“The Mutant” Nick Walker is gearing up for his Mr. Olympia return. On August 28, 2025, he broke down his brutal chest-focused push day workout seven weeks from stepping back on stage.
Public doubt grew about Walker’s future in the sport after he withdrew from the Mr. Olympia in 2023 and 2024. Fans and even voices of bodybuilding, like Bob Cicherillo, have largely counted him out heading into Olympia, even going as far as to say Walker would never win the title.
He reminded the world that he was a top-tier Open threat at the 2025 Pittsburgh Pro. He almost won, but took silver following a tie-breaking round against Derek Lunsford. To stamp his ticket to Olympia, Walker won the New York Pro for a third time. Now, his attention is solely focused on taking the Sandow trophy from Samson Dauda.
Nick Walker Smashes Push Workout 7 Weeks from 2025 Mr. Olympia
Find his exercise selections from the YouTube video below:
- Bent-over cable crossover
- Curved barbell bench press
- Decline chest press machine
- Lateral raise machine
- Shoulder press machine
- Rope pushdown
- Dip machine
Bent-over cable crossover
Walker talked about his diet and current weight heading into the last few weeks before the 2025 Mr. Olympia.
“We hit 287, he gave me a high day. We went down to 286. On Saturday, he gave me another one, went back to 287 on Sunday, and now we’re back to 286. I think we’re now on the down spiral, finally.”
Curved barbell bench press
He favored the extra stretch from the curved barbell bench press and explained that using free weights again has helped him burn more calories during prep.
“That extra stretch really makes a world of difference. I haven’t been using that a lot,” said Walker. “The cool thing about training here, it kind of forces me to use free weight again, which is fun, and it’s cool and I feel like it’s getting me back to what I used to do, and I just feel like I burn more calories.”
Decline chest press machine
Moving on, Walker revealed that increasing his reps on all body parts to 15-20 has led to him achieving a leaner, bigger look.
“For 20 [the whole stack],” he shared. “Since I’ve been training a lot more higher reps, 15 or 20 for all body parts, I just feel like I got leaner and rounder really quick, so I look bigger.”
Lateral raise machine
While he favors the Atlantis lateral raise machine most, this exercise has become a staple in Walker’s delt training.
“One of my favorites, I love the side lateral machine. This gets the job done.”
Shoulder press machine
Walker has also reintroduced shoulder pressing in this training camp.
“Yeah, I started to get back into shoulder pressing a little bit. I just really like this machine. I like that it converges at the top. No, it’s just the way I train.”
Rope pushdown
For triceps, Walker slowed down his tempo and executed controlled reps.
“I love this. This is my favorite.
Dip machine
He finished off the workout with dips to top off his chest and triceps pump.
“I felt like I didn’t like it last time because I was too big. Now that I’m shrink-wrapping, I’m able to fit into it a bit better.”
Walker wants the Olympia title, but fans are also excited to see him settle the rivalry with Lunsford. Lunsford told Walker he should’ve thanked him for the loss in Pittsburgh. The comment didn’t sit well with Walker, who suggested Lunsford was ‘scared shitless’ heading into Olympia.
Walker looks to be on track to bring his all-time best to the stage. The 2025 Mr. Olympia is set for October 9-12 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Watch the full video from the Nick Walker YouTube channel below:
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Nick’s chest focused push workout really shows how dialing into those reps and machines can sculpt that learn, powerful look. I especially appreciate how he use high reps and machines to hit the chest and shoulders hard while keeping conditioning top-notch. Something like pulley home gym allows folks to mimic cable crossover movements and rope pushdowns right at home which makes it easier to follow similar high-rep strategies no matter where you train. Love how this article balances performance.