“Sometimes I Like to Change the Routine up Just to Kind of Shock the Body” - Jay Cutler on His Unusual Training Routine
Four-time Mr. Olympia winner Jay Cutler recently shared a workout video, where he worked his shoulders and legs.
Cutler is regarded by many as one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time. He won the Mr. Olympia title in 2006 by ending Ronnie Coleman's eight-year reign and was a dominant force in the Open Pro division.
Jay Cutler is also one of the very few bodybuilders who were able to end their career without any major injury or health issues.
He recently shared a shoulder and leg workout on his YouTube channel, unveiling his new Tesla Plaid X electric car.
The 48-year-old explained the logic behind clubbing the two body parts for a training session. Cutler said that he has been focusing on specific body parts recently, elaborating:
"Sometimes I like to change (the routine) up just to kind of shock the body a little bit.”
Jay Cutler's Shoulder Workout Routine
Here is Jay Cutler's shoulder workout routine:
1) Standing Machine Lateral
Cutler starts his workout with a standing machine lateral raise. It's a compound movement that works most muscles in the shoulder region, helping prevent injury and enhancing the ability to perform various everyday activities.
The lateral raise is an effective warm-up exercise for the intense workout that follows next.
2) Plate Loaded Hammer Strength Shoulder Press
Jay Cutler then moves on to doing shoulder presses on the hammer strength machine.
He works with moderate weight, targeting the front and side delts. In addition to that, his back is supported by pads to reduce unnecessary stress.
3) Dumbbell Side Lateral Raise
After the second pair of compound movements, Cutler performs a shoulder-region isolation exercise that works all the muscles in the shoulder region.
Side lateral raises can be performed with relatively lighter dumbbells, making them a good exercise for both beginners and advanced lifters.
4) Barbell Front Shoulder Raise
If you want to build anterior deltoids in your shoulders, try front raises. To perform this exercise, you will need a dumbbell or a barbell.
If you use a barbell, and jump from one weight stack machine to another, you will hit your anterior delts as hard as possible. Olympic gold medalist Jay Cutler does that every day.
5) Reverse Pec Deck Fly
The four-time Olympia winner has chosen to target his rear delts in recent workouts.
He explains that his old heavy rows led to a loss of muscle mass in the region, so he decided to add at least two exercises for the rear delts into his shoulder routine.
To strengthen his rear delts, Cutler performs reverse pec deck flyes.
6) Cable Face Pull with Rope Attachment
Cable rope face pulls work the rear delts, rhomboids and trapezius muscles in the upper back.
As a result, this isolation movement is beneficial for improving posture. It's also used to finish off a shoulder workout — like Jay Cutler does at the end of his own.
Jay Cutler's Lower Body Workout
Here's a look at his lower body workout:
1) Seated and Standing Calf Raise
Jay Cutler performs seated calf raises to warm up his lower body and pre-exhaust his muscles. He then does three sets of standing calf raises on the machine, followed by three sets of hamstring curls.
2) Single Leg Hamstring Curl and Lying Leg Curl with a Plate
Cutler's leg programme starts with leg curls on the hamstring machine. He then does single leg hamstring curls so that he can focus on each leg independently, doing three sets of these movements.
3) Plate Loaded Leg Extension
Jay Cutler performed leg extensions on a plate-loaded machine to train his quads. Leg extensions are not an effective overall leg exercise, and they can be harmful to the knees if you don't use them correctly.
Takeaway
Cutler has developed his own training routine that's effective and usually does not require him to go to the gym for many hours.
He also has time in his hands for other things. Cutler also maintains a balanced diet and a perfect combination of protein, carbs, and fats every day.
To surmise, Cutler’s shoulder and leg workouts are a great option for bodybuilders struggling to work through excruciating injuries. His routine allows you to save your shoulders from heavy pressing and also gives you a great workout for the quads.