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You are a bodybuilder's bodybuilder, Jay. You've seen and done it all. In your opinion, what's the most underrated exercise- the one we bodybuilders are avoiding- for completeness in our physiques?
Forearm training. I do forearms every biceps workout. After each biceps workout, I'll do wrist curls to the front and rear as I sit on a flat bench. I focus on doing 12 reps per set. A lot of people in the industry are surprised I even train forearms, because most successful bodybuilders don't anymore. In order to have the forearm development and hand strength, and to make your biceps stronger, you definitely need to train forearms. I don't leave anything to miss. When you squat, it builds your whole body. Squats do not just build your legs, you know? It's a whole body exercise. You gotta build the foundation before you build the structure. That's important. With forearms, if you have skinny little forearms, you're not gonna have big arms. It's impossible. You don't see that unless guys are jacking up their arms with something, which is the case a lot nowadays. You gotta have some sort of forearm structure there. My forearm training routine is as follows:
Seated Wrist Curls to the Front with Dumbbell: 4 sets x 12 reps
Seated Wrist Curls to the Rear with Dumbbell: 4 sets x 12 reps
What should I eat after working out? Solid food? Shakes? High-protein?
You've brought up an important issue, and that is the timing of your meals. People get confused and they ask me how I eat so much food. Guys even say it's amazing to eat so many calories. I always tell people your largest meal should be the meal prior to training and the meal after. I train twice a day, so my morning workout is right after breakfast. For example, in the morning I like to get up and have a big carbohydrate breakfast with lower protein. I might eat an average of 50 grams of protein for breakfast, or even 40 grams, and my carbs will be anywhere from 200 to 250 grams. Then I'll train, come home, and have my biggest carb meal, which will have a lot of simple sugars, fruits, some oatmeal and some other kind of carb, like rice cakes or muffins. I shoot for at least 300 grams of carbohydrates after training. So right away, early in the day, I've consumed two meals with 500 grams of carbs.
I believe in pre- and post-workout nutrition as the most important meals of the day.
See, I'm training twice a day. The way I train, with high-volume and high-intensity, being in the gym for an hour just really cranking, I get really hungry! I eat the big breakfast and have the huge meal after I train. Since I train twice a day in the off-season, that allows me four meals of very high calories. Of course, I have a big meal before I train the second workout and a huge meal afterwards. Through the day, the time I'm training in the off-season is around 9 a.m. and again around 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. There's a lot of food, and when you eat that many calories, it speeds the metabolism.
After time, getting used to the routine, you're just going to get hungrier and hungrier, you're going to eat more food, and that's how I'm able to put on so much mass. I force feed myself. I don't need to eat 300 carbs after I train, but I force it. The way I force it is to have a lot of simple sugars, which guys are scared of, but I have a 100-gram carb drink with fruits and that kind of stuff. You add in the honey for more sugars, and these are small things that aren't necessarily filling. Make sure you keep fats low, especially in those pre- and post-workout meals. For example, for those meals I won't eat steak, chicken, whole eggs or anything like that, because I want to try to take in as much food as I can that's not going to fill me up.
I just wanted to give you your props on being so successful and a true ambassador to guys like me. What do you attribute your success to?
Discipline. I'm one of the most disciplined bodybuilders on the planet. No question about it. People may question my potential, but potentially I'm doing everything right. Now people are starting to realize, wow, Jay Cutler really can be one of the best. Two years ago it was unheard of. That's why I went on to win the Arnold like I expected, which was just as easy, if not easier, than winning the Ironman. Bodybuilding is like any career in life, and I feel very blessed for where I'm at in life right now. It's just great and I have no complaints. The hard work has paid off for my fans and me.
I'm 22 and want to get my feet wet in the competitive waters. Everybody on the scene here in Dallas weighs 300 pounds or close to it. That's damn heavy! All the big name NPC and IFBB pros are heavy. It's all I hear, 300 pounds this, 300 pounds that. Do I even stand a chance in hell when I can't even match their weight in the off-season?
Well, they look like shit. Everyone's going by this weight thing, but weight has nothing to do with it. You kinda have to shoot for what your body is potentially looking its best at, and that's what people are steering away from. Melvin Anthony is never going to be a 260-pound bodybuilder. Someone like me, with a bigger bone structure, bigger hips- I'm a big guy. If I'm gonna win, I'm gonna out-muscle people. I'm not gonna win by being an aesthetic guy. I realize that. I've tried that route before, being ripped to the bone. Now, my whole goal is to come in in the best condition I can, but with as much size as possible.
