Jay Cutler Workout and Diet

Professional Bodybuilder (Retired)
Born: 1973

Jay Cutler grew up in Massachusetts, the youngest of 7 kids. He started doing construction work with his brother at age 11, which he says helped develop his muscles. At age 18, he started hitting the gym and thanks to encouragement person trainer Marcos Rodriguez, entered and won his first competition in 1993 at age 20. Cutler won the Arnold Classic 3 times in a row (’02-’04) and Mr. Olympia 4 times (’06, ’07, ’09, ’10). Cutler has appeared on multiple fitness magazine covers including Muscle and Fitness and Flex. He retired from bodybuilding in 2013 and has gone on to build a nutritional supplement business called Cutler Nutrition. He also wrote a book about bodybuilding and business called CEO Muscle. Cutler has millions of followers on social media. He is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs about 260 lbs. when he competed and about 290 lbs. in the off-season.

Known For:

Jay Cutler’s Diet

Diet Summary

Cutler eats a lot. He has 7 meals per day that add up to about 4,700 calories. Eating at regular intervals makes it easier for the body to absorb nutrients, as well as help recover and build muscle. Because nutrition is extremely important to bodybuilders, Cutler tracks his macros, and weighs and measures his food. Steak is his favorite animal protein, but he’ll eat more of leaner types including chicken and bison, and plenty of egg whites. He also throws in a few whole eggs each day for flavor. His carbs usually come in the form of oatmeal, rice and sprouted bread. Cutler takes a lot of supplements, including glutamine, vitamin B complex, chromium and a multivitamin. Hydrations is also key for Cutler. He drinks plenty of water, and also has 60 oz. of Gatorade in the middle of the day.

Estimated Macros

  • Low-Medium Fat 20% 20%
  • Medium Protein  40% 40%
  • Medium Carb 40% 40%

Diet Details

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Fuel Up

Cutler will have 15 egg whites along with 3 whole eggs for his first meal of the day, along with 2 slices of high-fiber sprouted Ezekiel bread, a cup of oatmeal and orange juice. He also takes a multivitamin with this meal.

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Pre- And Post-Workout

Before his morning training session, Cutler will have a serving of glutamine along with a B-complex vitamin. After his morning workout, he’ll have a protein shake, a cup of oatmeal and 8 oz. of chicken.

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Load Up At Lunch (And Dinner)

His next meal is an 8 oz. steak and 2 cups of white rice. The meal after that is another 1/2 pound of chicken and 12 oz. of sweet potato. Dinner is still more chicken or maybe bison and 2 cups of broccoli.

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Supplements Before Sleep

Before bed, Cutler will take several supplements: another multivitamin, vitamin B-complex, vitamin C & E, zinc, calcium, chromium and more glutamine.

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Fro-Yo Fan

Even his guilty pleasures are pretty tame: Cutler’s favorite cheat food is non-fat frozen yogurt.

What to Eat

R

Egg whites

R

Whole eggs

R

Oatmeal

R

Ezekiel bread

R

Sweet potatoes

R

Steak

R

Chicken

R

Bison

R

Broccoli

R

White rice

R

Brown rice

R

Bananas

R

Water

What to Avoid

Q

Refined sugar

Q

Processed foods

Q

Fried food

Q

Junk food

Q

Artificial ingredients

Q

Chemical additives

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Cutler On Eating

‘I don’t eat for taste; I eat for function.’

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Cutler On The Most Important Meals

‘Your most important meals are breakfast and the meals before and after you train.’

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Cutler On Meal Timing

‘Each meal should be eaten within an hour, either before or after, training.’

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Cutler On The Importance Of Nutrition

‘I tell people to put as much effort into their diet as they do into their weight training.’

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Cutler On Self-Discipline

‘Without self-discipline, success is impossible, period.’

Jay Cutler’s Workout Routine

Weekly Workout Routine

Double Hit

Cutler trains at Gold’s Gym in Las Vegas. He does a morning session and an evening session.

Don’t Skip the Cardio

Just because he’s muscle-bound doesn’t mean he doesn’t do cardio. Cutler regularly does a 40-minute cardio routine in the morning.

Split Schedule

Cutler follows the common practice of devoting a day to specific areas of the body, such as back or legs. He hits his core pretty regularly, at least 3 days a week.

No Set Schedule

While Cutler is obviously very consistent about his routine, his schedule isn’t set in stone and he’ll work lighter or harder depending on how he feels that day.

Make Time To Rest

Cutler’s advice to would-be bodybuilders is to be sure to get adequate rest between sessions so that your body can recover, which in turn will allow you to get even bigger.

Diversity Rules

When a muscle group is complex, such as the arms and shoulders, Cutler says it will require a more diverse workout to hit every muscle adequately.

Stick With What Works

Cutler’s not into gimmicks or the latest trends. He does a lot of basics: squats, rows, pullovers and the like because they work.

Keep Chugging

Cutler rarely rests for more than a minute between sets no matter how heavy. Research shows that shorter rests between sets results in burning more calories.

