One of the greatest legends in the bodybuilding industry made an appearance in Hollister recently. Jay Cutler—not to be mistaken for the inconsistent Chicago Bears quarterback—was at Pumped Up Fitness Nutrition on March 12 to promote his supplement line, Cutler Nutrition.
“I came up here to support Robert (Ingle, the owner of Pumped Up Fitness Nutrition),” said Cutler, who resides in Las Vegas and does weekly appearances around the world. “Robert has been a huge backer of my product line.”
The 42-year-old Cutler spent a couple of hours at the store taking photographs with fans and signing autographs. Later in the day, Cutler gave two fans—David Irwin and Wyatt Alexander—a workout of a lifetime at the Morgan Hill Athletic Club. The two won a drawing after buying $125 worth of Cutler Nutrition products.
Cutler is a four-time Mr. Olympia winner, the most prestigious competition in bodybuilding.
He also finished as the runner-up a record-breaking six times, four of which preceded his first Mr. Olympia victory in 2006. In other words, many a lesser men would’ve given up or lost their will to win, but not Cutler, who took home the coveted Sandow Trophy in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010.
Cutler, who retired from stage competition two years ago, took sixth in his last Mr. Olympia competition in 2013. So what gave Cutler the resolve—professional bodybuilders take a physical and mental beating trying to maintain their freakish, cartoon-like figures—to keep on paying the price?
One only has to look back at Cutler’s childhood growing up in Sterling, a small town in Massachusetts. For as long as he could remember, Cutler worked on his dad’s farm early in the morning. It didn’t matter if it was a holiday, his birthday, or if school was out of session, Cutler was “dragged out of bed every morning at 6” to work on the farm.
In addition, from the time he was 11, Cutler went straight to his brothers’ concrete company after school to put in more manual labor. Although Cutler hated working at the time—who could blame him?—it instilled in him the work ethic and perseverance to propel him to one of the most successful bodybuilding careers of all time.
“I’ve written a lot of articles where I thank my family for putting me through the torture they did at such a young age,” Cutler said. “I absolutely hated them at the time for it, but little did I realize it would set me up in the future to be one of the most dedicated athletes this sport has seen. I truly believe a strong work ethic value comes from your roots. If you’re not shown that success comes from hard work, you’re not going to have as much success compared to a person who is introduced to those things at an early age.”
In a world of freakish genetic mutants—for the longest time, pro bodybuilders have been real-life versions of the Incredible Hulk—Cutler wasn’t the most talented bodybuilder on the stage. Hence, the six runner-up finishes against some of the greatest bodybuilders of all time.
Knowing he had to work that much harder to win a Mr. Olympia title, Cutler was maniacal in his training and diet.
“I never cheated on my diet once,” Cutler said in a Flex Magazine article. “I wouldn’t even have ketchup. I wouldn’t have anything that didn’t make me a better bodybuilder. We can talk all we want about training or genetics, but bodybuilding is mostly about eating.”
Indeed, pro bodybuilders are the most disciplined athletes in the world, especially when it comes to their meal regimen. According to a story in motleyhealth.com, Cutler’s typical meal plan consisted of 15 egg whites, a 6-ounce steak, four packs of grits, half an avocado, and a half-gallon of water.
And that’s just breakfast. Meal No. 2 was a 14-ounce chicken breast with a 12-ounce sweet potato. Just to put that in perspective, four ounces is a quarter pound. The daily totals: 30 egg whites, nearly two pounds of chicken, a little over a pound of steak, 1 ½ pounds of potatoes to go along with scoops of rice and whey protein.
No condiments, no junk food, just simple healthy stuff—and lots of it. When Cutler was competing, he weighed 260 pounds during the season. He’s 30 pounds lighter today, but still turns heads with his muscular build.
“I still keep in great shape,” Cutler said. “I workout five days a week, and I’m still doing exactly what I did (when I was competing), except half as much. It’s still pretty rigid. I don’t sit on the couch at night, let’s put it that way.”
Cutler is always on the road, whether it’s to promote his sports nutrition product line, sign autographs, do meet-and-greets, take part in charity events or give motivational speeches. Cutler became one of the highest-earning bodybuilders in the history of the sport by making smart business decisions and being well spoken.
“I’m promoting now more than ever I ever did (when I was competing),” he said. “I’m interacting with people at all levels. I do so many broad things and talk about my experience being on the stage.”
The youngest of seven children, Cutler established himself as one of the sport’s all-time greats by placing either first or second in 25 consecutive contests in a prolific 11-year stretch starting in the early 2000s. Interestingly enough, Cutler said he doesn’t miss competition. Despite having a huge fan base, Cutler has replaced the adrenaline rush of going on stage by writing and talking about his experiences.
“I don’t miss the competition as much because the preparation is very rigid,” he said. “Now I’m able to give back and step out of the athlete’s mind and can speak to the public. I couldn’t do it before because I was so one-dimensional about competition and being the absolute best that you’re almost trapped inside. Now I’ve stepped out of that persona and am able to reveal what I did in a different aspect.”
If Cutler has a singular message, it’s this: work out, eat right and stay healthy.
“There is no age that limits fitness and working out,” he said.
