Is Jay Cutler Natural?

Who Is Jay Cutler?

Jay Cutler is an IFBB professional bodybuilder and four-time Mr. Olympia winner.

Known for his insane muscularity, jaw-dropping shoulder width, and elite conditioning, Jay is one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time.

Born and raised in Sterling Massachusetts, he later moved to Las Vegas, Nevada to pursue a full-time career in bodybuilding.

Jay claimed that in order to be the best, he needed to train like the best, and this would only be possible in Vegas.

Before long and at a very young age, he competed in arguably one of the most competitive eras of bodybuilding – facing off against his biggest rival, Ronnie Coleman.

After five years of going face to face with Ronnie, he eventually defeated him; winning his first Olympia title in 2006.

His last Olympia win was captured in 2010, and he would unofficially retire from the sport in 2013.

Off the stage, Jay is one of the most popular and respected bodybuilding figures in the world.

Jay Cutler Bodybuilder Stats

As we do with all our articles, it's important to list the person's measurements/stats.

This, in order to get an idea of how big they really are.

Jay, in his prime, was one of the biggest, freakiest bodybuilders to ever grace a competitive stage.

Although his stats might seem fake, trust me when I say that they are not – he was really that big.

I say “was” because he's retired know and has downsized a bit – he's still huge though.

According to Wikipedia, here's what he measured in his prime.

Age: 46

Height: 5'10 (178 cm)

Off-Season Weight: 290 lbs (132 kg)

Competition Weight: 260 lbs (118 kg)

Arms: 22 inches (56 cm)

Chest: 58 inches (147 cm)

Legs: 30 inches (76 cm)

Calves: 20 inches (50 cm)

Waist: 34 inches (86 cm)

Early Beginnings

Jay Cutler grew up in Sterling Massachusetts, in a large family.

At only eleven years old, he began helping out in his brother's concrete business, where he mentions his physique first started to take shape.

There are actually photos out there, of a young, muscular Jay, before he ever touched a weight – he was already ripped and in great shape.

It wasn't until his 18th birthday that he decided to save up and join his local Gold's Gym, to pursue a career in bodybuilding.

Not long after, Jay was encouraged by his trainer to enter his first amateur bodybuilding show.

By 1993, he had graduated from college with a degree in criminal justice, but his heart was already set in a different place.

With no expectations, Jay decided to pursue a career in bodybuilding.

Although he had the genetics and the discipline to be the best, he knew that making it to the top wouldn't be an easy task.

Rise to the Top

Jay has always been very honest about his bodybuilding career; mentioning on several occasions that he struggled a lot.

His first challenge -and step in the right direction- would be moving out of Massachusetts.

Jay believed that in order to be the best in the world, he had to train like it.

At an already-young age, Jay had relocated to the Western part of the USA and began working out at the best training facilities, in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

In 1996, he competed at the NPC Nationals, where he earned professional status by wining the heavyweight class.

His pro debut was made at the 1998 Nigh of Champions -currently known as the New York Pro- in which he placed 11th.

In 1999 he would qualify for his first Mr. Olympia by placing 4th in the Arnold Classic and 3rd in the Ironman Pro.

His Olympia debut would prove to be disappointing though – Jay placed a shocking 14th place.

He didn't give up and continued to push through, returning in 2000 and placing second at both the English Grand Prix and the Joe Weider World Pro Cup.

Winning the Mr. Olympia

After placing well and managing to qualify for the 2000 Olympia, Jay was fired up and ready to move up in the rankings.

Although he managed to do just that by placing 8th at that Olympia, it was mentioned in an interview, that he talked to his coach Chris Aceto, and questioned if he was actually any good.

Chris had full faith in him and encouraged Jay to participate in the post-Olympia tour.

Jay followed his advice and ended up being compared to the reigning Mr. Olympia, Ronnie Coleman.

This comparison was the one shot Jay needed to show the judges that he was good enough to compete with the best.

2001 would be Jay's best year yet as he placed a controversial second to Ronnie – fans thought Jay deserved first.

The next few years would prove to be extremely difficult for Jay as it seemed like he could never catch up to Coleman.

After skipping the 2002 Olympia -where Ronnie came in seriously undersized- Jay returned in 2003 to place second, again.

2004 and 2005 would be equally as frustrating with Jay maintaining his title as the second-best bodybuilder in the world.

In 2006 Jay finally made history by becoming the sport's 12th Mr. Olympia.

Losing and Regaining the Olympia Title

After winning the most coveted title in bodybuilding, Jay returned to the 2007 Mr. Olympia as the reigning champ.

To the surprise of many, he would be seriously challenged and nearly dethroned by up-and-comer Victor Martinez.

Although Jay maintained his title, a lot of fans still believe -to this day- that Victor should've taken the title from Jay, that year.

In 2008, he competed looking less than his best and lost the title to Dexter Jackson.

This loss motivated Jay to create his best-ever physique at the 2009 Olympia.

To this day, Jay Cutler's 2009 appearance is widely regarded to be one of the greatest physiques in the history of the sport.

His last win would occur in 2010, where Phil Heath -his pupil and future successor- would take second in a stacked lineup.

In 2011, Jay tore his bicep and wound up placing second to Heath.

After taking a 12-month break, Jay returned to the competitive stage one last time in 2013 – placing sixth and unofficially retiring.

Bodybuilding Ambassador

After retiring from competitive bodybuilding, Jay dedicated a lot of his energy to pushing his supplement company, clothing venture, and giving back to the fans.

Years after hanging up the trunks, Jay Cutler is still one of the most popular bodybuilders on the planet.

Jay is so popular, in fact, that he has a larger following than most active bodybuilders on the circuit.

Every year, the 4-time Mr. Olympia does a serious of both worldwide and national tours in which the main focus is meeting fans.

Likewise, he stays very active and does everything he can to promote bodybuilding in a positive light, through social media.

His diet, training, and business ventures are all documented on his Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Is Jay Cutler Natural?

When I first started training, Jay Cutler was the one bodybuilder that I looked up to the most.

Being a naive teenager, I fully believed that I could look like Jay one day, if I trained hard enough.

With age comes wisdom though, and the more I got into the sport of bodybuilding, the more I realized that my dream would be naturally unattainable.

On stage, at his biggest, Jay competed at 273lbs – you've read that right, 273lbs at probably 4% body fat.

I would be lucky to weigh that much at ten times the body fat, after five years of dirty bulking.

It didn't take long before I realized that there's a very slight chance for an IFBB Pro to be natural; never mind and open class competitor.

So, Is Jay Cutler natural? The answer would have to be no.

Jay even indirectly admitted it in the movie “Bigger, Stronger, Faster” – click here to watch the clip.

It's important to note that although Jay didn't build his physique naturally, it doesn't mean that he didn't put in the work.

No amount of steroids or good genetics will make anyone look like an Olympia winner.

In order to build the best body in the world, elite genetics, countless years of hard training, dieting, and supplementation are required.