In honour of his iconic 2009 ‘quad stomp’ pose, Jay Cutler has revisited the leg workout that helped him reclaim the Mr Olympia title alongside legendary coach Hany Rambod.
After winning in 2006 and 2007 before losing the title to Dexter Jackson a year later, Cutler returned with a vengeance – and a new coach – to dominate the stage once again. Under Rambod’s guidance and a renewed focus on leg training, Cutler built quads so deeply striated that individual muscle fibres were visible when he slammed his foot onto the stage.
‘When we talk about the ’09 comeback, I had a heavy discrepancy in my leg size,’ Cutler says in a recent YouTube video. ‘I always had this difference, and we started manipulating leg training to try to close that gap. Obviously, I always had great legs, but besides getting more defined through the StepMill and stricter dieting, it was great to have that size back in the legs evenly.’
Even now, 17 years on, Cutler still has incredibly impressive legs. While they’re no longer stage-ready, his trademark quad stomp would still overshadow almost anyone else’s. The 54-year-old credits the hack squat for building the dramatic outer sweep that came to define his physique, alongside a higher-volume approach using relatively moderate loads.
‘Jay was already doing a bunch of high-volume training, but what we did was really focus on the areas he’d identified, because his legs were already so good,’ Rambod says. ‘The imbalance that he mentioned earlier was what we really wanted to improve. And if you notice, he doesn’t use a crazy amount of weight. It’s all mind-muscle connection.’
It’s still a brutally demanding workout, though. Cutler couldn’t have built those legendary 2009 tree trunks any other way.
Jay Cutler’s Leg Workout
B. Single-Leg Hamstring Curl
F. Belt Squat
G. Hip Abduction
How to Do the Movements
Hamstring Curl
- With straight legs, secure the backs of your ankles beneath the pads.
- Curl your heels towards your glutes as far as possible.
- Squeeze your hamstrings hard before lowering under control.
Single-Leg Hamstring Curl
- Set up on either a kneeling or lying hamstring curl machine with your heel against the lower pad.
- Curl one leg towards your glutes as far as possible before lowering under control.
- Complete all your reps before switching sides, or alternate legs if preferred.
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
- Stand tall with your feet beneath your hips, holding dumbbells in front of your thighs.
- Push your hips backwards while maintaining a flat back, as if trying to close a car door with your glutes.
- Keep your knees softly bent, your shins vertical and your shoulder blades pulled back.
- Lower until you feel a stretch through your hamstrings, then drive your hips forwards to stand tall.
Leg Extension
- Adjust the machine so your knees align with the pivot point and the pad rests across your lower shins.
- Brace your core and extend your legs until they’re straight.
- Squeeze your quads briefly before lowering under control.
Hack Squat
- Load the machine and position your shoulders beneath the pads.
- Place your feet roughly shoulder-width apart with a slight toe-out.
- Lower under control until your thighs are at least parallel with the platform.
- Drive through your feet to stand without locking your knees.
Belt Squat
- Secure the belt around your hips and attach it to the machine.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your torso upright.
- Squat until your thighs reach at least parallel.
- Drive back to standing while keeping your core braced.
Hip Abduction
- Sit in the machine with the pads against the outsides of your thighs.
- Push your knees apart as far as comfortably possible.
- Pause briefly before returning under control.
Ryan is a Senior Writer at Men’s Health UK with a passion for storytelling, health and fitness. Having graduated from Cardiff University in 2020, and later obtaining his NCTJ qualification, Ryan started his career as a Trainee News Writer for sports titles Golf Monthly, Cycling Weekly and Rugby World before progressing to Staff Writer and subsequently Senior Writer with football magazine FourFourTwo.
During his two-and-a-half years there he wrote news stories for the website and features for the magazine, while he also interviewed names such as Les Ferdinand, Ally McCoist, Jamie Redknapp and Antonio Rudiger, among many others. His standout memory, though, came when getting the opportunity to speak to then-Plymouth Argyle manager Steven Schumacher as the club won League One in 2023.
Having grown up a keen footballer and playing for his boyhood side until the age of 16, Ryan got the opportunity to represent Northern Ireland national futsal team eight times, scoring three goals against England, Scotland and Gibraltar. Now past his peak, Ryan prefers to mix weightlifting with running – he achieved a marathon PB of 3:31:49 at Manchester in April 2025, but credits the heat for failing to get below the coveted 3:30 mark…
