“My Nose Would Bleed”: Quad Stomper Jay Cutler Confessed “The Coolest Thing” During Bodybuilding Prime Was a Risky Squat

On October 25, 2022, bodybuilding legend Jay Cutler appeared on The Iced Coffee Hour podcast. During the YouTube podcast, Cutler spoke about his bodybuilding career and revealed his successful transition into an entrepreneur. However, when one of the hosts asked the four-time Mr. Olympia about some of the most difficult workouts he has done, Cutler made a confession. The former champion revealed while training legs, he pushed his body to the extremes.

One of the hosts asked Cutler if he could remember a “specific workout or one rep or something,” that was the hardest thing he did in the gym. Interestingly, the host pointed out the exact side effect that Cutler had while attempting the extreme exercise. 

How Jay Cutler got his insane quads

Even people who don’t know Cutler’s name have probably seen the iconic quad stomp pose. Cutler hit the pose during the 2009 Mr. Olympia when he avenged his loss. However, to achieve such incredible muscularity in his legs, the bodybuilding legend took squatting to the extreme.

“I used to squat until my nose bled if that makes sense,” said the three-time Arnold Classic champion. Cutler said he trained at a Gold’s Gym in Worcester, Massachusetts. In the gym, there was a mirror very close to the squat rack. The mirror used to be covered in spit, said Cutler, because bodybuilders would exhale forcefully during the squat. However, when Cutler squatted, it got sprayed with blood.

“I would actually squat until… like so much blood,” said the bodybuilding veteran. While pushing the body to such extremes might be harmful, at 18, the young competitor only wanted to win. “I thought that was the coolest thing,” he confessed. However, decades later, he realized it was “a little mentally messed up,” to push himself so hard. Shockingly, this wasn’t the only extreme workout he did.

Bodybuilding in the burning Las Vegas heat

After narrating his insane squat story, the bodybuilding icon said he used to train outside under the sun. While working out In Las Vegas, Cutler would drag the barbell outside the gym, put 225 lbs on it, and then do walking lunges while it was 120 degrees outside.

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“I remember like throwing the bar off my back and trying to catch my breath in the air so heavy because it’s over 100 degrees,” explained the former Mr. Olympia. Cutler further explained that he would do lunges for about 15 mins and get inside to train other body parts. While 18-year-old Jay Cutler thought it was “cool” to push his body beyond the limit, 49-year-old Cutler knows it’s about training hard and smart.

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