Uncover the coaching secrets and techniques behind Cutler’s fourth Olympia victory.
Final up to date on July 18th, 2024
Finding out the coaching methods of elite skilled bodybuilders can unlock worthwhile information. It could reveal methods and methods for optimizing exercises, boosting efficiency, and stopping potential accidents.
In a YouTube video revealed on July 12, 2024, Dr. Mike Israetel, Ph.D. in Sport Physiology, dissected four-time Mr. Olympia champion Jay Cutler’s leg coaching routine from 2010, highlighting takeaways and potential errors.
Take a look at the whole video under, courtesy of Renaissance Periodization’s channel:
[Related: The Mistakes, Missteps, & Lessons Learned From My First Bodybuilding Competition]
Smith Machine Squats
Israetel praises Cutler’s use of managed negatives and an upright posture on the Smith machine squats.
His legs do a lot of the work as an alternative of his again.
Though Cutler broke parallel on the eccentrics, Israetel prompt that pausing briefly within the gap may end in larger quad stimulus and decreased harm threat by eliminating momentum.
Forms of Focus
Cutler stored his legs coated whereas coaching. Israetel defined this aligns with one in all two varieties of focus in resistance coaching:
- Exterior Focus: Taking a look at your self within the mirror to make sure correct kind.
- Inside Focus: Utilizing proprioception to maximise muscle stretch and contractions.
Israetel recommends newbies grasp exterior methods and cues earlier than shifting to an inside focus. A randomized managed trial revealed within the European Journal of Sport Science signifies that inside focus is simpler for enhancing mind-muscle connection and hypertrophy throughout resistance coaching than exterior focus. (1)
Quantity
In his prime, Cutler favored reasonable weights and greater set quantity. He diversified train angles for balanced growth and didn’t strictly plan units, reps, weights, or workouts throughout his Olympia preparations. He tailored his exercises primarily based on how he felt.
Israetel cautions towards an improvisational coaching strategy, believing that almost all people would profit from a structured coaching plan. Israetel suggests intermediate lifters intention for zero to 3 reps in reserve (RIR), carry out 5 to 30 repetitions per set, and tailor total quantity to maximise stimulus with out compromising restoration and efficiency in subsequent exercises.
Hydration Throughout Coaching
Cutler struggled to keep hydrated throughout and after high-volume exercises attributable to extreme sweating. He primarily drank water throughout coaching, an strategy that Israetel considers suboptimal.
“Ingesting water is an superior approach to rehydrate except you’ve misplaced a variety of sweat,” Israetel mentioned. Sweat contains salt and different electrolytes, which plain water can not replenish. The physique struggles to retain plain water after an intense exercise and infrequently flushes it out via urine, hindering correct rehydration. (2)
Israetel advises heavy-sweating athletes to make use of a rehydration complement containing electrolytes, notably sodium, pre-, intra-, and post-workout to optimize efficiency, improve muscle pumps, and promote restoration.
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References
- Schoenfeld, B. J., Vigotsky, A., Contreras, B., Golden, S., Alto, A., Larson, R., Winkelman, N., & Paoli, A. (2018). Differential results of attentional focus methods throughout long-term resistance coaching. European journal of sport science, 18(5), 705–712. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2018.1447020
- Shirreffs, S. M., & Sawka, M. N. (2011). Fluid and electrolyte wants for coaching, competitors, and restoration. Journal of Sports activities Sciences, 29 Suppl 1, S39–S46. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2011.614269
Featured picture: @jaycutler on Instagram