Jay Cutler shows no signs of slowing down in his 50s.
Last year, the legendary bodybuilder Jay Cutler embarked on his remarkable “Fit for 50” challenge, taking us along for the ride. Throughout this journey, we witnessed an array of diets, workout routines, and his unwavering dedication to fitness. Even after retirement, he continues prioritizing his health and maintaining peak physical condition.
Cutler didn’t stop training after completing the challenge; he remains committed to his workouts and showcases phenomenal fitness. His consistent training demonstrates that at the age of 50, it’s still possible to achieve excellent shape and sustain workout intensity.
| Full Name: Jay Cutler | ||
| Weight | Height | Date of Birth |
| 265 – 275 lbs | 5’9” | 08/03/1973 |
| Division | Era | Nationality |
| Men’s Open | 1990s- 2010s | American |
After achieving remarkable success in the Men’s Open division, Jay Cutler retired with an impressive record of three Arnold Classic titles and four Mr. Olympia championships. During his “Fit for 50” challenge, he revealed that training his shoulders posed the greatest difficulty, yet he remained committed to improving them. Recently, he shared a comprehensive shoulder workout routine, demonstrating the dedication and effort he continues to invest in his training.
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“Training is going extremely well. I feel good. It doesn’t seem any harder. Everyone always told me after 40, it was harder. Everyone said after 50, it was harder. It doesn’t seem like to be slowing down for me. I feel great. The joints feel great.”
Jay Cutler credits much of his healthy physique and training success to the therapy he underwent years ago. He began his journey into bodybuilding at 18, driven by his passion for training. Little did he know that this path would lead him to the grandest stages and earn him world titles.
Jay Cutler’s “Fit for 50” Shoulder Workout
Jay Cutler believes that high-volume training is excellent for growing your muscles. Cutler also talks about doing 60 minutes of cardio daily to keep in shape. While training shoulders for this challenge, he did a mix of machine and free-weight exercises. Cutler also revealed that he does about 20 sets of six exercises for each muscle group at the very least. This recent study states that if you want to bulk up muscle, you should incorporate more reps (1).
Below are the exercises and instructions on using them to build your shoulder muscles.
| Exercises | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Machine Lateral Raise | 3 | 10-15 |
| Dumbbell Shoulder Press | 3 | 10-15 |
| Barbell Front Raise | 3 | 10-15 |
| Cable Rear Delt Fly | 3 | 10-12 |
| Reverse Pec Deck Fly | 3 | 10-15 |
| Single-Arm Lateral Raise | 3 | 10-12 |
Machine Lateral Raise
Machine lateral raises are excellent for building 3D shoulders. This version is a machine variation of the dumbbell lateral raise, which isolates the delts better. With the machine, you can eliminate cheating by using your momentum with dumbbells.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
The dumbbell shoulder press is another exercise primarily focusing on the lateral and anterior delts. However, it works on all three deltoid heads and recruits the chest muscles, triceps, traps, and abs (2). This simple exercise is great for lifters of all fitness levels and improves shoulder stability.
Barbell Front Raise
The barbell front raise is an isolation exercise that focuses mainly on the anterior delts. It also targets the abs, triceps, and pecs to some extent.
Cable Rear Delt Fly
As the name says, the rear delt cable fly builds your posterior delts. This exercise also engages the traps and rhomboid. Using a cable machine reduces the stress on your lower back, making this posterior delt exercise great for those with lower back pain.
Reverse Pec Deck Fly
Jay Cutler targeted his posterior delts again with the reverse pec deck fly exercise. This exercise builds your teres major, rhomboids, middle traps, and infraspinatus.
Single-Arm Lateral Raise
Jay Cutler did single-arm lateral raises to round off this routine, which targets your medial delts. Single-arm lateral raises also engage your traps, posterior delts, anterior delts, rotator cuff, and obliques. Jay Cutler did three single-arm lateral raises to finish this shoulder routine.
Jay Cutler’s After 50 Shoulder Workout
In this recent training after 50, Cutler also used machine and free-weight exercises in his routines, which are very effective for building well-rounded shoulders.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Side Lateral Machine (Face Out) | 5 | 10-12 (pyramid training) |
| Reverse Seated Shoulder Press | 3 | 10-12 |
| Low Pulley Cable Side Lateral (Behind the Back) | 3 | 10-12 |
| Standing Dumbbell Side Lateral Raise | 3 | 10-12 |
| Reverse Pec Deck Machine | 3 | 10-12 |
| Seated Bent-Over Rear Lateral Raise | 3 | 10-12 |
Side Lateral Machine (Face Out)
Jay Cutler performs this exercise facing out of the machine. He locks the shoulders in and uses a partial range of motion to keep tension on them, avoiding recruiting the traps.
Reverse Seated Shoulder Press
With this exercise, he recruits more of his core muscles and works his chest and shoulder muscles. Cutler calls it a rare hammer press.
Low Pulley Cable Side Lateral (Behind the Back)
Cutler calls this an old-school exercise and says it is better because he tends to cheat more with anything in the front. Doing this exercise from the back gives him a nice pull to the shoulder. He also does this unilaterally to train each side of his muscle equally.
Standing Dumbbell Lateral Raise
To further work his shoulder muscles, he does dumbbell side raises and adds five-second pauses to stimulate the muscles even more.
“I’m going through these sets engaging the muscle, picturing how it works, picturing how tweaks or what angles I can use to help stimulate any more fibers. You’ve got to try to work as hard as you can to stimulate what you can at my age right?”
Reverse Pec Deck Machine
Jay Cutler says this exercise is probably the easiest to use in the gym. He keeps constant tension on his shoulders during this exercise without recruiting the traps and rhomboids.
Seated Bent-Over Rear Lateral Raise
Cutler goes old school again with this exercise. He says taking the traps and rhomboids out of this is impossible. However, he tweaks his movement to involve more side deltoid muscles and triceps.
Abdominal Exercises
In addition to his full shoulder workouts, Cutler adds some exercises to work his core muscles. These exercises include:
| Exercises | Sets | Reps |
| Sit Ups on Decline Bench | 3 | 15 |
| Leg Raise | 3 | 15 |
| High Pulley Crunches With Rope | 3 | 15 |
Jay Cutler says he had a great shoulder workout session and implores others to try. He trains seven days a week. Cutler also talks about training smarter, especially after 50, and emphasizes the importance of recovery for older athletes.
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References
- Currier, B. S., Mcleod, J. C., Banfield, L., Beyene, J., Welton, N. J., D’Souza, A. C., Keogh, J. A. J., Lin, L., Coletta, G., Yang, A., Colenso-Semple, L., Lau, K. J., Verboom, A., & Phillips, S. M. (2023). Resistance training prescription for muscle strength and hypertrophy in healthy adults: a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis. British journal of sports medicine, 57(18), 1211–1220. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2023-106807
- Błażkiewicz, M., & Hadamus, A. (2022). The Effect of the Weight and Type of Equipment on Shoulder and Back Muscle Activity in Surface Electromyography during the Overhead Press-Preliminary Report. Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), 22(24), 9762. https://doi.org/10.3390/s22249762
