Jay Cutler may have become famous for his “Quad Stomp,” but without a physique that was in proportion to the rest of his humungous legs, he could have never lifted three consecutive Olympia trophies. When it comes to the upper body, and particularly the chest, Cutler says that the dumbbell bench press is one of his favorite exercises to execute and explains his approach. Try it for yourself.
Benefits of the Dumbbell Bench Press
The dumbbell bench press will put pressure on your pectoral muscles and anterior deltoids, and you will also tax the triceps in the process, helping you to develop a strong and sizeable upper body. While the barbell bench press is also great for building your chest, the dumbbell variation requires even more work to stabilize the weight, meaning more unilateral movements, more range of motion, thus attacking the muscles from different angles. “This is probably one of the best exercises I did through my bodybuilding career,” explains Cutler in a recent Instagram post.
“What I try to focus on is 8-12 repetitions on everything that I do,” shares one of the best bodybuilders in history. While this icon may have deviated from the plan at odd times to crank out different rep schemes such as 6’s or even 15 reps, he says that for the majority of the time he would stay in that accepted hypertrophy range of 8-12. Whether or not you put your feet on the bench is up to you, and Cutler says that sometimes he does this also, but for the current demonstration he places his feet firmly on the floor. “We’re gonna kind of push straight through,” says Cutler of the lifting motion. “The main thing is, just keep the shoulders back, keep the chest high.”
Jay Cutler’s Top Mistakes To Avoid
“Okay, so our focus is mainly contracting the chest,” says the big man. “Now, I see so many people just use their shoulders or their triceps to press this. Remember it’s not (just) about the weight, it’s also about the contraction.”
Cutler shares that the best way to crank out your reps here is to stay with a steady motion. “We do not come up and touch the dumbbells,” he explains, meaning that the two weights are not supposed to clink together as both arms reach the top of the lift. “We press it, almost like it’s a barbell, but we’re really focussing on that contraction at the same time.” If it works for Jay Cutler, it might be time to add this exercise to your own routine.
