Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler Training Routines

Jay Cutler is a four-time Mr. Olympia (2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010) and one of the few men to beat Ronnie Coleman on the Olympia stage. He is also known for changing his training whenever it stopped moving him forward, including routines that were working but had not yet won him the title.

This page sets out three of his published routines side by side: the high-volume double split he used up to 2003, the leaner plan he switched to in 2004, and his 2008 5 day split. It covers what changed between them, why, and how a regular lifter can borrow from them.

Jay Cutler Stats

The weights are the figures commonly reported for his competitive years. They are not his current bodyweight.

Who Is Jay Cutler?

Early Years and Turning Pro

Cutler grew up in central Massachusetts and worked in his family’s concrete business as a teenager, hard physical work that came before any serious bodybuilding. He started training in his late teens and moved up quickly through the amateur ranks.

He won the heavyweight and overall titles at the 1996 NPC Nationals, which earned him his IFBB pro card. Within a few years he was one of the biggest and most consistent men in professional bodybuilding.

The Ronnie Coleman Rivalry

Cutler’s prime overlapped with Ronnie Coleman‘s run of eight straight Mr. Olympia titles from 1998 to 2005. Cutler finished second to Coleman at the 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005 Olympias, while winning the Arnold Classic three years in a row, from 2002 to 2004.

In 2006 he finally beat Coleman to win his first Mr. Olympia, and he defended the title in 2007. He lost it to Dexter Jackson in 2008, then won it back in 2009, becoming the first man to lose the Mr. Olympia on stage and then regain it. He won again in 2010 before Phil Heath took the title in 2011. His last Olympia was in 2013, where he placed sixth. See the full list of Mr. Olympia winners for how his four titles fit into the history of the contest.

Later in his career he worked with coach Hany Rambod, the creator of FST-7 training.

Where These Routines Come From

The three routines below are versions that were published in bodybuilding magazine features and interviews during his competitive years. Treat them as snapshots, not fixed programs. Like most professionals, Cutler changed exercises, order and rep ranges from week to week and from one contest prep to the next.

Jay Cutler’s Training Routines at a Glance

Jay Cutler’s 2003 Double Split Routine

Up to 2003, Cutler trained on a double split: two sessions on each training day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The routine is extremely high volume, with roughly 40 sets per training day.

It ran on a 6-day cycle of four training days and two rest days, so the days did not line up with the calendar week.

Example 2003 Back and Trap Workout

That is 20 working sets in the morning and 19 in the afternoon: 39 sets for back and traps in a single day. Upright rows sit in the trap session here, though they also work the side delts.

The idea behind a double split is that two shorter sessions let you train each muscle group fresher than one long one. The cost is recovery. Two sessions a day, with close to 40 sets for back alone, leaves little room to recover and adapt, even for a professional.

Why Jay Cutler Changed His Routine in 2004

Cutler finished second to Ronnie Coleman at the 2003 Mr. Olympia, his second runner-up finish behind Coleman after 2001. Going into 2004 he changed the plan. He dropped the double split, trained once a day, cut his volume and pushed each set harder.

The change follows a familiar trade-off in training. Muscles grow during recovery, not during the session, and past a certain point extra sets add fatigue faster than they add growth. Doing about half the work leaves more in the tank to push each set hard, recover between sessions and keep adding weight to the bar.

What changed between the two routines:

• One session a day instead of two.
• About half the volume. The back and trap day went from 39 sets to 19-20.
• Lower reps. Most sets moved from 8-10 reps to 8, which usually means heavier weights.
• Less heavy lower-back work. Deadlifts alternated with hyperextensions from one back workout to the next.
• The same rhythm. It was still a 6-day cycle with two rest days.

The change did not win him the title straight away. He was second to Coleman again in 2004 and 2005 and only won in 2006. A routine is just one part of a contest result: size, conditioning, presentation and the line-up on the day all count.

Jay Cutler’s 2004 Routine

Each training day now has one session. Thighs get a day of their own, and arms move in with shoulders.

