If you wish to decide essentially the most profitable bodybuilder of a sure period, you then merely have a look at the variety of championships they received throughout their careers. Figuring out the most well-liked rivals is a bit completely different. Social media will help present some info, however it isn’t all about followers on-line. Crowd assist at reveals, strains at expos, and merchandise gross sales may inform extra of the story.
No matter what metrics you employ, Jay Cutler and Nick Walker maintain their very own in each onstage success and fan assist.
Cutler, a four-time Mr. Olympia, competed as a professional from 1998 to 2013, and he’s nonetheless one of the admired athletes within the sport 10 years after his retirement.
In the meantime, Walker was one in every of Cutler’s followers rising up, however he’s now forging his personal legacy and constructing his personal fanbase — and trophy case — that might doubtlessly rival Cutler’s sometime.
Might Walker truly match Culter’s accomplishments? We’ll have to attend some time earlier than we get a solution. However within the meantime, we right here at BarBend are breaking down their physiques and accomplishments to see how each males stack up.
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Bodybuilding Accomplishments
Evaluating the duo’s accomplishments in 2023 wouldn’t precisely be truthful to Walker. He’s solely in his third full season as a professional, whereas Cutler had a profession that lasted effectively over a decade. Although we are going to point out all of Cutler’s main profession highlights, we’ll emphasize his success as much as the age of 28, which is Walker’s age as of March 2023. In a putting coincidence, the 2 even share a birthday — August 3 — that means Cutler is precisely 21 years older than Walker.
Jay Cutler’s Accomplishments
Cutler received 15 professional reveals throughout his profession, together with 4 Mr. Olympia titles and three Arnold Classics. Nonetheless, he didn’t rating any of these Olympias earlier than the age of 33. If we had been to maintain his profession evaluation to the age of 28, then that leads as much as his 2002 season.
In accordance with Muscle Memory, Cutler turned professional in 1996 by successful the NPC Nationals heavyweight title. His first professional present was the 1998 Night time of Champions, the place he positioned twelfth. He then certified for the 1999 Mr. Olympia by inserting within the high three at that 12 months’s Iron Man Invitational, however he completed fifteenth out of 16 rivals on the O itself.
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Cutler’s first professional win got here on the 2000 Night time of Champions, which turned the New York Pro years later. He then completed eighth at that 12 months’s Mr. Olympia. He actually hit his stride after inserting second to champion Ronnie Coleman on the 2001 Mr. Olympia. Many really feel Cutler was truly the higher competitor that evening, and it’s a choice that’s nonetheless thought of one of the controversial within the present’s historical past.
The 2002 season kicked off with 28-year-old Cutler successful his first Arnold Traditional title. He then opted to skip the Olympia that 12 months, making his profession highlights as much as age 28 as follows:
- 1996 NPC Nationals Heavyweight Winner
- 2000 Night time of Champions Winner
- 2001 Mr. Olympia, 2nd Place
- 2002 Arnold Traditional Champion
Nick Walker’s Accomplishments
Walker turned professional on the 2020 North American Championships, and he instantly made his professional debut on the Chicago Pro that very same season, ending in fourth.
He already had a following going into the 2021 season, however his reputation skyrocketed after successful the New York Pro. In one other coincidence, Walker’s first professional win got here on the identical contest as Cutler’s, albeit with a unique title.
The 2021 Arnold Traditional got here after the New York Professional on account of scheduling modifications across the COVID-19 pandemic. Walker shocked the world and won that contest as effectively, marking his first main title in solely his third professional present.
[Related: Ronnie Coleman vs. Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay: A Fantasy Battle Between Bodybuilding Heavyweights]
His Olympia debut got here two weeks later with a fifth-place end — 10 spots larger than Cutler’s first Mr. O outing. Walker returned to the Olympia in 2022 and positioned third behind champion Hadi Choopan and runner-up Derek Lunsford. He then kicked off the 2023 season by returning to the Arnold Traditional, the place he completed second behind champion Samson Dauda.
Walker isn’t anticipated to compete once more till the 2023 Olympia Weekend on Nov. 2-5 in Orlando, FL, and he be flip 29 by that time. Listed here are his profession highlights as of March 2023:
- 2020 North People Champion
- 2021 New York Professional Winner
- 2021 Arnold Traditional Champion
- 2022 Mr. Olympia, third Place
Coaching Model
Each males are identified for his or her freakish muscle mass — however how did they construct it? Cutler is reported to be 5’9” whereas Walker stands 5’7”, and each weighed round 250 kilos on stage. With Walker being such a fan of Cutler rising up, you’ll be able to think about that he took some coaching cues from the four-time Mr. Olympia over time.
Jay Cutler’s Coaching Model
Cutler credit foundational free weight actions such because the bench press, squat, and deadlift for constructing his mass.
“Whereas machines are nonetheless useful — while you get to a sure level, you’ll be able to’t get to that [Mr. Olympia] degree with out doing free weight actions,” Cutler said on his YouTube channel in September 2021. He did (and nonetheless does), nevertheless, work more with machines and dumbbells to refine his physique as his profession progressed.
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Throughout his prime, Cutler applied a high-volume coaching method and barely used supersets or different intensity-boosting strategies. He hit upwards of 20 to 25 units per physique half, with units being within the eight to 12 rep vary. He nonetheless follows this method as he nears his fiftieth birthday.
