Balanced muscle development is one aspect of the sport Jay Cutler mastered throughout his tenure. In a recent YouTube video, shared on June 24, 2025, Cutler explained how to approach biceps isolation movements to achieve bigger arms.
Cutler quickly embraced the sport at a young age, boasting insane muscularity and conditioning by the time he was 20 years old. After finishing runner-up at the Mr. Olympia six times, he finally overthrew Ronnie Coleman in 2006 to become champion.
From there, Cutler continued to thrive under the IFBB Pro League banner. However, in 2008, he lost his Olympia title to Dexter Jackson. This defeat lit a fire under the Massachusetts native, motivating him to win back the crown a year later. At the event, Cutler brought what many consider the best package of his career.
Before all was said and done, Cutler amassed four Mr. Olympia victories. In retirement, he hasn’t abandoned his love for the sport, regularly sharing tips and tricks for building muscle. Before his 52nd birthday rolls around, he offered fans insight into how to grow bigger arms by isolating the biceps.
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Jay Cutler Says ‘Necessary’ Biceps Isolation Movements Are Key to Building Bigger Arms: ‘Keep Those Elbows Tucked’
In the video, Cutler spoke on the importance of isolation biceps movements in an arms routine.
“Isolation bicep movements, how important is it in the routine? There’s a lot of locked elbow position [movements] that can really target the bicep and anyone that needs to develop bigger arms, work with your isolation movements,” said Jay Cutler.
Cutler prefers two-arm isolation movements for growing biceps, like the preacher curl.
“We can swing with all the weights, your standard barbell curl, your dumbbell curls, you guys have seen me do that a million times. The isolation movements are necessary. Something like the preacher bench,” he shared. “Ideally, I love to do this two arms.”
For optimal results, he said to keep the elbows in a locked position. Aim for a rep range between 8-20, and he shared that sometimes it’s beneficial to include a burnout set.
“It’s really great for isolation. Keep those elbows locked. Remember, the arms are not like a two, three, four-rep bicep-building exercise.
You want to focus on 8, 10, 12, 15, and sometimes 20, sometimes burnout sets. Really engage the muscle with blood and follow through but really focus on that isolation.”
Cutler has made arm growth a focal point since retiring from the bodybuilding stage. In addition to isolation exercises, he broke down why hammer curls can be a highly effective option for not only growing the biceps but also overall arm thickness.
Cutler’s biggest takeaway was to keep the elbows locked during biceps isolation movements. Additionally, try to aim for 8-20 reps instead of sticking with a lower rep scheme.
RELATED: Jay Cutler Shares Top 3 Exercises Used to Build Forearms for Every Mr. Olympia Victory of His Career