Example 2004 Back Workout

That is 19-20 working sets, about half the 2003 back day. Deadlifts come at the end of the session, when the back is already tired, so expect to use less weight than you would fresh. On alternate back days Cutler swapped them for hyperextensions.

Jay Cutler’s 2008 Routine (5 Day Split)

By 2008 Cutler was the reigning two-time Mr. Olympia. His 2008 routine moved to a standard 7-day week with five training days. Each muscle group is trained once a week and abs three times, and in places the volume went back up: the back day has 25 sets. He lost the title to Dexter Jackson that year and won it back in 2009.

Monday: Delts, Traps, Triceps and Abs

Tuesday: Back

Behind-the-neck pulldowns put the shoulder joint in a demanding position. If you lack the shoulder mobility or have had shoulder trouble, do a second set of front pulldowns instead. Deadlifts for 12 reps are also hard on technique as fatigue builds, so stop the set when your form starts to slip.

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: Chest, Biceps, Forearms and Abs

Chest starts on the incline, a common choice for bodybuilders who want to bring up the upper chest, before moving to flat and decline pressing.

Friday: Quads

Light, high-rep leg extensions open the session. They warm up the knees and tire the quads before the heavy leg press and squats, and a heavier round of extensions finishes the workout.

Saturday: Hamstrings, Calves and Abs

Sunday: Rest

Abs Routine (Monday, Thursday and Saturday)

How Much Volume Is This?

Most muscle groups get 13-25 hard sets a week, all in a single session. A 2017 meta-analysis by Schoenfeld and colleagues found that 10 or more weekly sets per muscle produced more growth than fewer than 5. A 2016 meta-analysis by the same group found that training a muscle at least twice a week produced more growth than once a week, though later work suggests much of that benefit comes from the extra weekly volume that more frequent training allows.

In other words, the structure is sound, but cramming 17-25 sets for one muscle into a single session is a lot. For most lifters, spreading the same work over two sessions a week is the easier way to recover from it.

Should You Follow Jay Cutler’s Routines?

Remember who these routines were built for. Cutler was an elite professional with rare genetics and many years of hard training behind him, and he competed in open-class IFBB pro bodybuilding, which is not drug tested the way natural federations are. For more on that gap, see our guide to steroids vs natural bodybuilders.

A natural lifter would struggle to recover from any of these routines as written, and the 2003 double split least of all. Unless you are an advanced lifter, borrow the structure and the exercise choices, not the volume.

How to Scale It Down

• Skip the double split. Cutler himself moved away from it. One session a day is plenty.
• Cut the sets. Use 2-3 working sets per exercise and 3-4 exercises per muscle group, which puts most muscles at about 10-20 sets a week.
• Train each muscle twice a week. Split each 2008 day into two shorter sessions and spread them across the week, or follow the 2004 rotation with fewer sets per session.
• Keep the big lifts first. Squats, presses, rows and deadlifts do most of the work. Put them early in the session while you are fresh.
• Swap what doesn’t suit you. Use front pulldowns instead of behind-the-neck pulldowns, and dumbbells or machines where a barbell bothers your joints.
• Progress steadily. When you reach the top of a rep range on every set, add a little weight next time.

Recovery matters as much as the plan: enough sleep, enough food and enough protein. If you use supplements, well-studied basics such as protein powder and creatine monohydrate are the place to start.

Enhanced Labs At Enhanced Labs, we do not cut corners. Every ingredient is chosen with purpose. Every formula is researched, tested, and refined before it ever reaches your hands. If…

9Excellent

Visit Enhanced LabsBRAWN1010% OFFCopy

Pros

• Catalog is specifically organized around muscle building, fat loss, testosterone support, and workout performance.
• Range includes creatine, protein, EAAs, beta-alanine, and L-citrulline alongside more specialized formulas.
• Orders of $99+ qualify for free US shipping.

Cons

• Features several strong claims around muscle growth, testosterone, fat loss, and metabolic effects that should be distinguished from independently demonstrated clinical outcomes
• Heavily oriented toward bodybuilding and performance rather than broader nutritional supplementation.