In November 2022, Cutler shared an 11-exercise shoulders and triceps workout that’s much like how he skilled throughout his days of dominating the stage. He didn’t element the reps and units, however these are the strikes he carried out:
- Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press
- Chest-Supported Seated Lateral Elevate Machine
- Rear Delt Cable Crossover Flye
- Incline Mounted Barbell Front Raise
- Incline Dumbbell Rear Delt Flye
- Seated Triceps Extension Machine
- Cable Triceps Pushdown
- Kneeling Rope Pushdown
- Seated Cable Triceps Extension
- Machine Calf Raise
- Leg Press Calf Elevate
Nick Walker’s Coaching Model
Although Walker performs lots of the identical actions as Cutler, he’s much more notable for his freakish shows of power on social media. Throughout his 2022 Mr. Olympia prep, Walker posted a video of himself hitting incline bench press reps with 180-pound dumbbells and deadlifts with 5 45-pound weight plates on both sides (which totals 495 kilos, assuming Walker was lifting with a standard 45-pound barbell).
Like Cutler, Walker has since began incorporating extra machine actions into his programming as a result of they permit him to isolate muscle teams and refine his mass.
[Related: The Story Behind the Chaotic Drug-Tested 1990 Mr. Olympia]
That stated, he nonetheless makes use of free-weight workouts often and retains his rep ranges round 12 to fifteen. One instance of Walker’s shoulder coaching is this session he accomplished with 2019 Mr. Olympia Brandon Curry in the summertime of 2022.
Reputation
It’s at all times tough to match the recognition of bodybuilders from completely different eras due to the shortage of social media throughout Cutler’s profession and the other ways of promotion between then and now. There are considerably fewer magazines round now, and merchandise gross sales have modified as effectively. Nonetheless, you’ll be able to see why these two males are the place they’re within the bodybuilding world.
Jay Cutler’s Reputation
Cutler’s reputation throughout the 2000s was matched solely by eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman. That’s as a result of, all through their careers, they had been often the final two males standing on the Olympia stage, and their physiques helped outline the “mass monster” period. They had been essentially the most high-profile athletes within the sport, with every promoting exercise DVDs and showing in magazines. If something, their rivalry helped each males obtain even larger heights by way of reputation.
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Cutler was — and nonetheless is — savvy in relation to the enterprise of bodybuilding. He was the highest athlete for the complement firm MuscleTech for many of his profession, began his personal merch line, and was a fixture at commerce reveals. His pursuit of Coleman, mixed along with his dedication to assist his followers, made him a legend lengthy earlier than he received an Olympia title.
Since his retirement, Cutler stays related with newer followers because of his podcast, social media pages, and his YouTube channel. On Instagram alone, he has greater than 4.8 million followers as of March 2023, rating alongside present rivals like Big Ramy.
Nick Walker’s Reputation
Walker’s fanbase could be seen partially on each his Instagram (1.3 million followers) and YouTube channels (231,000 subscribers). Exterior of social media, he has his personal clothes line and is sponsored by complement model HD Muscle. Like Cutler, Walker additionally makes appearances at commerce reveals, gyms, and diet shops.
[Related: How Strong Was Arnold Schwarzenegger? We Look Back at the Oak’s Short-Lived Powerlifting Career]
The eye of bodybuilding followers is now extra unfold because of the addition of different divisions comparable to Classic Physique and Men’s Physique, however Walker stays a well-liked determine within the business and will stay so for a number of years to return.
Teaching
Each Walker and Cutler employed among the most revered trainers and coaches within the business to assist them construct their championship physiques. Right here’s who helped them get to the highest:
Jay Cutler — Chris Aceto and Hany Rambod
Cutler started his profession with “The Technician” Chris Aceto and stayed with him all through most of his profession. Aceto helped Cutler win all of his professional reveals up till the 2008 Olympia when he misplaced to Dexter Jackson.
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Cutler then modified over to Hany Rambod, who guided him to his last two Olympia victories in 2009 and 2010. After initially agreeing to work with Chad Nicholls for his 2013 return to the stage, Cutler ultimately reunited with Aceto and completed his last Mr. Olympia contest in sixth place.
Nick Walker — Matt Jansen
Walker has primarily used one coach all through his competitors preps thus far: Matt Jansen. The duo labored collectively from Walker’s novice days till the 2021 Olympia, the place he completed in fifth.
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After a short falling out, Walker switched to working with Dominick Mutascio in early 2022. Nonetheless, Walker and Jansen reunited later that 12 months and returned to the 2022 Olympia as a duo. Walker completed that contest in third place, they usually adopted that up with a second-place end on the 2023 Arnold Traditional.
Conclusion
From birthdays to first victories and main titles, the comparisons between Cutler and Walker look like legitimate up to now. Additionally they occur to be among the many hottest bodybuilders of the respective generations. Ultimately, although, all of it comes all the way down to Olympia {hardware}. “The Mutant” actually has the potential to rival Cutler in relation to Sandow trophies, however solely time will inform if he will get it accomplished.
Featured Photographs: @jaycutler on Instagram (Cutler), T.J. Darr (Walker)
