Jay Cutler’s 2024 Off-Season Arm Workout

January 8, 2024

Jay Cutler rope cable extensions during arm workout

Jay Cutler looks to maintain muscle growth in his arms now that he’s in his 50s.

Besides being a four-time Mr. Olympia champion, Jay Cutler also holds the most runner-up titles, coming in second six times. Notably, he stands alone as the sole Mr. Olympia to reclaim his title after relinquishing it. At over 50, Cutler continues to train rigorously and maintain his physical fitness through challenges like the renowned “Fit for 50.” Jay Cutler frequently shares his training routines, and during this off-season, we were fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of his arm workout, including rope cable extensions.

Full Name: Jason Isaac Cutler (Jay Cutler)
Weight	Height	Date of Birth
265 – 275 lbs	5’9”	08/03/1973
Division	Era	Nationality
Men’s Open	1990s-20120s	American

Cutler’s video on his YouTube channel also revealed his pre-training breakfast, including eggs, Ezekiel bread, cottage cheese, and a refreshing cup of coffee. Let’s dive into the remarkable arm workout routines and invaluable tips he shared without further ado.

Jay Cutler Off-Season Arm Workout

Below is the arm workout video Jay Cutler uploaded to his YouTube channel:

Cutler takes a pre-workout to get started and shares that he aims to train with a little lower volume than usual to avoid overtraining, as he doesn’t take off days during the week. Jay Cutler also says that he doesn’t train to failure for the same reasons and that training for him at this point is mostly about maintaining muscle.

Cutler says he gets the most growth out of his arms when he trains triceps and biceps on the same day. On a typical arm day, he starts with the triceps and then does the biceps, aiming to hit nine sets per body part by doing three movements for the tris and three for the bis. However, Cutler adds one extra exercise for each part during the training. Here are the exercises he does.

Exercises	Sets	Reps
Rope Cable Extensions	3	12-15
Machine Triceps Dips	3	12-15
Incline Bench Overhead Triceps Extensions	3	12-15
Cable Pushdowns	2	12-15
Machine Biceps Curls	3	12-15
Alternating J Bell Curls	3	8-12
Machine Preacher Curls	4	12-15
Barbell Curls	1	12

Rope Cable Extensions

Jay Cutler started his arm day workout with cable rope extensions on the cable machine. He first did a warmup set and then hit three working sets. While doing this, Cutler also talked about taking 45-60 seconds of rest between sets. This falls well within the range research shows is beneficial for muscle hypertrophy (1). Cable rope extensions isolate and focus on your triceps while recruiting stabilizing muscles like the lats, abs, glutes, pecs, and traps.

Machine Triceps Dips

Next, Jay Cutler moved to the next triceps exercise, machine triceps dips. He did one warmup set and then increased the weight a bit before hitting three sets of 12-15 reps. Cutler grips the handle in the middle and shares that he does this routine facing away from the machine to focus on the contractions. Triceps dips primarily work your triceps while building your shoulders and chest muscles (2).

Incline Bench Overhead Triceps Extensions

Next, Jay Cutler did an overhead triceps extension with a dumbbell on an incline bench. He started this routine with a 70-pound dumbbell and then used 80-pound dumbbells. Cutler increased the bench incline’s angle after the first set. Overhead triceps extensions target all three heads of the triceps (3).

Cable Pushdowns

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After the third exercise for his triceps, Jay Cutler decided to throw in one last triceps movement by doing the cable pushdown. This time, he used the lat pulldown attachment rather than a rope. Cutler did two sets of this exercise before moving to the first biceps training for this video. The cable pushdown is an isolation exercise that targets your triceps and forearm flexors.

Machine Bicep Curls

For his first biceps exercise, Jay Cutler did machine bicep curls. He started with a warmup set of 20 reps before doing three working sets of 12-15 reps. Machine biceps curls work on your biceps, brachialis, and brachioradialis extensors while recruiting your delts to stabilize the exercise.

Alternating J Bell Curls

Jay Cutler did alternating curls with J bells as his second biceps routine. Using J bells for this exercise helps to give maximum stability and control due to the design. Cutler did three sets of 8-12 reps before moving to the next exercise. Alternating J bell curls work on your biceps, triceps, and shoulders. They also help to improve your grip strength.

Machine Preacher Curls

Jay Cutler jumped on another machine to train his biceps; this time, he did machine preacher curls. This exercise is effective because of the way that the preacher bench isolates and builds your biceps. Due to the machine, Jay Cutler applied a narrow grip, which hits your muscles differently. After doing his initial three sets, Jay Cutler added an extra set because the exercise felt good to him.

Barbell Curls

Finally, Jay Cutler did barbell curls to round up his biceps routine and arm training for the video. He hit a single set of 12 reps before calling it a day and heading out. The barbell curl is an isolation exercise that builds your biceps, brachialis, and brachioradialis.

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References

de Salles, B. F., Simão, R., Miranda, F., Novaes, J.daS., Lemos, A., & Willardson, J. M. (2009). Rest interval between sets in strength training. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 39(9), 765–777. https://doi.org/10.2165/11315230-000000000-00000
McKenzie, A., Crowley-McHattan, Z., Meir, R., Whitting, J., & Volschenk, W. (2022). Bench, Bar, and Ring Dips: Do Kinematics and Muscle Activity Differ?. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(20), 13211. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013211
Alves, D., Matta, T., & Oliveira, L. (2018). Effect of shoulder position on triceps brachii heads activity in dumbbell elbow extension exercises. The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness, 58(9), 1247–1252. https://doi.org/10.23736/S0022-4707.17.06849-9