Jay Cutler reflects on Cedric McMillan’s time in bodybuilding and how special his physique was.
It has been a couple weeks now since the bodybuilding world lost another legend in Cedric McMillan. This is another death that has hit the sport hard and many have been remembering McMillan in different ways. Jay Cutler spoke on his podcast about the legacy that McMillan built on stage and how he will be remembered.
On a recent episode of Cutler Cast, the bodybuilding legend spoke on his time spent with McMillan during his prime.
“He was a big figurehead in our industry and he was someone people looked upon. And He was one of the big aesthetic guys and probably one of the best physiques we have seen in quite some time. It’s just always very hard to peak perfect. I remember when I saw him in the Nationals, I just said like this guy could be like the next Ronnie Coleman.”
Jay Cutler made comparisons for Cedric McMillan to Ronnie Coleman early in his career. This is a competitor that Cutler knows very well given their own history. In 2006, Cutler won his first Olympia title, ending Coleman’s eight-year reign as champion on the biggest stage.
Cutler continued to speak on the sport of bodybuilding and the recent string of deaths. Shawn Rhoden and George Peterson passed away at the end of 2021 and these were other instances where the sport was shaken up.
There are many competitors who have won the Olympia and found themselves at the top of bodybuilding at age 30 and 40. Cutler believes that bodybuilding is a young man’s game.
“I’m just gonna state what my thought on all this is, okay. I’ve said it before. You know bodybuilding used to be a young man’s game… Chris Dickerson won Mr. Olympia at around 40. Obviously, we saw Shawn Rhoden win (Mr. Olympia) at 43. There’s not to say you can’t do it. But is it suggestive to be a competitive bodybuilder on that level into your 40s? I think not.”
Jay Cutler put together one of the best bodybuilding careers of all-time. He has maintained an elite physique in retirement but does not believe competitors should maintain this championship physique preparing for competition.
“Not to say that it’s bad to get ready for a bodybuilding competition but the professional top tier, Mr. Olympia level, I’m not so sure about it.
Two or three Olympias I’m like, ‘why do I do this?’ It shouldn’t be like that. You’re the best in the world at what you do. I was trying to defend the title and I was dehydrated to the point where my mind just wasn’t there. It was always the dehydration process that was the hardest for me.”
Jay Cutler has been open about PED use in retirement and believes that athletes should get blood work done regularly. This is a way to make sure that bodybuilders are healthy and if not, they know what needs to be improved.
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