It might have been a holiday, but Jay Cutler still made sure to train. In a YouTube video from July 6, 2026, he broke down his Independence Day chest workout and offered form tips.
Cutler is one of bodybuilding’s greatest legends. He reached the top of the sport in 2006 after dethroning eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman. His reign didn’t last long. Dexter Jackson seized the throne in 2008 when Cutler was unable to present his best.
The following year, Cutler cemented his legacy as an all-time great Open competitor. Despite being counted out, he won back the Sandow trophy with his iconic quad stomp pose. Before stepping away, the Massachusetts native claimed four Olympia titles. In retirement, he is still providing fans and athletes with training advice.
Jay Cutler’s Independence Day Chest Workout
Find the exercises from the video below:
- Standing calf raises
- Seated calf raises
- Incline chest press
- Standing Arsenal chest press
- Jbell chest fly
- Cable chest press
- Dumbbell pullover
Standing calf raises
In the video, Cutler started with standing calf raises and recommended performing them in a ‘one-two’ motion.
“I tend to keep this pretty low, but a one-two motion, get that deep stretch. I’m going to do 8 or 10 reps. This is going to be our first set,” he shared. “These are just feel sets, I’m not going to go super heavy, but a one-two motion.”
Seated calf raises
He believes calves are similar to arms and respond to time under tension rather than strictly weight.
“One thing about calves, they have to be contracted. So, just like arms, I don’t think it’s a weight thing, oh I need to add weight constantly. I feel like you do need the tension, but the most important thing is time under tension, making the weight feel like it’s 10-times more than it is.”
Incline chest press (Atlantis)
Cutler chooses to pause at the bottom of the incline chest press because he says it enhances his mind-muscle connection.
“When I pause at the bottom, I’m just getting that mind-muscle connection. So, sometimes, you notice I pause, it’s more to reset and get a feel for things. I’ll do sets of this weight, and then I’ll bump up, maybe to three.”
Standing Arsenal chest press
He assumed a middle grip on the standing chest press with two plates attached to each side of the machine.
“I’ll focus on this middle grip, straight in the middle, guys, so nothing on the end or inside. I’ll get a little bend so I can get under it, I got two plates on each side. This is going to be my max weight, so I’ll do three sets of this and shoot for 10 reps.”
Jbell chest flyes
To stretch out his pec fibers, he moved on with J-Bell chest flies, keeping constant tension on the target muscles.
“Going to stretch it [chest fibers] out, this is probably the heaviest pair that’s here,” he adds. “Straight with the shoulders. I’m not coming up and touching these together, keeping that tension.”
Cable chest press
His next movement was the cable chest press, which he performed seated.
“Low seat, this can be used as a fly, press, I’m going to be using it as pressing, just for tension. Pretty standard.”
Dumbbell pullover
He finished with a chest-focused dumbbell pullover and used a diamond-shaped grip to hold the weight.
“With the dumbbell pullover, I’m going to focus on the chest. I used to always talk about the grip. I’m going to hold the dumbbell like this [diamond shape with hands], and I’m going to drag it all the way through here.”
The last time we heard from Cutler, he was sharing his go-to workout for a quad pump. According to the decorated Pro, the leg extension machine was crucial to advancing his leg development during the prime years of his career.
Cutler is still pushing the pace at 52, training seven days a week. He believes a varied chest workout that focuses on time under tension earns its keep each week in his routine.
RELATED: Jay Cutler Pushes Through Monster Leg Day Workout at 52, Breaks Down Benefits of Daily Exercise
