Photos by Dan Ray
He’s won 4 Mr. Olympia Sandows, 3 Arnold Classic titles, and he’s, without a doubt, the most dominant pro bodybuilder of the last 10 years. Jay Cutler has waged battles with the likes of 8x Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman and won; he’s defeated 1x Mr Olympia, 4x Arnold Classic Champ, Dexter Jackson almost every time they’ve faced off; he’s schooled 2x Mr Olympia Phil Heath (albeit one time while nursing a torn left biceps), and he’s proved all the naysayers wrong when he won back the Mr. Olympia title after an off-year in 2008. The question is, can Cutler do what many feel is impossible; regain the crown an unprecedented 3rd time at the age of 40?
Cutler will have the deck stacked against him this time around since he’ll be facing an ever-improving defending champ; Phil Heath. “The Gift”, as he’s known, has lived up to every bit of the hype and hoopla these past two years; improving in every outing and validating that he truly is the new guard at the top of the bodybuilding world.
After beating the injured Cutler in 2011, Heath went on to relegate the ridiculously muscled and cartoonish Kai Greene to 2nd place in 2012. And speaking of Kai Greene, we have yet to see the Predator peak at an Olympia. Think about it; a freak-show conditioned Greene can certainly prove to be more than anyone in the lineup can handle. And if you add into the mix the 2013 IFBB New York Pro Champion, 290lb monster-muscled Ramy Elssbiay, Cutler has a lot to worry about.
Given Heath’s dominance, Greene’s freak factor, and Ramy’s wild-card massive size, why does this writer feel that Cutler can once again regain the Olympia title and take home his 5th Sandow? The truth is that ever since Cutler lost the title to Dexter Jackson in 2008, I never once picked Cutler to win going into an Olympia. Obviously, Cutler proved me very wrong in 2009 with a tremendous comeback victory and he squeaked out another win in 2010 by the skin of his teeth (against a weak lineup); however, this time is different. Many experts would argue that, “Yeah, it sure is different; it’s a much harder lineup and Jay’s no spring chicken!” My gut feeling is that this is exactly why Cutler will win; he thrives under pressure and he loves to be the underdog. But, more importantly, keep reading and I’ll tell you exactly why I think Jay Cutler will win the 2013 Mr. Olympia.
Reason #1: Kai Greene will beat himself!
While Kai Greene is currently the most dangerous threat to win the O (in my mind), he’s never peaked for a single Mr. Olympia contest. Last year, he allowed Phil Heath to win another Mr. Olympia by missing his peak at the evening finals. Kai Greene, looking like he did when he won the 2009 Arnold Classic, would have easily usurped the title from Heath in 2012 and would have dispelled all the talk about Greene not being able to put it all together mentally and physically at the O. Jay will beat Kai Greene because he’s mentally tougher, has never lost to him before, and, most importantly, because Greene always seems to leave the door open just enough to lose the O.
Reason #2: Phil Heath has never beaten an injury-free Cutler
The bottom line here is that Jay Cutler has never lost to Phil Heath when Cutler was at his best. In fact, it’s never even been close. Prior to his 2011 defeat to Heath, Jay Cutler never even had to consider Heath a factor; he was too small to match Cutler in size, he was too narrow to beat Cutler in width, and Cutler has more wow factor than Heath when standing in the lineup. While Heath has made some decent size improvements, he hasn’t done enough to be overcome Cutler’s superiority in all these categories.
Reason #3: Big Ramy is untested in big time competitions
Yes, it’s true; Ramy Elssbiay destroyed the lineup (including a very good Victor Martinez) at the 2013 New York Pro with a combination of insane mass, fantastic symmetry, and impressive conditioning; however, he has yet to prove he can bring Olympia conditioning to a contest. That’s partially because he’s only competed in one pro show.
While, possibly the biggest, scariest, threat to all the Olympians this year, Big Ramy still has a lot of questions to answer. At 5'10 and 290lbs he's (on paper) a bigger, better, Jay Cutler. But what he hasn't proven is whether he’s got the Cutler mindset. He's also never peaked for a major contest twice in one year so, in that sense, he's untested. Also, being a rookie pro, the Vegas odds are definitely against Big Ramy for bringing his best to his first Mr. Olympia.
