his career.
To make it to the Mr. Olympia you need a great back, but to secure four Mr. Olympia victories and dethrone Ronnie Coleman, you need a dominant back, and that’s something Jay Cutler has experience in crafting.
Given the technique, mind-muscle connection, and exercises required to build a massive back, sometimes the formula can get tricky. With a timeless physique, Jay Cutler walks fans through how he builds his back at 50 years old.
Jay Cutler Shares Intense Back Workout
In addition to his Olympia accolades, Cutler secured three Arnold Classic trophies. He solidified his standing as one of the best bodybuilders of all time but still makes time for training and especially helping others sculpt next-level bodies.
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Find the exercise list below:
- Lat Pulldown Machine
- Chest-Supported Row Machine
- Pullover Machine
- Bent-over Dumbbell Row
- Seated Cable Row
- Deadlift
- Ab Crunch on Bench
- Kneeling Cable Crunch
- Dip Bar Leg Raise
Lat Pulldown Machine
Cutler began his back workout on the lat pulldown machine.
“The weights feel a little heavy today. I didn’t train in two days.”
Chest-Supported Row Machine
While Cutler appreciates the unilateral option for this exercise, he always executes the reps with two arms focusing on a stretch and squeeze.
“What I like to do with these, a lot of people like one arm at a time, I still like to do two arms for some reason. I’m not going to go crazy heavy but I’m going to get that stretch and get that squeeze,” said Cutler.
Pullover Machine
In between pullover machine reps, Cutler took a moment to reflect on his recent 2024 Arnold Classic Lifetime Achievement Award.
“I know a lot of people that have followed me for a long time… I can tell you that man… you don’t know what that means. I never thought I’d get a Lifetime Achievement Award from Arnold and voted for by all the people, right?”
Bent-over Dumbbell Row
For bent-over dumbbell rows, Cutler performed sets of 10 instead of his popular selection of 12.
“Ten reps, not 12! Not 12,” said Cutler.
Seated Cable Row
When following through with seated cable rows, Cutler likes to switch out different handles and utilize varying grips to target different parts of the back.
“Easiest exercise on back day,” said Cutler. “Now, I’ve done a million different handles with this. Like, look at all these. Like, you do like this, like handles like this, you know like this, reverse grips, I use to do ropes. Lately, just focused on the closed one just because if I thought I was training for a contest and I was trying to target certain. You see a lot of guys now pulling up here, I always believed in the belly button area.”
Deadlift
Even though his doctor doesn’t advise them, it wouldn’t be a back day for Cutler without deadlifts.
“I’m always going to do a warm-up at least. I’m using wrist straps like I need wrist straps.”
“When the doctor told me no deadlifts today, it just shows the bodybuilder mentality right? I thought I was even pretty smart,” said Cutler. “They wind the shit out of me so I know it’s working my core. Since I don’t go extremely heavy, these hard exercises are going to stimulate a little deeper than some of the other stuff.”
Ab Crunch on Bench
Moving onto abs, Cutler achieves a burn with ab crunches on the bench for three sets.
“You gotta work that core. We’re going to even it off. The back is going to pull. We’re going to work on the abdominals. We’re going to do some crunches, some ropes, and we are going to do hanging leg raises and that’s going to help us get that whole ab wall. Three sets, three sets, three sets, nine total sets.”
Kneeling Cable Crunch
During kneeling cable crunches, Cutler reviewed the workout.
“We did pulldowns, we did rows, we did pullover machine, we did seated cable rows, we did deadlifts, and we did one-arm dumbbell rows right? And abs. Pretty solid.”
Dip Bar Leg Raise
Lastly, Cutler discussed why consistency is vital to fitness and executed reps of dip bar leg raises.
“I think it was pretty self-explanatory because I did explain a little. I’m going to do a little cardio work now on the bike. Once I take a little fuel here. But more importantly, consistency okay. I talk about consistency all the time and I just said I did not train for two days when I was California and admittedly, I did not train when I was in Arnold Classic week a week ago.”
Aside from his latest back pump, Cutler has kept busy with a range of other intense workouts. Of late, the bodybuilding icon shared his ultimate guide to building massive legs outlining why certain exercises are best for lower body development.
With flaring lats and a huge back at 50, Cutler’s longevity and ability to escape bodybuilding without injury is a story not told enough. Best of all, he continues to give back to the sport with useful workouts and technique breakdowns.
Watch the full video from the JayCutlerTV YouTube channel below:
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