Unleash your shoulder-building potential with Cutler’s coaching blueprint.
Final up to date on September thirtieth, 2024
Robust shoulders can enhance posture, improve general performance, and increase efficiency throughout varied sports activities and actions. In his aggressive prime, four-time Mr. Olympia champ Jay Cutler possessed a few of the most huge shoulders in bodybuilding. On Sept. 24, 2024, Cutler shared his shoulder routine and coaching insights that helped construct his iconic deltoids.
Jay Cutler’s Shoulder Exercise
[Related: 2024 Mr. Olympia Preview]
Begin With a Machine Train
Cutler favors machines over free weights throughout shoulder exercises as they preserve fixed rigidity all through the vary of movement (ROM). This pre-exhausts the deltoids, serving to keep away from the necessity to carry excessively heavy later within the exercise.
Throughout seated machine lateral raises, Cutler maintains an upright torso and avoids lifting his elbows above shoulder stage, because it tends to shift the stress away from the deltoids and onto the traps.
Iso-lateral Urgent for Fixing Imbalances
Iso-lateral machines successfully rectify muscle and energy imbalances, fostering balanced improvement.
Cutler makes use of a Hammer Energy shoulder press machine; he sits dealing with the again pad. This setup tweaks the machine’s line of pull, leading to an even bigger stretch within the backside place.
Behind-the-Again Lateral Raises To Restrict Momentum
Cutler opts for behind-the-back facet lateral raises as they decrease momentum by proscribing torso motion. This variation results in a deeper medial delt stretch, maximizing hypertrophy potential. (1)
[Related: 2024 212 Olympia Preview]
Throughout dumbbell lateral raises, Cutler maintains slight elbow flexion, raises the arms parallel to the ground, and pauses briefly within the totally shortened place.
Experiment With Completely different Ranges of Movement for Rear Delts
Prioritizing the rear delts helps obtain the coveted 3D shoulder aesthetic. Cutler avoids driving his elbows too far behind the midline, which shifts focus to the rhomboids and traps. He advises experimenting with varied ranges of movement and adopting what works finest in your biomechanics.
Cutler transitions to seated bent-over reverse dumbbell flyes, sustaining practically straight arms all through to optimize rear delt engagement. Bending the elbows transforms the motion right into a rowing movement, growing secondary muscle activation.
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References
- Androulakis Korakakis P, Wolf M, Coleman M, et al. Optimizing Resistance Coaching Approach to Maximize Muscle Hypertrophy: A Narrative Overview. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol. 2023;9(1):9. Printed 2023 Dec 29. doi:10.3390/jfmk9010009
Featured picture: @jaycutler on Instagram
