1ST SET
RETRO ATHLETE
BY GREG MERRITT
JAY CUTLER
HOW THE
FOUR-TIME MR.
OLYMPIA SPRUNG
HIS TRAPS.
FLEX FACT
With four wins and
six seconds, Cutler
holds the record for
the most top-two Mr.
Olympia finishes.
CUTLER ON
TRAPEZIUS
TRAINING
“Work traps from
as many angles as
possible.”
CUTLER’S TRAPS ROUTINE
EXERCISE
“I’ve done traps with
shoulders and back.
There’s no right way.
But, for me, it just
makes more sense to
work them at the end
of my back routine.”
142
FLEX | MARCH 2018
SETS
REPS
Dumbbell Shrug 3 8-10
Behind-the-back Barbell Shrug 3 8-10
Upright Row 3 8-10
“With shrugs, I don’t
hold contractions. I
just get full reps, up
and down.”
LET’S NOT DISCUSS
Jay Cutler’s career—the four
Mr. Olympia titles (2006-07,
2009-10), the 15 pro wins, the
unparalleled run of 25 shows
spanning 12 years, during
which he was always first or
second and was defeated only
by fellow Mr. O’s. Yeah, there’s
all that and much more. But
let’s talk training. Iron Jay was
both improvisational and
methodical. A high-volume
adherent, he never counted
reps, and he rarely knew in
advance exactly which
exercises he’d perform.
Mid-workout, he’d contemplate
what was still needed to hit
every area of a body part
before driving home. Even his
trapezius was attacked with
maximum intensity, focus, and
variety via three markedly
different exercises. This is in
sharp contrast to most
body builders, who just throw
in a few rote sets of shrugs
at the end of their shoulder
routines. It’s that attention
to detail that helped make
Jay Cutler legendary.