It takes a long time to realize your potential. I've gone in both directions. I've competed at 240 and I've competed at 270. I won the Arnold at 270 last year. People say, why don't you go back to it? It's not gonna happen. I'm realizing what my best look is and I'm trying different things. I'm not afraid of change, and that's what guys are afraid of. They're afraid that if it worked before, why change it? I'm not one of those bodybuilders. I'll take the gamble. I know what I present on stage is gonna be a quality physique with definition, detail, improved roundness and shape at a lighter body weight. Of course, this weight fixation thing stems from reading things from advanced pros. They need to take into context what their position is, that they're not at the level of a professional bodybuilder whose been training for 10 or 20 years, and maybe not as genetically blessed. It has nothing to do with the drugs. That's a misconception a lot these days, that the kids are thinking it's all drugs. It isn't. What matters is being realistic, and focusing on a goal that's within your means and body type.
I respect your down to earth attitude, Jay. You're no prima donna caught up in all the drama bullshit. Has bodybuilding given you something personal more than wealth? I mean, what 's the best lesson you've learned thus far?
Thank you! I'd say discipline. Being disciplined taught me a lot about how to deal with things in life- negotiations, how to be a businessman- and learning to not let people take advantage of me. I know how to deal with emotions, people, a big crowd, and how to handle myself in situations where a lot of guys wouldn't be able to. In my personal life, I have a great relationship with my wife. With my fans, I get a lot of respect from them and I try to give the same thing back and not put myself above and beyond anyone else. My sense of confidence is high, but that's something I've always had. I have always known that I worked my hardest, I would achieve certain things.
Did you have Darrem winning the Rome show over Markus Ruhl and Dexter Jackson? After being there, did you wish you competed after all? I bet you could have won.
I did watch some of the contest, but my seats were further back in the audience. Darrem looked great. I think he was better than he had looked at the other contests. Dexter looked like Dexter, great as usual. Markus lost a little bit of his sharpness and that's why he fell to second. As for Dexter being third, it could have gone either way. I saw the show close between Darrem and Dexter and you know how they ended up placing, obviously. Darrem was first and Dexter was third. It was quite a mix-up. It was so close, I guess it could have gone any way. They threw Marcus in the middle of those two just to separate them. It was very hard to judge from where I was sitting, and that's the problem. People make opinions about the contest, but even four rows from the judges is a big difference from being where the judges are, only a few yards from the stage. Everyone looks great from 20 rows back, but you're not getting the same view.
When I got there, they tried to get me to jump in the show because I've held my condition pretty well. But I was sick with a cold, and was just getting better, finishing my last dose of antibiotics by the time I got over there. Well, I'm still not feeling 100 percent as of right now, so I think I made the smart choice sitting it out. But of course, as a competitor, you always wish you had competed. I'll get caught up eventually, but it's very rare for me to be sick this long. I'm really glad I rested my body at this point. On the other hand, it was great to be able to mingle with the fans a little and be more relaxed. I took care of business over there, which is the most important thing, and built up more of a fan base. That's also very important to me. I didn't hear any real disappointment that I didn't do the contest. Honestly, the fans got to see me more because I was working my own booth and I guest-posed about three or four different times in the Expo and on stage for the show. I think for the fans it was worth the trip to come out to the show as they never get to see us in person over there. So it was quite a good time.
Hey, Ultimate Beef, I want to wish you well at the Olympia. If you have time to read this, please let us know how your prep is coming along. Peace out!
I began training straight through since my last contest. Obviously, not as heavy, as I'm just letting my body recover. My weight is about 288 now, so I'm not really heavy, but what I plan to do in 10 days is really start picking my body weight back up for my full-on Olympia prep. I plan to get up around 310 to 315 before I pull it down for the contest starting in August. As for Gunter, anyone's a threat. I always give the example of myself at the 2001 Olympia. I was eighth in 2000 and the following year I came back not even being a contender for the top five, but moved all the way up to second place. I can't knock Gunter or any of the other guys, but as far as I'm concerned, the only thing I need to do is just come at my all-time best and I'll win. Of course, Ronnie's holding the title and he's the guy we're aiming for. Gunter was fifth last year. I pulled off a controversial second in 2001, so I think my second in 2001 was a little more of a push than his fifth placing in 2002. We're talking about the Olympia here, though. It's not the GNC or the Night of Champions or Arnold Classic. Can I recap my form of 2001, which seems to be haunting me at this point? We'll see.
I'm gonna definitely focus on being bigger, because I was too small this season, which therefore made my condition not look as dominating. What I'm gonna do is be like I said I was going to be for the Arnold- 270 pounds- and not do what everyone else tells me to do. I laugh sometimes when I think about it. Even two weeks before the Olympia in 2001, when I was 285 pounds, people were thinking I wasn't going to be ready! I know where my body is two weeks from the show. Fluid is a lot different from carrying body fat. I listen to people's comments too much sometimes. I'm just gonna do what I want to do, and it wins. I plan to be at my all-time best and not worry about being dry and ready for the show three weeks before the contest.
