Jay Cutler is among the greatest bodybuilders to ever grace the Mr. Olympia stage. At a time when Ronnie Coleman defeated everyone, Cutler challenged him year after year. On June 3, the Muscletime Magazine archives page on Instagram posted some photographs of Cutler from 2001. In 2001 Cutler was still the underdog gaining popularity among fans. The images Muscletime uploaded are from the day after the 2001 Mr. Olympia contest.

Despite retiring from competitive bodybuilding a decade ago, the 49-year-old former champion is getting back into competition-ready shape. Cutler plans to be in the best shape possible on his 50th birthday. However, after seeing what he looked like in 2001, the fans have declared their verdict.

The best version of Jay Cutler?

“Sunday morning after the 2001 Olympia with @jaycutler at Gold‘s on Flamingo,” wrote Muscletime while captioning the post. They uploaded six images of the four-time Mr. Olympia. The first picture was a variation of the abs and things pose, where Cutler sported a shredded physique with monstrous quads. The next one was Cutler’s side triceps pose.

The image showed off Cutler’s balanced arms and slim waist. Next was a variation of the most muscular followed by a relaxed front view. The remaining two pictures featured Cutler doing bench presses and the underrated overhead tricep extension. The rare images impressed fans so much they couldn’t help but comment on the post.

Most bodybuilding fans had the same opinion

Bodybuilding fans claimed that not the version that defeated Ronnie Coleman in 2006, but the 2001 physique was Cutler at his best. “Best version of Jay Cutler,” wrote one fan. “My favorite Jay, everyone says 09 but I really think this version looks fresher. This is bodybuilding at one of it’s absolute peaks,” explained another fan.

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“He nearly won that O!” commented another bodybuilding enthusiast. One user claimed that in 2001 Cutler represented the perfect human physique. “Perfect body right here,” wrote the user. “Before his gut was the size of a fridge,” joked one Instagram user. Another fan claimed to have witnessed the Cutler and Nasser El Sonbaty guest-posing in 2001. “In my opinion, the best he has ever looked. I saw him train when he was guest-posing with Nasser here in VA that year. He was unreal,” wrote the user.

The bodybuilding icon is one of the few people who have stayed in shape despite retiring. Now he is well into his 12-week Fit at 50 challenge. However, only time will tell if Cutler can get close to his Olympia-winning physique.

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