Nick Walker Builds ‘Tree Trunk’ Legs As 2023 Olympia Prep Intensifies

Nick Walker is training like a man possessed to win the M. Olympia title. 15 weeks out of the show, the two-time Olympia participant annihilated a leg day workout. The training session was enriched with some insightful bodybuilding tips and this article explores the details of this session.

Nick Walker is a fan favorite bodybuilder from New Jersey, USA. He competes in the Men’s Open division of the IFBB Pro League. Walker’s competitive journey started all the way back in 2013 when he was 18 years old. He kept getting better with each passing day and his efforts accumulated in him earning the IFBB Pro card in 2020.

Within a year of earning the IFBB Pro card, ‘The Mutant’ scored his first win at the 2021 New York Pro and qualified for the 2021 Olympia. His massive and tremendously shredded physique became the talk of the town. However, Walker did not stop with the Olympia qualification.

Nick Walker showcased his talent at the 2021 Arnold Classic, the second most prestigious bodybuilding competition in the world. Walker dominated the stage and became the 19th champion in the show’s history. Adding cherry to the cake, he also received the Franco Columbu most muscular award at the show!

Following a fifth-place finish at his 2021 Olympia debut, the New Jersey native took an extended break from competition to add more finesse to the physique. His eventual return resulted in a third place finish at the 2022 Olympia and he also walked away with the People’s Champion award at the show.

Nick Walker’s most recent appearance came at the 2023 Arnold Classic where he narrowly missed the opportunity to be a two-time Arnold Classic champion. Although the judges’ decision to give the nod to Samson Dauda was heavily contested in the bodybuilding community, Nick Walker gracefully accepted the runner-up status and moved on.

Nick Walker goes through a leg workout to prepare for 2023 Olympia

15 weeks out of the 2023 Olympia, Nick Walker’s training split consists of two leg days per week There isn’t a stark difference in the session in terms of muscle targeted as ‘The Mutant’ does quad, hamstrings and glute work on both days.

The recent leg workout, which was posted on Nick Walker’s YouTube channel, consisted of five compound and isolation movements. So let’s check it out without further delay!

Lying leg curls

Walker started the workout with lying leg curls to stimulate the hamstrings. He started light and slowly climbed the way up in terms of weight. A top set of 12 to 15 reps marked the pinnacle for this exercise.

“Working set here. 130 lbs, slow negative. Slight pause, come up, small squeeze (at the top) and just repeat. Every rep is the same. First rep and last rep. People tend to get a little sloppy on the last one if you don’t do yourself due diligence there,” Walker said.

He then performed one more set with a rest-pause method before taking up the hip press next. Walker usually performs the exercises with slow eccentric reps. He stated that longer rest periods between the sets enable him to get proper stimulus and maintain the rep range, which would otherwise be hampered if the rest periods are shorter.

Hip Press

The 2021 Arnold Classic winner executed this compound exercise next to work the quads, hamstrings as well as glutes. The 28-year-old uses hip press for the majority of time instead of leg press. He feels that it has contributed tremendously to his quad growth. 

“For me, I get no knee pain using this one, no hip pain using this one. And I just feel like overall, I can track better with this. I get better stimulus and I do feel it helps me to go full range of motion more in this… Majority of the time, this is the go to!” Nick Walker added.

The goal for this exercise was to exceed the number of reps performed in the previous week’s leg day session. Walker does not believe in excessive training to failure. Therefore he gunned for increasing the reps without having to reach failure.

He successfully outdid himself and performed two sets of 15 and 12 reps using six plates on each weight horn. He then capped them with a third set of 10 reps with seven plates and moved on to the next exercise. But I did some bent over barbell rows.

Hack Squats

Smith machine squat is ‘The Mutant’s choice of exercise. However, his lower back had been under stress as a result of his most recent back training session. While he was not feeling any discomfort or pain, the New Jersey native did not want to risk injuring or hurting his lower back.

Hack squats are an excellent alternative to traditional barbell squats or Smith machine squats as they put significantly less stress on the lower back. Therefore Nick Walker chose to perform it in this training session.

He was intent on performing two hard sets of 12 to 15 reps on this exercise. and loaded two plates on each side of the machine to push through the sets with controlled and slow movements.

“You really want to focus on each rep. I’m trying to go higher reps. So I don’t need to go too heavy. And although two plates, you know, to a lot of people, might not seem to be a lot… You guys are noticing the growth in the quads,” Walker explained.

Following this, the fan favorite bodybuilder jumped into Bulgarian split squats.

Bulgarian Split Squats

Nobody knows why this exercise has Bulgaria in it’s name therefore it’s also called rear foot elevated split squat. While people can argue over it’s name, there is no argument about the efficacy of Bulgarian split squats for lower body development. Apart from working the major lower body muscles, this exercise is great for improving balance and eliminate strength imbalances.

Walker performed two sets of Bulgarian split squats with a 60-lb kettlebell. He did 12 reps for each leg in both sets and proceeded to the final exercise of the day.

Hip Adduction Machine

Adductor muscles are a group of muscles in the inner thigh region. While their primary function is to adduct (bring together) the legs, they also play an important role in external / lateral rotation and flexion of the thigh. Walker stimulated these muscles with one set of machine hip adductions and called it a day in the gym.

Overall, the workout included:

• Lying Leg Curls – 2 sets of 12 to 15 reps; 1 set of 12 reps with rest-pause method
• Hip Press – 3 sets of 15, 12 and 10 reps each
• Hack Squats – 2 sets of 12 to 15 reps
• Bulgarian Split Squats – 2 sets of 12 reps for each leg
• Machine Hip Adduction – 1 set of 15 to 20 reps

The Mutant’s advice on exercise selection and training split

On popular demand, Nick Walker answered an important question related to bodybuilding – What is the best way to do exercise selection? According to ‘The Mutant’, it is essential to manage the training split in such a way that the body part gets sufficient time to recover before it is put under stress again. He elaborated on this with an example and said:

“For example, I don’t believe you should come here on a back day, on a Monday, and you’re doing bent over barbell rows. Then the next day, You’re coming here, say doing a hamstring day, and you’re going to do some RDLs (Romanian Deadlifts). I feel like it’s a little too much on the lower back. You probably won’t get what you need out of this.”

Walker suggests using technology and modern methods to your advantage while setting up the training split. Training apps that help organize workout routines, exercise selection and even track the progress are a great tool to manage your fitness regime.

Retired bodybuilder Guy Cisternino, who is known for his intense training, is a close friend of Walker’s. ‘The Mutant’ stated that using a fitness app and monitoring the progress has helped him tremendously in making progress while being safe and cautious.

16 weeks out of the 2023 Olympia, Walker’s weight was hovering in the 290-lbs range. However, he revealed that it came down to 288 lbs a week later and is moving in the right direction. Walker was highly praised for his conditioning, shoulder-to-waist ratio and symmetry in his 2022 Olympia effort. Refining the physique further in 2023 can certainly get Walker to the Olympia title that has eluded him twice so far.

You can watch the full workout video below, courtesy of Nick Walker’s personal YouTube channel:

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