Jay Cutler Says He Feels Better at 52 Than He Did at 22
Four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler believes getting older doesn’t have to mean slowing down. While discussing longevity, training, and life after competitive bodybuilding, Cutler revealed that he actually feels better in his early 50s than he did as a young athlete in his 20s.
The bodybuilding icon has remained one of the sport’s most recognizable ambassadors since retiring from competition. Now at 52, Cutler says the fears many people have about aging simply haven’t matched his own experience.
Jay Cutler Says Every Milestone Age Has Been Better Than Expected
During a recent appearance on the Cutler Cast alongside Flex Wheeler and Stan Efferding, Cutler reflected on how people constantly warned him that each new decade would bring dramatic physical decline.
Instead, he says the opposite has happened.
“You know what scares me the most? I’ve had these conversations since I turned 40. They said, ‘Wake up at 40, it’s going to be different.’ I’m like, ‘I feel great at 40.’ Then they said the same at 50 and I woke up and I’m like, ‘What do you mean?’ I’m not slowing down one bit… I think I feel better at 52 than I felt at 22.”
While Cutler admitted he still hears new warnings every birthday, he says he’s learned not to put much stock into them.
“Every year it’s like, ‘Wait until 55.’ Someone just told me that the other day. I’m 53 this year, so it’s like, am I going to be that guy?”
Staying Active Has Become the Priority
Although Cutler no longer trains with the sole goal of winning Mr. Olympia titles, fitness remains a central part of his daily routine.
Throughout the conversation, he emphasized that he still enjoys being in the gym and believes maintaining consistency has helped him avoid many of the issues people associate with aging.
At the same time, Cutler admitted that watching younger lifters chase massive weights now makes him think differently than it did during his competitive career.
“I watch these guys on the hack squat with eight plates a side now and I’m thinking, ‘Please don’t tear your knees.’”
He laughed that he was once that same athlete loading the machine with enormous weight, but today longevity has become a bigger priority than proving how much he can lift.
A Different Mindset After Bodybuilding
Cutler also spoke about how becoming a father changed his priorities after spending decades focused entirely on bodybuilding.
He explained that during his Olympia years he lived inside what he described as a “box,” where every decision revolved around training, eating, sleeping, and recovery. Today, he places greater value on time with family while still making fitness a lifelong habit.
That shift in perspective has helped him maintain a positive outlook as he gets older instead of fearing it.
Even after retiring from professional competition, Cutler continues to train consistently, travel, create content, and motivate gym-goers around the world, proving that life after bodybuilding can still revolve around health and performance.
Jay Cutler Continues to Redefine Longevity
Many retired bodybuilders dramatically reduce their training after stepping away from the stage, but Cutler has taken a different path. His recent Fit-for-50 transformation demonstrated that he can still achieve an elite physique while focusing more on overall health than competitive bodybuilding.
His latest comments reinforce that philosophy. Rather than viewing his 50s as the beginning of decline, Cutler believes staying active, training consistently, and maintaining healthy habits have allowed him to enjoy this stage of life more than many expected.
For one of bodybuilding’s biggest legends, age has become less about limitations and more about continuing to evolve.
Image embed via Instagram @jaycutler
