During a recent episode of Raw Talk, four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler addressed one of the most debated topics in bodybuilding: what he was actually taking at the peak of his career and how those protocols compare to what many lifters are using today.
Speaking with host Bradley Martyn, Cutler didn’t shy away when the conversation turned to testosterone dosing during his Olympia-winning years. When asked for specifics, he offered a straightforward answer that surprised some listeners.
“My peak, I think I’ve gone up to 750 test, but 500 would be like a sitting point,” he said. “I never really went above that.”
For many viewers, that figure sounded lower than expected given the size and conditioning of top-level competitors at the time. Cutler acknowledged the skepticism directly, suggesting that public perception often exaggerates what elite bodybuilders were actually using.
“I just think that your average gym bro took more,” he said. “And I know that people say he’s lying or whatever else. And the truth is I have no reason to lie at this point.”
Cutler also explained that the structure of st**oid use during his era was fundamentally different from modern approaches. Today, many athletes follow year-round protocols that include TRT, cruising phases, and bridging cycles. According to Cutler, that wasn’t the norm when he was competing.
“There was no TRT and there was no cruising or bridging,” he said. “You stopped cold turkey and you just got big and cut for the show, because the only way to get the cuts and hold that size was to use anabolics. So I would actually cycle for the contest and literally come off.”
When Martyn asked how long he would remain completely off PEDs between cycles, Cutler’s answer was simple.
“Months,” he said, adding that fellow bodybuilding legend Ronnie Coleman followed a similar approach.
Discussing specific stuff, Cutler outlined what he considered his preferred off-season stack. He emphasized that testosterone formed the foundation of nearly every program, with other PEDs used to enhance size, fullness, or conditioning depending on the phase of training.
“My favorite off-season program would be Equipoise and Test,” he said. “I loved Equipoise because it was a volumizer. Testosterone is your basis for anything.”
He noted that additional compounds were sometimes introduced closer to competition season, depending on the athlete’s goals.
“And then you get, you know, Anavar, Winstrol,” he said. “Some people would use Anadrol 50 for getting big, or Dbol (Dianabol). Dbol always held a lot of water.”
Growth hormone eventually became part of his regimen as the PED became more widely available and financially accessible within the sport. According to Cutler, its introduction marked a noticeable shift in the physical development seen on bodybuilding stages.
“GH came into play later when it was affordable and when it became a thing,” he said. “That’s really where you saw the bodies really expand. I started with four IUs a day and ended up at 9 or 12 at my peak.”
Perhaps the sharpest contrast between past and present came when Cutler discussed trenbolone usage. He argued that modern dosing practices have escalated dramatically compared to what competitors used during his era.
“We were using exotic stuff like Parabolan before Tren,” he said. “People talk about Tren, and Parabolan was like 76 milligrams, say you take two a week, and not like these guys take 1,000 milligrams of Tren, which is absolutely absurd.”
Throughout the conversation, Cutler maintained that genetics played a far bigger role in his success than extreme PED use. He described himself as someone who responded unusually well to training and nutrition, even at relatively moderate dosages by today’s standards.
“I believe I’m a hyperresponder because I can just look at weights and I can grow,” he said.
