Chest mass for the masses: Jay Cutler's real-world guide to bigger and more powerful pecs

Flex, August, 2003 by Greg Merritt

Let's keep it real: You're not a Mr. Olympia contestant. Odds are you never will be. Even if you want to weigh 260 pounds with washboard abs, you probably lack the genetic makeup and the commitment required to attain such a physique. Should you follow a pro bodybuilder's routine? The answer in most cases, is no.

Unless you're training for the Mr. O, don't perform Jay Cutler's 19-set chest routine. Doing so regularly would invariably lead to overtraining. Still, Iron Jay has much to teach you a bout pectoral gjowth. Chest was long a lagging area for Cutle, so he's had to carefully analyze and alter his workouts to balance his pecs with the rest of his mammoth physique. Think of him as a chest hardgainer -- relatively speaking, of course. In the following interview, we asked Cutler to address the typical FLEX reader - the amateur bodybuilder with average genetics who wants to grow a bigger and better chest. The routine and tips he provides will probably not launch you to the Olympia stage, but they do present the surest route for maximizing your pec potential.

FLEX: What chest fundamentals do you recommend for our readers?

JAY CUTLER: They should hit chest once every five to seven days. Choose four exercises and do three working sets of each. Start with flat bench presses. Then do either dumbbell or barbell incline presses. Next do a dumbbell flye, whether decline, flat or incline. End with either pec-deck flyes or cable crossovers.

How many reps do you prescribe?

I always say if you perform less than six repetitions, the weight is too heavy; if you perform more than 10, the weight is too light. I'm not one to really count reps, but you should be starting to struggle on your sixth rep and then be unable to go beyond your eighth. You basically want that eighth repetition to be a forced rep, if you have a spotter.

Your first working set should be a little lighter than the last two. Use a weight that allows for just about eight reps for the first set, and then go up to a weight you can only get six to eight reps with for your second and third sets. I think this is better than a full pyramid because you're pushing at close to your max for the last two sets instead of waiting for one last maximum set.

What about warm-up sets?

Do two warm-up sets of 15-20 reps of the first exercise, and don't count those as working sets. I call them "feel sets," because you're basically getting a feel for the weight and then you jump to heavier weights.

You're a big proponent of stretching. How do you incorporate that into chest training?

Between warm-up sets, take 20 seconds to really stretch your chest from an overhead position and an arms-extended-outward position. Pull not only your chest but your shoulders and lats, too, because this is where all your power is going to come from.

I also stretch after my workout, when my chest is full and tight, because stretching is going to help it recover more quickly and reduce soreness. The more flexible a muscle is, the healthier it is and the easier it is to work. I think stretching also helps with muscle definition.

What about trainers who like to do very low reps for bench presses?

That's an ego thing. I went through my years of ego lifting, too. I guess everyone does. But when I actually learned to feel the muscles working instead, that was when I became a better bodybuilder. I was very weak in the chest area as a teenager because I was trying to train too heavy.

Never let your ego decide what weight to use. Work with what enables you to do at least six reps, rather than doing threes and fours. Once in a while, it's OK to go really heavy, but the problem is when you do threes and fours, or even lower, you start putting other bodyparts into play, mainly your shoulders. This can lead to injuries--but even if it doesn't, it transfers stress away from your chest. You want to make it harder on your chest, not easier.

What form do you recommend for barbell presses?

I typically like a medium grip, a little beyond shoulder width. I think a medium grip hits the inner chest a little more than going very wide. Stop four inches from your chest at the bottom for a full contraction. Don't lock out at the top, but come very close. I like to count to two or three at the top while I hold it and squeeze my pecs. I sometimes also pause at the bottom for a count of two.

A common mistake is to round your back and pull your shoulders forward during presses. You want to keep your back tensed, your shoulders pulled back, your lats flexed and your chest high in order to work the pecs more and your front delts less.

You do five sets of dumbbell flyes, often performing them first to pre-exhaust your pecs before incline presses. Should intermediate trainers use the same strategy?

Over the years I've learned that, because of my wide shoulder structure, my chest grows more from a flye movement. When you do a flye, whether with dumbbells, cables or a machine, you're really stretching deep into the pec fibers and getting a full contraction that's going to open up the tissue and allow more blood flow. I like to alternate flyes and presses because I believe the flyes stretch my chest and the presses focus more on the contraction.