Nick Walker is continuing to refine his physique to suit the Men’s Open class. In a recent Instagram post shared on June 4, 2026, he broke down the key training cue that helped him build a bigger chest.
At the 2025 Mr. Olympia, Walker missed the mark despite his status as a heavy favorite. He secured a career-low finish of sixth place, leaving fans unsure of his future. However, “The Mutant” redeemed himself at the 2026 Arnold Classic. He pushed Chinedu Andrew ‘Jacked’ Obiekea, but left Ohio without his hand raised. Nevertheless, he called the experience a win in itself after beating Hadi Choopan for the first time.
It’s unclear if Walker will pursue a Pro show victory to qualify for the 2026 Mr. Olympia. As of this writing, some believe he could compete at the Texas Pro, but he has yet to comment one way or another. For now, Walker’s focus appears to be solely on gym progress.
Nick Walker’s Training Cue to Build a Bigger Chest
In the Instagram reel, Walker emphasized that implementing higher reps on machines helped him grow.
“Machines and going higher in reps, for me, we’ve already talked about this. I know not everyone is an advocate of the lower reps. But when I stayed 12, 15, no less than 10, once in a blue moon, a set of eight, but more higher rep, everything grew for me.”
He sticks with 15 reps or no fewer than 12 on leg day, whereas for chest, he aims for 10-12 reps with slower negatives. Walker’s go-to training cue is to imagine pushing the weight up with his chest instead of his arms.
“I just feel like I connect better in a higher rep range for the most part of things. I wouldn’t say higher rep, legs… It’s literally always going to be around 15 reps, no less than 12 on legs for me.”
“For chest, 10, 12, really hard contractions, slow negatives. What I try to do now is when I push up on any machine that I’m doing, pushing movements, I almost force my chest to push it up, not so much arms. To bring it up and try to contract, it’s almost like my arms are there just to hold the weight, but I try to pretend as if my chest is the one guiding it up,” Nick Walker said.
According to the Men’s Open star, this cue can help grow weaker body parts as well:
“I just feel like those little cues can really help a body part grow, especially if you have a weak one. It’s very detailed to try to manipulate something like that, but if you can, I think it works.
You can’t go as heavy, obviously, but when your pump is fucking huge, doing it this way versus trying to dumbbell press 200s and you got nothing out of it… That’s nothing to take away from people who do that. I used to do that. It’s fun, but that shouldn’t be the main point of your training.”
To achieve the most progress, he said your training goal should be to destroy the muscle you’re working, not everything around it.
“The majority of your training should be to destroy the muscle that you’re working, not everything else around it. We are bodybuilders, not powerlifters.”
Walker isn’t on the qualified list yet, and even reigning two-time champ Derek Lunsford has taken notice. He urged Walker to jump into the Tampa Pro or Texas Pro. Currently, he has until August 30 to secure his Olympia qualification.
Having regained momentum at the Arnold Classic, fans hope to see Walker back in action soon. Should he announce his next bodybuilding contest, Fitness Volt will have the story.
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