In some ways, Jay Cutler looks like the prototypical Mr. Olympia: ultrawide, gargantuan- muscled, lantern-jawed — a supersized superhero. But in at least one way he doesn’t fit in. Unlike multiple-Sandow winners Arnold Schwarzenegger, Franco Columbu, Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman, he’s never been celebrated for his pec development. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Chest has been Cutler’s weakest bodypart, as it tended to flatten out on contest days. Of course, “weakest” is relative when discussing the winner of four Sandows, but Cutler is a perfectionist, always striving to eliminate even the smallest deficiencies. As he attempts to win his fifth Sandow, Mr. Olympia is keeping chest at the top of his priority list and, like the legends who pre- ceded him, leaving no detail to chance.
CHEST WORKOUT FACTORS
• TOTAL SETS: 17
• TOTAL REPS: 212
• TOTAL MINUTES: 60
• TYPICAL REPS PER SET: 12
• REST PERIODS: two minutes on first three exercises, 30 seconds on final exercise
• FREQUENCY: once per week
• TRAINING PARTNERS: "I used two or three partners for a\l of my workouts. On chest day, they help me get the dumbbells In position on presses and help with a lot of forced reps.
• PHILOSOPHY: FST-7
• INTENSIFIERS: forced reps, drop sets, sevens
• REP COUNT: ~My partners tell me what I got. I never count."
• LOGBOOK: none
• HEADPHONES: none
• WRAP5: none
• GLOVES: none
• VARIETY: "I try to give the body what It needs. and that changes from workout to workout. So If you kept a log of what I actually do, It's kind of pointless because It changes from week to week.ft
• GOAL: "My main goal was upper chest. but 1 also need to eat enough going Into shows so I don't lose my pees. Because the thing about my body Is when my chest goes flat It tends to make my waist looks wider. Visually,l need chest fullness to balance out my abs and bring your eyes up to my shoulders
• RANGE OF MOTION: (bottom) upper arms slightly lower than parallel to the floor, arms are bent at 90 degrees: (top) dumbbells together with arms nearly straight.
• FOCUS: upper chest
• INTENSIFIER: 2 or 3 forced reps on heaviest sets
• BREAKDOWN: “With these I try to keep a high incline, really try to arch my chest upward, keep my head back, and keep a solid base at my feet for balance.! go pretty heavy. I go up to 100 pounds (In the off season) but the main thing with these Is I’m trying to get a deep stretch at the bottom. and at the top 1 touch the dumbbells together. My palms are Inward and I touch the dumbbells so they’re flat to each other. I try to shoot for 10 reps and then I might do a couple of forced reps.”
DUMBBELL BENCH PRESSES
• WARM UP: None
• SETS: 3
• REPS: 12
• WEIGHT: 1255, 140s, 140s
• EQUIPMENT: flat bench without supports, Icarian dumbbells
• RANGE OF MOTION: (bottom) upper arms parallel tothe floor, (top) near lockout
• FOCUS: overall chest
• INTENSIFIER: 2 or 3 forced reps on heaviest sets
• BREAKDOWN: “I don·t do flat benches with a barbell anymore. so I switch between a Smith machine or dumbbells. With dumbbells, I want a solid base with my feet. and I keep my head back. I sometimes let [my head] hang off the end of the bench. With these. I come down and I go to the outer portion of my chest. I don’t go super wide; I keep more of a closer position. But I come down deep enough that I get a good stretch. I go up to not Quite a lock position, but close enough that I can get a total contraction. Offseason, I can go to 160 or 170 for 10 reps.”
• RANGE OF MOTION: (bottom) handles three Inches from chest, (top) near lockout
• GRIP: pinkies near outer edge of handles,standard grip (thumb underneath. other fingers wrapped around top)
• FOCUS: upper chest
• INTENSIFIER: J or 2 forced reps at the end of sets
• BREAKDOWN: “I don’t use the Hammer too much compared to other guys. but I like to use it once every [chest] workout. The machine lets you get a stronger contraction. because sometimes it’s hard to get that with free weights when you’re balancing heavier weights. With these. It’s basically the same thing as with the dumbbells: I don’t go Quite to lockout I come down enough to stretch the pec muscles, and I squeeze it out with reps that are kind of Quick to keep the intensity alive.”
CABLE CROSSOVERS
• WARM UP: None
• SETS: 7
• REPS: 12-15
• WEIGHT: 80-70
• EQUIPMENT: Cable crossover station. D-handles
• RANGE OF MOTION: (start) arms parallel to the floor and even with torso. S\\8htlY bent (finish) handles nearly touching. arms slightly bent
• GRIP: pinkies near outer edge of handles, standard grip (thumb underneath. other fingers wrapped around top)
• FOCUS: upper and Inner chest
• INTENSIFIER: FSHs (rests only 30 seconds between sets). drop set (weight Ughtened from 60 to 10 after four sets), forced reps at the end of most sets
• BREAKDOWN: “I usually do the sevens with these, and I just go for that killer pump oncl! those heavy compound pressing movements are done.’ make sure with these _ since I try to focus more on my upper chest than my lower -, stretch really deep on the back end and then when’ bring ’em forward I bring ’em up. So It kind of hits the upper chest . I don’t really (count repetitions on this. but I commonly do 12-15. I’m really trying to get that blood rush In there. sometimes I do five sets. sometimes six. sometimes seven.”