I value the opinions of my wife, Kerri, of course, when it comes to these things. I really respect Chris Aceto, who does a lot of my nutrition and guides me through my diet phase. Chris has been doing this since I was 18 years old. Steve Weinberger and Jim Manion, too. I respect their honest opinions. That's who I go to when I need to ask opinions on what I need to do. But I'm not a fool and I'm very realistic, so I know where I need to improve, which is in my lower back, tighten up my oblique area, and have better overall conditioning. My legs tend to be more conditioned than my upper body. There are a lot of areas that need to improve quite a bit and that's what I will to do.
I read on a message board that you and Craig have been hanging out in Vegas. How's your relationship with the so-called bad boy of bodybuilding?
Craig's a good guy. We hadn't spoken much over the years, and he assumed I didn't like him. My quietness- sometimes people think it's arrogance, but I really just keep to myself, that's all. I helped Craig with a few ideas that I've learned in the past couple of years, and he's incorporating them into his training. He's here in Vegas, so I want to develop a relationship with anyone I can that I have respect for. I respect Craig. He's built quite a bit out of his career, having had the setback like he did with his incarceration back in ‘95.
People look down on him a lot, but I think Craig's a good bodybuilder. He was coming up at the same time I came up. You gotta respect everyone. He's out here, Chris Cormier's out here, they're both great guys. Chris has a ton of potential, and I'd lend my hand to him as much as I could, too. It's an open thing with me.
This may be premature to ask, but what are your plans for 2004?
Right now, I'm planning on the next Olympia. I don't really want to say much after that except the European Pro is the week after. That's all I can really think of. I've always been one to plan show to show. I'll see where I am. If I go to the Olympia and win, of course that changes things. If I place fifth or sixth, that's obviously a setback for me, so that changes things. I just need to see what kind of calls I get to decide where I go next. Obviously, I had success at the Arnold the last two years. I would consider only going back to the Arnold Classic and the Olympia at this point. Its obvious I'm not going to go back to the Night of Champions or the Toronto Pro, more than likely not even San Francisco or the Pro Ironman. From now on, I'm just basically looking at the two major contests and the two biggest paydays. If I'm going to put myself through the dieting and training, with my crazy schedule of appearances, I'm only going to do the shows that pay the most. I pick my battles carefully. I'm going to the Olympia for the fans mostly. If I did what my heart told me, as far as the most sure thing, it would be to just skip the Olympia and go to the Arnold next year. But you know I have to go there for the fans, and I have to go there to prove a point to myself- that I'm the best in the world- which I feel I am. I feel that I'll be able to roll right through the Olympia and make it five in a row.
I just saw the great pictures of you from the Ironman and Arnold Classic. I couldn't believe you made your quads even freakier and bigger than before! What did you do in your training? You looked awesome on the cover of the latest MD, too!
I went back to basic heavy squats. Earlier this year, I said I was going to improve my quads, and a lot of people said, impossible, this guy can't. What they didn't realize is that I don't even train my quads hard most of the time. I did last year, and I still do, even for the Olympia. My body is really crying now. I may be criticized slightly for being a little bigger in my off-season guest-posing condition through May, June and July, but I will be more improved.
I went up to 500 pounds on front squats for four sets. I trained heavier and incorporated front squats, which I never did before. I think mainly that's it. That's all I really added to my leg routine that put on extra size. I also think front squats are better than regular squats now because they only hit the quads and build a lot of width.
I just got the new issue of MD in the mail; thanks. It looked great and it's really exciting for me. I appreciate it, as any publicity is great. I think MD should continue to have bodybuilders on the cover because it's a very hard-core magazine. I know there's a lot of T&A, but the hard-core edge of MD brings up the magazine's rating, because we've got all the top guys now writing under contract.
Are you going to do any shows after the Olympia, like the GNC or European Tour?
I'm planning on doing the European tours. I'm kind of uncertain on the GNC show, because I haven't heard much about it. My main focus is the Olympia. I will have to dig very deep to prepare for this show. I want to come in better than ever. I know Ronnie's coming with full guns and you have Kevin, Chris, Gunter, Dexter and Shawn Ray's coming back. I just think this Olympia is going to be very competitive. I truly feel the best guy will win, whether it is me, Gunter, Ronnie, Chris or Kevin. Right now, the main three- Gunter, myself and Ronnie- are getting the most hype. I feel that I'm still the one everyone's looking at to see: Can Jay really put it together? That's a challenge for me. It's a question mark for everyone. I really do think I can put it together better than at these early shows. I had some setbacks from being sick and trying to do drastic things to please the judges. I think if I do things the way I plan to do them, it's going to be a great show for me, positively!
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