Workout Style

Z

A Jay Cutler Routine

Monday: Delts/Triceps/Traps/Abs
Delt dumbbell side laterals: 12 reps x 3 sets
Dumbbell press: 8-12 reps x 3 sets
Side lateral cable: 8-12 reps x 3 sets
Front raise with Olympic bar: 10 reps x 2 sets
Bent-over dumbbell laterals: 10 reps x 2 sets
Triceps cable extensions: 15 reps x 4 sets
Single arm extensions: 15 reps x 3 sets
Close-grip bench press: 8 reps x 3 sets
Superset of French press: 8 reps x 3 sets
Dumbbell kickbacks: 12 reps x 3 sets
Dips: 15 reps x 3 sets
Trap shrugs: 12 reps x 4 sets

Abs routine: Do Monday, Wednesday, Saturday
Crunches: 20 reps x 3 sets
Rope crunch: 20 reps x 3 sets
Hanging leg raise: 12 reps x 3 sets
Leg lifts: 10 reps x 3 sets

Tuesday: Back
Back wide-grip pull-downs: 10 reps x 3 sets
Dumbbell rows: 10 reps x 3 sets
Bent over barbell rows: 10 reps x 4 sets
Deadlift: 12 reps x 3 sets
Close-grip t-bar row: 10 reps x 3 sets
Behind the neck pull-downs: 10 reps x 3 sets
Seated rows: 10 reps x 3 sets
Hyperextensions: 10 reps x 3 sets

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: Chest/biceps/abs
Chest incline barbell press: 10-12 reps x 5 sets
Flat dumbbell press: 8-10 reps x 3 sets
Incline dumbbell flys: 10 reps x 3 sets
Cable crossovers: 12 reps x 3 sets
Decline bench press: 8 reps x 3 sets
Biceps straight bar curl: 15 reps x 5 sets
Single arm dumbbell curl: 12 reps x 3 sets
Single arm preacher curl: 10 reps x 3 sets
Hammer curl: 12-15 reps x 2 sets
Forearm reverse curl: 15 reps x 6 sets
Abs routine.

Friday: Quads
Leg extensions: 20 reps x 3 sets
Leg press: 12 reps x 4 sets
Squats: 6-10 reps x 4 sets
Lunges: 8 steps/leg x 3 sets
Leg extensions (heavy): 10 reps x 4 sets

Saturday: Hamstrings/Calves/Abs
Hamstring lying leg curl: 12 reps x 6 sets
Romanian deadlift: 10 reps x 3 sets
Single leg hamstring curl: 12 reps x 3 sets
Leg press: 12 reps x 3 sets
Standing calf raise: 10 reps x 4 sets
Donkey calf raise: 10 reps x 2 sets
Seated calf raise: 10 reps x 3 sets
Abs routine

Sunday: Rest

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Cutler On Training

‘Sometimes I have to close my eyes and bury myself in each repetition. It’s important to do that to focus on the reps the way I want.’

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Cutler On Listening To His Body

‘I train whenever my body feels ready to train.’

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Cutler On Focus

‘It’s never been about moving the weight from point A to point B. It’s about making the correct muscles do the work that counts.’

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Cutler On The Best Way To Build, Maintain Or Shred

‘Consistency! Consistency!! Consistency!!!’

Jay Cutler’s Supplements

Multivitamin

Multivitamin

Cutler takes a daily multivitamin, sometimes twice a day. His Cutler Nutrition version contains all the essential vitamins and minerals along with Ashwagandha, which can help reduce stress and fatigue, and improve mood.

Pre Workout

Pre Workout

Cutler takes a pre workout supplement that helps improve strength and lean mass. His does not contain caffeine or other stimulants.

Calcium

Calcium

Cutler takes calcium because it helps prevent muscle spasms, and can also help stabilize mood.

Glutamine

Glutamine

Cutler takes glutamine because it helps with muscle gains and fat burning. It can also boost digestion and improve overall health.

Chromium

Chromium

Cutler takes chromium, a trace mineral that does many things for the body: it promotes metabolism, improves nutrient absorption, promotes a healthy weight and can help regulate blood sugar levels.

B-Complex

B-Complex

Cutler takes B vitamins which also offer a wide variety of benefits, from regulating metabolism to making red blood cells to DNA production and repair.

Jay Cutler’s Lifestyle

Vitamin Z

Cutler says allowing sufficient time between workouts is important, but proper recovery only happens with plenty of sleep.

Don’t Mess With ‘The Cuts’

Cutler graduated college with a degree in criminal justice and had the intention of working as a corrections officer for a maximum security prison.

Living the Life

Cutler leads a sumptuous lifestyle in Las Vegas, complete with a trophy-covered office and private theatre in his 6600 sq. ft home. In his garage, he keeps multiple BMWs, Porsche, a Rolls Royce, a Ducati motorcycle, quads (that he hasn’t gotten around to riding yet) and, of course, a home tanning booth.

Scaling Back

Cutler has said that now that he no longer on the circuit, he wants to slim down, and is working on losing both muscle and fat.

Hole In His Heart

Cutler had two dogs, Scrappy (a cockapoo) and Trace (an airedale terrier), for many years, and they often appeared in Cutler’s social media accounts. They passed away a year apart and Cutler says he still misses them every day.

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Cutler On Sleep

‘I need to make sure I get enough sleep. That’s the most important thing.’

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Cutler On His Personal Goals

‘I had the goal to be the best since day one.’

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Cutler On Achieving Your Goals

‘Surround yourself with people who dream bigger than you do.’

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Cutler On His Post-Competition Goals

‘My goal now is to be slimmer and more fit and not have to do as much with the nutrition and the training.’

Recommended Products

Cutler Nutrition Safeguard Multivitamin

Cutler Nutrition Safeguard Multivitamin

Cutler Nutrition Amplify Pre Workout

Cutler Nutrition Amplify Pre Workout

Cutler Nutrition Prevail Pre Workout with Nootropics

Cutler Nutrition Total ISO Whey Isolate Protein

Cutler Nutrition Total ISO Whey Isolate Protein

Cutler Nutrition Sculpt Fat Burner

Cutler Nutrition Generate Post Workout with EAA & BCAAs

Cutler Nutrition Generate Post Workout with EAA & BCAAs

Cutler Nutrition Triumph Testosterone Booster

Smartshake cup

Smartshake cup

Cutler tee shirt

Cutler tee shirt

CEO Muscle

CEO Muscle

Barbells

Barbells

Dumbbells