Jay Cutler’s Workout to Sculpt Chest & Calves at 50

Jay Cutler doesn’t struggle with ego-lifting as much now that he’s 50. 

Jay Cutler triumphed in two of the most prestigious bodybuilding contests: The Arnold Classic and Mr. Olympia. In 2006, he ended Ronnie Coleman’s undefeated streak and secured the Mr. Olympia title thrice. Notably, he staged a remarkable comeback after defeating Dexter Jackson in 2008. So, it’s only natural to want to examine his workouts to accomplish such feats, so we’ll look at Jay Cutler’s recent chest and calves workout he uploaded to YouTube. 

After retiring without significant injuries or health issues, Cutler keeps an impeccable, admirable physique. Cutler just rounded up a Fit for 50 challenge where he successfully transformed his physique for his 50th birthday. He aims to maintain his physique during this next chapter of his life. After a trip to some Scandinavian countries, he returned to Las Vegas, where he did the chest and calves workout below. 

Jay Cutler’s Chest & Calves Workout

 

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Jay Cutler starts his chest and calves workout by making a pre-workout drink. As part of the ingredients, he adds creatine and talks about the importance of creatine when training. This study supports that and shows that athletes who used creatine showed maximal muscle strength and less muscle damage during exercise (1).

Cutler also explains in this video that he’s at this gym for a change to his routine. He’ll be doing the same scaled-back exercises he does but using different machines. This is a great way to break a training monotony and break out of a plateau. Here’s a complete list of the exercises that Jay Cutler does.

Before doing most of his sets, Jay Cutler does a warm-up set to get his juices flowing. He also states that he’s going by how he feels regarding the number of reps he does. That said, his 12-15 rep range falls well within the range that studies show induces muscle hypertrophy (2).

Incline Chest Press

Jay Cutler starts his training by doing the incline chest press on a machine. He states that although he could lift heavier, he’ll stick to lower weights because he’s in maintenance mode, so he doesn’t have extra energy reserves higher calories would provide. Cutler starts with warm up sets before doing three working sets of this routine.

The incline chest press is an exercise that builds your upper pecs, triceps, and delts. Depending on the angle of the incline, you could work your shoulders more (15-30 degrees). This exercise also recruits back muscles like your lats for stabilization.

Iso-Lateral Incline Chest Press

Next, Jay Cutler does another chest press, but this time on the Iso-lateral plate-loaded machine. While others use this machine for its unilateral training benefits, Cutler states he’s not after that. He prefers the contraction the machine offers, which is similar to using dumbbells for him.

While using this machine, Jay Cutler shares that he’s not a fan of ego lifting. He admits that sometimes his ego jumps ahead of him, but he’s a bit more cautious now that he’s 50. 

“I’m trying not to be an ego lifter. You know I always complain about the ego lifters. One thing I always said is to leave your ego at the door. And some days, I feel stronger than others. So I’m not going to lie like the ego does jump ahead of me a little bit, but not at 50; you couldn’t care less.”

Machine Incline Chest Fly 

The machine incline chest fly is Jay Cutler’s first isolation exercise for this video. He uses a starting weight of 325 lbs and states that stretching the chest fibers out is good. Cutler also says that this routine opens the chest up.

Incline chest flyes work on the clavicular head of your pectoralis muscles, your upper pecs. However, the selling point of this routine is the wide range of motion, which, as Cutler points out, opens up your chest and recruits the muscle fibers there.

Vertical Chest Press

The vertical chest press was Jay Cutler’s final pressing movement for the day. He did a couple of sets and says it’s like being in a machine. Cutler also talks about gym etiquette and being courteous enough to return your plates after using a machine.

The vertical chest press is the horizontal version of the bench press. This exercise uses a limited range of motion to target the sternal head of your pecs. It also works on your anterior delts and triceps.

Dumbbell Pullover

Jay Cutler did some dumbbell pullovers to wrap up his chest training. He points out that using a firm grip on the dumbbells when doing them keeps the focus on your back. So, he adopts a light diamond grip to keep the focus on his chest. Cutler also does some light presses with the dumbbell while doing this exercise.

The dumbbell pullover is an isolation exercise that majorly focuses on your pecs. However, it recruits your lats, triceps, delts, and core. 

Toe Press

Jay Cutler did a toe press on the leg press machine to start his calf workout. He explains that he usually begins with donkey calf raises, but only a few gyms have the equipment. Cutler also states that he doesn’t start the training today with calves because they’re no longer his priority. 

The toe press is an excellent exercise for your lower legs. It works all your calves, including the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. Doing this movement with your toes turned in will strengthen your outer calves, while turning your toes out works on your inner calves.

Seated Calf Raise

Jay Cutler did some seated calf raises to wrap up his training for the day. He states that he doesn’t believe this movement focuses on the outer calves, as it can be hard to isolate muscles like that. Cutler also points out that he recommends using the cable machine for those who want to learn muscle control.

“Cable work can be very beneficial for people for muscle control. Yeah I think anyone that wants to isolate can concentrate and learn how to squeeze the muscle by doing cable movements.”

You can watch Jay Cutler’s entire chest and calves workout below:

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References

1. Wang, C. C., Fang, C. C., Lee, Y. H., Yang, M. T., & Chan, K. H. (2018). Effects of 4-Week Creatine Supplementation Combined with Complex Training on Muscle Damage and Sport Performance. Nutrients, 10(11), 1640. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10111640
2. Schoenfeld, B. J., Peterson, M. D., Ogborn, D., Contreras, B., & Sonmez, G. T. (2015). Effects of Low- vs. High-Load Resistance Training on Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy in Well-Trained Men. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 29(10), 2954–2963. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000000958