Jay Cutler had a rough night back in 2008 when he came runner up to Dexter Jackson, ending his two-year run as Mr Olympia. Still, the bodybuilding icon was determined to comeback bigger and stronger the following year, and recently shared one of the most important moves that saw him reclaim the title in 2009 and once again in 2010.
Taking to Instagram on August 22, 2024, the legend, who acheived 22.5 inch arms, shared two of his favorite moves for mixing up stale bicep routines, and explained why the second move was very special to him.
The time-tested preacher curl builds both your biceps and the brachialis (the muscle that sits between the bicep and triceps). “With preacher curls, remember, your elbows are in a fixed position,” says Cutler. “Okay, you can use a lot of different variations whether cable, dumbbell, barbells; cambered bars, straight bar, it really doesn’t matter, but with those elbows in that fixed position, you can really isolate the biceps a little more.”
Spider Curls target both the long and short heads of the biceps, but they also activate the triceps and brachialis. “Now, this is an exercise I used in 2009 for my comeback,” explains Cutler. “And this really helped me get that expansion on my arms. You’re leaning over the incline bench, remember your elbows aren’t locked but it really takes the shoulders out of the movement. So, it’s another isolation movement, without having the elbows locked so you still can get a little momentum, but it’s not gonna come from the shoulders, and for someone like me who had overpowering shoulders, I wanted to make sure that I was getting the best stimulation on the bicep. So, focus on both (of these exercises), 12 repetitions.”
Cutler also notes that you can also perform these exercises with single arms using a dumbbell. For best results. aim for 3 to 5 heavy sets to stimulate muscle growth. “Go through the motions, and you’ll have the best bicep peaks,” says one of the best to ever do it.
