On December 10, Jay Cutler addressed back exercises on his YouTube channel, sharing practical advice on building a bigger, stronger back.

The four-time Mr. Olympia explained that many modern bodybuilders and gym-goers miss a crucial element in their workouts.

“I believe we have so many muscle fibers that we need to hit. Ideally, with that explosive movement, I feel you can target specific muscle fibers. You know, there’s fast-twitch and slow-twitch.”

Cutler’s way of working out is drastically different from that of modern bodybuilders. Throughout his career, the 4x Mr. Olympia rarely paused more than a minute between sets. During the contest period, the resting period between sets was around 40 seconds.

That was true for his workouts as well. Up until 2004, most of Cutler’s rep ranges were in the 8–10 window. During his teenage years, the numbers were even lower. After his retirement, most of his reps shifted to the 10–15 range.

“For me, I power through the movements. You can watch all the old videos. It’s a little loser, but beneficial for what we do. So really, explosive control. Explosive, but control is the key.”

In short, control and explosiveness are key to a perfect physique, and Cutler stresses this.

Jay Cutler also revealed his Olympia-winning formula

Jay Cutler dominated the Mr. Olympia stage four times, in 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010, marking an era where few could match his overall perfection. But what was the key change that finally allowed him to defeat his staunch rival, Ronnie Coleman, in 2006? He revealed the answer a few weeks ago.

“The back is going to be one of those body parts that you have to hit from a lot of different angles, different variations. One of my necessary and most important and favorite exercises, when fighting for the Mr Olympia title, was the wide grip seated cable row.”

With that single change in his exercise, Cutler was finally able to defeat Ronnie Coleman after years.

Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar