Nick Walker has laid out ambitious goals for his bodybuilding season. In a recent Mutant and the Mouth Podcast, Walker opened up on his all-out game plan to win the next Mr. Olympia and the 2025 Arnold Classic events.
Following Arnold Schwarzenegger’s shocking Men’s Open prize money boost, talks surrounding the next Arnold Classic are already swirling. With a life-changing $500,000 on the line, bodybuilding legends such as Flex Wheeler believe the Mr. Olympia brand could end up as ‘secondary’ if they don’t follow suit.
Among those interested in the 2025 Arnold Classic is Nick Walker, a 2021 winner of the show and Olympia contender. Walker was forced to pull out of the 2023 Mr. Olympia contest due to a hamstring and calf tear. Now, healed up, ‘The Mutant’ intends to make a statement at the 2024 New York Pro and continues to map out his next competitions on the horizon.
Nick Walker Announces Plan to Win 2024 New York Pro, Mr. Olympia, and 2025 Arnold Classic
Considering that Walker lost the 2023 Arnold Classic to Samson Dauda right after placing third on the 2022 Mr. Olympia stage, Guy Cisternino asked if he would be willing to compete in Ohio if he wins this year’s Sandow trophy.
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“If you win the Olympia, you wouldn’t do the Arnold again would you?” asks Guy Cisternino.
“Abso-fucking-lutely, 500K says otherwise,” said Nick Walker. “No. I’m all in right now. When he said that, this is no joke, as soon as he said that I looked at Matt, I said ‘Are we ready?’ He said, ‘Let’s do it.'”
Walker adds that he would like to compete at all of the Arnold Classic shows in one season, including Ohio, Brazil, and the United Kingdom.
“I would like at some point to do all the Arnolds. We have Ohio, Brazil, and UK I believe. They don’t have that no more, [Arnold Australia]” adds Walker. They are all kind of close you know I just think for me to put that into stone, it would just be a day by day. I would have to make sure I feel good, the body is responding, I have to make sure everything is rolling the way it needs to. At some point, I would just love to do all of them.”
Taking a look at how the action unfolded in Ohio, Walker believes Hadi Choopan brought one of his best looks ever.
“No, but I thought honestly, it was pretty clear-cut man. I mean, I obviously didn’t see Friday and I hate judging pictures I really do. But even through the pictures, I was like, yup. Then, obviously at finals, it was just very just apparent man. Hadi didn’t fuck around. He came ready.”
He believes the Columbus, Ohio version of Choopan’s physique was superior to Derek Lunsford’s 2023 Olympia package.
“That Hadi versus Derek’s Olympia showcase?” asks Guy Cisternino.
“Hadi wins. Hadi wins,” said Walker. “I think what hurt Hadi was he didn’t have the conditioning from the back and I do think he was a little more blockier at the Olympia.”
Walker thought Choopan presented a harder, leaner, and more impressive physique in Ohio than at past events.
“And for the Arnold, his back was a lot more leaner, everything was drier, more conditioned, everything popped more. His waist was tighter. He was able to hit a vacuum. I mean he was always able to but he was very transparent and I just think that look in all honesty, that’s very hard to beat man.”
“That would have been a repeat for Hadi,” said Walker. “I haven’t been there yet [at my best].”
Looking ahead, Walker is aiming to pick up victories in New York and use that momentum to find success at the 2024 Mr. Olympia and 2025 Arnold Classic.
“I’m going all out. I don’t ever go into a show,” said Walker. “I don’t whatever show I do, I go all out no matter what. No matter what. That is, I’ll go out for this, I’m going to go all-out for the Olympia and I’m going to go all-out for the Arnold.”
In preparation for the New York Pro, Walker has kept fans up-to-date on his training endeavors. As of late, the Men’s Open star tested himself with a brutal leg day training session where he focused on rest pauses for better mind-muscle connection.
Walker continues to inch closer to his first show of the 2024 season. If he earns the victory at this year’s New York Pro, he will have the qualification needed to step on the Mr. Olympia stage from October 10-13 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Watch the full YouTube video from the Mutant and the Mouth Podcast channel below:
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