Jay Cutler has reached the absolute pinnacle of bodybuilding with his incredibly massive and detailed legs. During his era, he had the misfortune (or rather luck) of having to face the “King” himself, Ronnie Coleman. While many thought Coleman was unbeatable, Cutler did the impossible and dethroned him in 2006.
Although he briefly lost the Sandow trophy to Dexter Jackson in 2008, he came back in the form of his life a year later, performing his legendary “quad stomp” to reclaim the title. Overall, he retired from bodybuilding with four wins at Mr. Olympia.
Recently, this legendary champion shared the precise leg training that helped him win these titles.
Jay Cutler’s cardinal rule.
Jay’s main motto for leg training is: “Volume over ego. His goal was not to lift the heaviest weights in the gym at the expense of technique, but to stimulate and vascularise the muscles perfectly.
The Complete Leg Workout by Jay Cutler
1. Pre-Kick (Light Weight Warm-Up)
Jay never went straight to heavy exercises. He always started his workout with a pre-kick to get blood into his thighs and prepare his knees. “It’s just to start to warm up. Nothing crazy heavy, just light weights,” Cutler explains.
2. Leg Press
After warming up the quadriceps, he moved on to the leg press. It’s this machine that Jay credits with a huge part of the iconic detail and depth of his lower-body muscles. Here he usually included a fair three sets.
3. Hacken Squats
To maximally stimulate the front of his thighs and build his famous “outer sweep” that was a terror on stage, Jay relied on the hacken squat machine.
4. Front or classic squats (alternating)
The routine must not be boring. Each week, Cutler alternated front squats (front squats) with classic axel squats (back squats). This kept the body constantly shocked and didn’t let it get used to one movement stereotype.
5. Walking Lunges
If the space in the gym allowed it, walking lunges were an absolute must. This exercise engages both the thighs and glutes perfectly and gives the legs the separation they need.
6. Overkicking (Heavy Weight)
The pre-kicking at the beginning was just to warm up. Now, at the end of the front thigh workout, Jay returns to it, but this time he loads much more weight to absolutely exhaust the muscles and stimulate them to grow as much as possible.
7. Work the hamstrings
Cutler always finishes the whole “leg day” with isolated and hard work on the back of the thighs (hamstrings).
A legend that doesn’t slow down
Even though Jay Cutler is now over 50 years old, he still trains seven days a week. Although he no longer prepares for professional competitions, the aforementioned leg routine remains a solid staple in his training arsenal.
Try Cutler’s principles in your next workout – drop the ego, focus on volume of work and perfect muscle contraction. Who knows, maybe it will take your legs to a whole new level!
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