Jay Cutler Shares a Shoulder-Focused Dumbbell Front Raise

Four-time Mr Olympia Jay Cutler is a fan of standing dumbbell front raises, but the retired legend recently explained that his strong back meant that his traps would take the load away from the very shoulder muscles that he was targeting. To redress the balance, Cutler says he utilizes the lying dumbbell front raise to great success. Here’s how to try it for yourself.

“We’re gonna focus on isolating the front delts,” promised Cutler as he lay prone on the bench, sharing one of the secrets of his success with almost 6 million attentive Instagram followers. The bodybuilding icon demonstrated his approach to targeting the shoulders by setting himself up on the dumbbell lying front raise, in a prone (face down) position. “Chest high,” explained Cutler of his posture, noting that he aims to rest his lower chest at the very top of the seat rest. The big man then staggered his feet on either side at the rear, to provide a solid foundation for the form that lay ahead.

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Jay Cutler’s Technique for Lying Dumbbell Front Raise

With the bench set on an incline, Cutler started out by grabbing a dumbbell on either side of the bench, with a pronated (over handed) grip. He then raises the dumbbells in sync until both arms are parallel with the floor. “With this exercise, we want to try and take the traps (out),” said Cutler. “I have very strong rhomboids and traps (that) tend to take over a lot of my movements.”

To isolate his front deltoids, the bodybuilder chooses this particular exercise, noting that you shouldn’t go too heavy. “Really get the movement down,” explained the Olympia favorite, observing that foot position is important so that you are not using your core for a wasted side-to-side motion. As he demonstrated his reps, Cutler kept his body still and focused on shoulder activation, squeezing his deltoids as he hit the top of the lift, and making a controlled motion that took the swinging momentum out of the move. Still, even a master of muscle like Jay Cutler questioned whether his tempo was too quick. If you find that you can’t make controlled reps, simply bring down the weight until you hit the sweet spot. Ideally, you should be aiming for 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps for adding mass.

The fact that Cutler shared his desire to make his own improvements only illustrates that there should be no ego in the gym. “Always with the great advice,” commented one impressed follower, while followers from all over the world showed their appreciation for his humble guide to getting hench. We’re ‘prone’ to agree!

To follow Jay Cutler on Instagram, click here.