Jay Cutler Gives His 7 Favorite Triceps Tips

Jay Cutler known for his large physique and winning the Mr. Olympia title a staggering 4 times.

jay cutler side tricep


Jay Cutler shares his tips on how to build large horseshoe triceps!

Tip 1:

Jay says it is important to work the muscle and not concentrate on the lifting heavy weight. The elbows are fragile joints and need care. Many guys think that they can lift heavy and instead of making the muscle do the work they put stress on the joints rather than the muscle. Lifting heavy is not what bodybuilding is about. Make sure you work the triceps rather want just working on the heavy weight.

Tip 2:

Jay thinks that one-arm tricep pushdown with underhand grip really helped him get that detail in his triceps and make that horseshoe very prominent. He start with the hand close to the opposite deltoid and pulled the handle down across the body. Giving the effect of a mix between a tricep pushdown and tricep kickback. This single arm movement help you focus on the contraction and benefit both the biceps and the triceps.

Tip 3:

Jay wasn't blessed with the greatest of genetics for triceps, but learned to work with his body structure. He learned that skull crushers weren't the only exercise for triceps, as opposed to what people think. One must be open-minded when we choose the exercises. Cable exercises can be helpful for the size and shape of the triceps. It's about finding the right position for your body structure and working the muscle.

jay cutler triceps, skull crusher


Tip 4:
One-arm dumbbell extensions hit the tricep long head. This pumps the area with blood. When the arm is in the upward position, we can only use our triceps to move the weight. It helps prevent other muscle groups and body-parts from coming into play like the triceps pushdown or dips.

Tip 5:

When working the pushdowns, he liked to use his elbow joints like hinges and make sure he does not put extra pressure on them. Doing the rope pushdowns first warms up the elbow joints. This has long term advantage as after years of bodybuilding the joints become fragile. 

jay cutler triceps, rope pushdowns

Tip 6:
When doing the dumbbell or cambered-bar(EZ-bar) extentions, Jay stopped just before the lockout position because there isn't much tension in the lockout postion in these exercises as compared to exercises such as triceps pushdown. When you're holding something up, contraction becomes more of a resting point for the muscle, as compared to when you're doing exercises in which you're pushing down the weight, there is tension in your triceps. And bodybuilding is all about putting maximum tension on the muscle.

Tip 7:

The number-one mass builder exercise for triceps are Dips. He does not like to do them for chest, but that is just a personal thing. Jay felt them the most on  his triceps. Looking at the muscular development of Olympic gymnasts, who work on rings and parallel bars, shows just how effective the dipping movement is for the triceps.

Those were Jay Cutler's favorite tips on hitting the triceps. Here is his triceps workout routine. Give it a try and let us know in the comments below.


jay cutler tricep workout