Nick Walker is one of the IFBB Pro League’s biggest stars in the Open class. Speaking with Guy Cisternino, Walker gave his thoughts on steroids before discussing his current preparations for the nearing Arnold Classic, taking place March 2-5, in Columbus, Ohio.
In 2021, Nick Walker led a historic rookie season that saw him claim gold at the 2021 New York Pro and Arnold Classic. As a Men’s Open bodybuilder, he attracted attention within the community quickly with freakish arms and dense muscle mass. At his first Mr. Olympia contest, Walker finished fifth place.
He took off most of the 2022 season to make improvements before attempting his second Mr. Olympia competition. Despite a number of new threats debuting at the show like Andrew Jacked and Michal Krizo, Walker improved from the year prior in third place. The only men to surpass ‘The Mutant’ on the scorecards were runner-up Derek Lunsford and Hadi Choopan.
Nick Walker is usually showcasing his training sessions or physique updates, but this time, he took part in the latest Mutant & The Mouth Podcast to tackle steroid consumption. The Open class standout also shared what he uses during preps compared to the off-season.
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Nick Walker Explains Preferences in Gear Protocol During Off-Season and Preps
According to the 28-year-old, bodybuilders risk ruining their physiques by taking ‘large amounts’ of PEDs.
“You get to a point in your career where you don’t need that anymore. You built enough to where you know, 600, 700, whatever, that’s enough to still make small jumps versus doing this large amount that you just don’t need any more and then you ruin your physique, you know what I mean.”
Walker shared that he doesn’t like to use orally administered steroids during the off-season.
“So, for me, I think my favorite for the off-season is — I don’t do orals in the off-season. I don’t like orals in the off-season going into a prep. My version of an off-season, obviously we’re going to touch shit but it’s almost to stay healthy and in a healthy range because we all know when you get into prep, shit goes hard a little bit, it is what it is.”
While taking gear, Walker keeps his dosages ‘moderate’ at all times. He named a few popular compounds he used during past preps and off-seasons.
“For me, I like test, EQ, with a little MPP. But the dosages always stay very moderate. I don’t like to push too high. And then, depending on the timeframe, it might just go right into the prep or we’ll take a good little break in between and then start prep.”
“When you’re in prep, you got your Winstrol, Anavar — what would be the point of taking more orals in the off-season than giving your body a little bit of a break before you have to take all this other stuff. I always found that I’d be fine without it.”
Walker Touches on Diet and Training Ahead of 2023 Arnold Classic: ‘I’m Only Up 2 Lbs’ from 2022 Olympia
Following 2022 Olympia, Walker said he’s enjoyed high carb days and cheat meals but revealed his weight has remained steady.
“After two mega high carb days and two cheat meals, I’m only up two pounds [since Olympia],” Walker revealed. “I mean right now, if I had to guess what was going through Matt’s mind is we’re going to play it by day.”
Nick is sharing physique updates with his coach Matt Jansen every Monday, Wednesday and Friday ahead of the upcoming Arnold. With the intensity of his current training regimen, Walker mentioned that he’s not incorporating much cardio.
“I sent him pics Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays right now. I did send him some this morning just because he wanted to see how I looked. So, I’ll send him more tomorrow and we kind of just play it off that at this point.”
“No, cardio is very minimal. I think that’s because of how much food I’m eating. Personally, how I feel mentally. I’m able to train a lot harder which kind of minimizes the amount of cardio that you have to do. You’re able to eat food,” says Nick Walker.
The 2021 Arnold Classic champ is expected to face a few athletes he recently battled against in Las Vegas, Nevada last month. Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay and William Bonac will seek revenge after their surprising turnouts at Olympia.
Meanwhile, Samson Dauda, who finished sixth in his Olympia debut, is another mass monster many expect to challenge Walker on stage. Dauda’s confidence was sky-high when discussing the impending showdown. On top of those mentioned, Walker will take on his teammate, reigning two-time 212 Olympia Shaun Clarida in Ohio as well.
You can watch the full video below:
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Walker plans to use PEDs in the healthiest manner possible. If he wins his second Arnold Classic title, the victory will push Walker toward his goal of becoming the next Mr. Olympia.
Catch comprehensive coverage of the 2024 Arnold Classic, including pre-judging, event recaps, analyses, and complete Arnold Classic results at our Arnold Classic coverage hub: FitnessVolt.com/arnold-classic