Men’s Open Pro Nick Walker is already envisioning himself holding up the 2023 Mr. Olympia title in November. In a recent Mutant and the Mouth Podcast, Walker discussed prep for the biggest show of the year, his current weight, steroids before contests, and retirement.
Sporting a monstrous physique with densely conditioned muscle, Nick Walker turned heads from the moment he arrived in the IFBB Pro League. Having claimed gold at his second-ever Pro contest at the 2021 New York Pro, Walker proved his physique was just as special as it was freaky. He gambled on himself at the 2021 Arnold Classic as well, which saw him clinch gold despite it serving as his debut in Columbus, Ohio.
At his first Mr. Olympia competition, Walker turned in a fifth-place performance. In the months to come, “The Mutant” made changes to his training, diet, and supplementation, laying the seeds for future improvements. Walker proceeded with his career by taking the off-season to tighten his waist and add mass to his legs.
When it was time to step on the 2022 Mr. Olympia stage, it was evident Walker arrived in Las Vegas, Nevada with a whole new look. The unpredictable night saw Hadi Choopan win Mr. Olympia gold, and while Walker finished third, he also received the Olympia People’s Champ Award. With his eyes on the sport’s top prize, he shared details about his prep and what’s to come on the horizon.
Nick Walker Weighs 281 Lbs 8 Weeks from 2023 Mr. Olympia, Talks Prep, Current Physique, and Improvements
Walker underlined that he’s sitting at 281 pounds which is a new low for him during contest prep.
“We’ve gone to Barry’s every week so far since my birthday. Yeah. Yes [it feels like we’re prepping]. Yes, Matt is pushing hard diet-wise throughout the week and then it’s like let’s have some food here. I’m 281. I was like 284 [last time]. This is a new low for me. Matt actually gave me some food today. I like the way he’s been doing it.
Instead of doing like a full full high day, what he’ll do is take the high day diet and go high day meals one through three and then base diet four, five, and six, that way it rejuvenates. Tomorrow will be an off day and Friday we’ll check again and see where we’re at,” said Nick Walker.
Even though fans have said his physique is maxed out, Walker is keen on proving the naysayers wrong yet again. He mentioned that he’s added size to every area that needed it in 2023.
“People have been telling me my physique is maxed out since 2019 when I took second, they’re like, he can’t improve, he can’t go anywhere, like okay. Yeah, hold my beer,” said Walker. “I’m bigger in every area that I needed to be bigger in and my waist is tighter.”
“I think it looks better.”
Specifically, Walker believes his arms are bigger despite not training them often. He also said his upper chest and quad sweeps have improved ‘dramatically.’
“Arms — this is the least I’ve trained my arms and they’re bigger. My chest is, especially my upper chest is bigger and fuller. Quad sweeps have come up dramatically. And this is just like, I just wanted to prove a point. I found something that I think is really working.”
Considering Samson Dauda’s momentum, Walker expects to battle him again on the Mr. Olympia stage and believes the top five this year will be extremely competitive.
“Listen, I think Samson is going to be in the mix. I think he has improved drastically which I’m happy about. So, I think he’s going to be right next to us the entire time and I think this Olympia, I feel everybody is going to be on their A-game, everybody is going to be peeled, everybody is going to be conditioned like we’re supposed to be, and that top five is going to be competitive like a motherfucker. That’s why I’m excited, now… this year, I feel more confident.”
Walker stands by his original top-five prediction, which can be found below:
- First Place — Nick Walker
- Second Place — Derek Lunsford
- Third Place — Hadi Choopan
- Fourth Place — Samson Dauda
- Fifth Place — Brandon Curry
“I’m sticking to my top five that I said on the last podcast [Nick, Derek, Hadi, Samson, Brandon]. I can’t rule Brandon out. I’d literally love to throw Andrew in there to be honest but I can’t throw Brandon out and I do think Samson overpowers Andrew, I think Andrew has the prettier physique hands down. But as far as the filled out frame, still be aesthetic-looking, it’s Samson.”
He believes Andrew Jacked makes a case for the top five but refuses to count out former Mr. Olympia Brandon Curry.
“Andrew still needs to fill in his back, hamstrings, and glutes more. I still believe his quads need to come up a little more. From here up, from the front, he’s insane,” added Walker.
Before moving on, Walker looked back on why he always felt the need to be the best at whichever sport he pursued.
“When I started competing, I’m like I’m going to win fucking everything. That was always the mindset I had. I think that stems from when I played sports too. Because I had to be the best at every sport that I did, I had to be. I don’t care if my team was shitty but I had to be the best one on the team,” shared Nick Walker.
Walker Talks Pre-Fight Rituals, Stopping Gear, and Retirement
In the weeks leading up to a bodybuilding contest, Walker said he preferred small doses of performance-enhancing drugs.
“The leaner I get, I’ll start to split my shots into two, where like one CCs here, and one CCs there. I just kind of go instead of filling the bitch up, I rather just split it up into very small doses and I feel like that’s always benefited me.”
Moments before competing at big events like the Arnold Classic and Mr. Olympia, Walker stated that his coach Matt Jansen shares a mini bottle of vodka with him to calm their nerves.
“Matt would before the Arnold and Olympia we would down one of those small little bottles of vodkas. Yeah [to calm me down] and it works.”
When asked about his eventual retirement, Walker disclosed that his plan is to compete past 40.
“I personally just feel when I’m done, I’m done. But if I had to put a number… I’d like to make it past 40. I’d like to make it past 40. But it’s all just going to be depend on where my life in time, where what I feel of course and just how my body is. Right now, it’s obviously full focus. I want to go as long as I can. I want to win as many Olympias and Arnolds as I can but you know, life happens sometimes, and I get that, it’s scary.”
Lastly, Walker explained that if he wasn’t a bodybuilder, he would attempt to pursue other business ventures with his time instead.
“Honestly, it would probably be going to all-in on any business I would want to invest in at that point,” said Walker. “Not yet [I haven’t invested]. I have some in mind, obviously, I want to help Maria with the sauce business and kind of help her go all in with that.”
“Houses and other businesses that I’ve had interest in. Yeah [gyms]. I think a gym for me, it’s a hit or miss.”
This isn’t the first time that Nick Walker has pondered what he’d do with his life outside of bodybuilding. In a recent Straight Outta the Lair Podcast with former seven-time 212 Olympia Flex Lewis, Walker said he would consider quitting bodybuilding and acting in Hollywood if he received a ‘legitimate offer on something.’
Walker is not letting his aspirations beyond the sport distract him from his ultimate goal: to dominate the Mr. Olympia stage. He has never fallen behind in his placements at the prestigious event, and fans are eagerly anticipating his return in two months.
You can watch the full YouTube video from the Mutant and the Mouth Podcast Channel Below:
RELATED: Nick Walker on 2023 Mr. Olympia: “I Believe I Wil Win Without a Question”
Published: 5 September, 2023 | 5:44 PM EDT
You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and
YouTube for even more content.
