Nick Walker is locking in preparations ahead of his next bodybuilding contest this weekend. In a special interview, Nick Walker and IFBB head judge Steve Weinberger recapped the guest posing event at the 2024 Pittsburgh Pro. In addition, Weinberger offered advice to Walker on how to defeat the reigning Mr. Olympia Derek Lunsford.
The Men’s Open division has seen a ruthless crop of contenders emerge, combining the best of conditioning and muscularity. Among the threats looming in the category is Nick Walker, a proven force, who last competed and took second place at the 2023 Arnold Classic to Samson Dauda.
Although Walker had Olympia-winning ambitions last year, his career came to a screeching halt after he sustained a hamstring and calf tear. To ensure his presence on the sport’s greatest stage in 2024, Walker intends to win the New York Pro on May 18. Fans have already witnessed a sneak peek of his physique, thanks to a guest posing appearance at Jim Manion’s Pittsburgh Pro celebration.
Steve Weinberger Gives Nick Walker Advice on How to Beat Derek Lunsford at 2024 Mr. Olympia, Talks Guest Posing in Pittsburgh
While Walker has received praise and criticism for his physique at the Pittsburgh Pro, he refused to concern himself with the opinions of people he doesn’t find important.
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“Look, I even texted Steve about it he gave me his truthful opinion. But the reality is, from anyone who is not I feel important in the scene, I just laugh. I think it’s comical because I’m a week out. I know I’m in great shape.”
Peaking for a bodybuilding show requires a delicate approach, and sometimes, athletes won’t look their best days out from competing, explains Weinberger.
“I’ve seen plenty of guys look like shit on Wednesday and Saturday look like a diamond. It doesn’t matter what you look like on Friday or Sunday, it matters what you look like come pre-judging Saturday morning. It doesn’t matter the day before or the day after,” shares Steve Weinberger.
Walker admits he was holding water and was ‘full of food’ on stage in Pittsburgh. He revealed that he has lost seven pounds since his guest posing appearance.
“Yeah, sure I was holding water. There’s no doubt about it. I literally drove five, six hours that same day got on stage two hours later, full of food and water. I wasn’t peaking for a guest posing. That’s not my — my winning show is this weekend. When people are like, ‘Oh, my God,’ I’m like, dude you guys just don’t know how this works man.”
“From Saturday until now, we are already down seven pounds,” adds Walker.
Weinberger believes Walker and Jay Cutler lack genetic gifts but compensate for it with a tireless work ethic.
“I think Nick has the same story as Jay. Nick is not genetically gifted with the greatest shape but he is a hard worker and he works on that just like Jay did and that makes him very dangerous. The guy with the best genetics, like a Flex Wheeler, he never won, because he sort of relied on his genetics all the time.”
“Take somebody like Nick, who is like a Jay, who doesn’t have it genetically, will make it work because they have everything else. They have the other package complete. They are big and muscular, and they work on their shape which is possible, proven by Jay and now by Nick,” says Weinberger.
As for advice on how to defeat Derek Lunsford, Weinberger stressed that details like the sweep on the thighs, the cap on the delts, and the shape of his back will be key. He also mentioned that Walker’s back double biceps reminded him of an iconic Dorian Yates photo.
“I think what he’s doing is the right thing. He’s putting on muscle in the areas which help show his shape like the width of his back, the sweep on his thighs, the cap on his delts, these are the things that make his waist look smaller.
Honestly, I saw a back double bicep of him it reminded me of the underwear shots of Dorian. It really did. The deep thick muscularity in that.”
Ultimately, Weinberger believes Walker’s best path to victory against Lunsford is sheer conditioning.
“It’s going to come down to conditioning. We know Nick has muscle but he’s got to bring the conditioning,” states Weinberger.
Lastly, Walker took inventory of a few physique weak points like his outer sweeps and chest.
“I take it and I apply it and whatever I’m told that I need to improve on, I improve on it. Do things take a little longer than normal? Yes. Like my outer sweeps, do they still need work? Yes. I will firmly say that but do I think they have come up a lot? Yes, I do think that. My chest was always a weak point. I think that’s come up a lot. I think my back has come up a lot.”
Even though Walker still has to secure his qualification for Olympia, that hasn’t stopped big names in the sport from discussing his participation. Recently, bodybuilding legend Jay Cutler stated that Walker could ‘possibly’ win the 2024 Mr. Olympia contest in October.
The nearing New York Pro show will give fans a clearer idea of Walker’s chances on the sport’s biggest stage. Don’t miss the 2024 Mr. Olympia’s 60th anniversary from October 10-13 later this year.
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