Reason #4: Hometown advantage
Jay Cutler lives in Las Vegas and when it comes to bodybuilding shows, the less disruptive your contest prep and surrounding environment is prior to a contest, the more consistent and reproducible your results tend to be. Being from Vegas, Cutler doesn’t have to worry about holding fluid from traveling, getting sick from breathing the “canned” airplane air, scrambling to buy and cook his meals in a foreign environment, and most importantly, trying to adjust to a strangely dry and dehydrating desert environment. Plus, Cutler will have his legions of fans in the crowd screaming and pulling for him to win his 5th Sandow. And, as you can imagine, that can only play to his favor with the judges.
Reason #5: Cutler's body is well-rested
Perhaps, the smartest thing Jay Cutler did after tearing his left bicep in 2011 was to take a break from the gym and from competing. In fact, Cutler wisely took off the entire 2012 season. Cutler's body is now well-rested and fresh (something the other Olympia competitors don’t have going for them) which, in all likelihood, will yield a sharper-looking, contest-peaked, physique. It’s also important to acknowledge that while Cutler took time off, he hasn't been away from the sport long enough to where it could potentially prove to be a detriment to his physique.
Reason #6: People love a good comeback
Hey, everyone loves a good comeback and no one has more fan support in this sport than Jay Cutler. The bodybuilding fans, the sportswriters, and probably many of the judges would all love to see Cutler make history by winning back the crown for an unprecedented second time. It’s great to see an underdog surge back into the spotlight and take home the victory. Why do you think the Rocky movies made all that money at the box office? In my experience, when a person has that kind of positive energy behind them, all you need to do is deliver the goods and usually the outcome is history-making.
Reason #7: Cutler's strong mindset
Jay believes he can win. When I asked Cutler (at the NPC USA in July) what his prediction for the Olympia was, he didn’t even hesitate in answering, “I’m gonna win!” No one in the sport of bodybuilding since Arnold Schwarzenegger has had such supreme belief in their talents and skillset that they always managed to find a way to win. Cutler, against the Vegas oddsmakers, uncrowned the once invincible Ronnie Coleman. He regained the crown after losing to Dexter Jackson. And, despite the obvious obstacles—2x Mr. Olympia Phil Heath, a ridiculous Kai Greene, and the Leviathan Ramy Elssbiay—Jay Cutler truly believes, without a doubt, that he’s gonna win!
Reason #8: The Technician returns!
Chris Aceto was Jay Cutler’s first contest coach—he worked with Cutler starting in his teen years where he helped him win his class at the NPC Teen Nationals, he was there for Cutler’s IFBB Pro qualifying win at the 1996 NPC Nationals, and he guided Jay through 3 wins at the IFBB Arnold Classic. Aceto also steered Jay to his best conditioning ever at the 2001 Mr. Olympia where many in attendance thought he convincingly beat the reigning Mr. Olympia, Ronnie Coleman (Coleman would go on to win that show). While Cutler left Aceto during his Olympia reign from the years of 2006-2010, many agree that he never looked as consistently polished as he did when he worked with Aceto.
In July 2013, after unsuccessfully trying his luck with several other contest prep gurus, Cutler contacted The Technician to help guide him through what could possibly be his last Mr Olympia contest. Why is Aceto so important to Cutler’s success? Aceto brings familiarity, consistency, and stability to Cutler. He knows how Cutler’s body works, and he’s proven he can bring him in ridiculously full and gnarly hard (something Cutler’s struggled with since Aceto’s departure). Most importantly, what Aceto does is take the mentally draining “thinking process” out of Jay’s contest prep. In Aceto’s hands, Cutler can focus on one thing and one thing only; winning the Olympia. And, if bodybuilding history has taught us anything, it’s clearly demonstrated that a focused Jay Cutler is one very dangerous competitor!
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