If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Like most bodybuilders, Jay Cutler is a creature of habit. Even though the four-time Mr. Olympia no longer trains to compete, he’s still committed to training the same way that made him a dominant force during the early 2000s.
One of Cutler’s non-negotiables centers around how he starts every chest workout. On Nov. 26, 2024, the 51-year-old began his routine focusing on a muscle group that has nothing to do with building massive pecs.
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Jay Cutler Puts Calves Before Pecs
Instead of diving straight into a set of cable crossovers or seated chest flyes, Cutler starts each chest workout the same way: training his calves.
At first, it seems strange to start a pec-building session with lower body. Most people pencil calves into their leg workouts — a logical approach that certainly isn’t wrong. However, Cutler has a different outlook.
- “I only train [calves] on chest day,” Cutler explained. “I try to prioritize muscles, especially what I call minor muscles, so it would be forearms, calves, whatever, that you might not put as much effort into.”
Cutler tried training calves daily, every other day, and even three times per week. However, after decades of trial and error and observation of other lifters, he identified a major drawback to the typical calf-building strategies.
“People tend to say, “Ah, I gotta train calves,” but the intensity is just not there anymore,” Cutler explained. “You’re spent from the workout.”
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To reap the most hypertrophy rewards, Cutler concentrates on three calf exercises:
- Standing Calf Raise
- Seated Calf Raise
- Donkey Kick (variation of a glute kickback)
That combination of movements provides a sufficient stimulus for Cutler, who sticks with two warm-up sets and three working sets for each exercise. He offered advice for people who want to maximize their calf-building efforts:
“The secret to calf growth is a really nice stretch and a great peak contraction,” Cutler explained. “It’s a stubborn muscle, so sometimes you have to adjust to a lot of reps, lower reps, heavy weight. The more consistency you get your mind to muscle connection, you can get some growth out of the calves.”
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Olympia-Level Chest Workout
Cutler cranked up the intensity with a chest workout that included the following exercises:
- Incline Press Machine
- Dumbbell Bench Press
- Atlantis Pec Flye
- Flat Cable Flye
- Pec Deck Machine
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Here are key applicable takeaways from Cutler’s training session:
- Cutler never uses full extension on incline presses, preferring to shorten the range of motion to maintain constant tension on his pectoral muscles. Time under tension is one of the biggest drivers of muscle growth.
- To tighten or build up the lower chest, Cutler recommends focusing on diet, as most people “carry a little more body fat” in that area, and decline flye movements.
- Per Cutler, the flat cable flye is the best chest-building movement because the pulleys provide constant tension. You can lose tension with free weights.
Although putting pecs and calves in the same workout is unconventional, doing things differently can sometimes spark better results. For Jay Cutler, it’s just rinse and repeat.
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Featured Image: @JayCutlerTV / YouTube
