“He was sitting there in a wheelchair watching [2023 Mr. Olympia] and I’m sure he was like sad on the inside that he’s not on stage. He looks great in that guest posing,” shares Bannout.
Samir Bannout Talks Nick Walker’s ‘Quality’ Guest Posing Appearance: “Condition Was Very Impressive”
“Yeah, I’m very impressed. When Nick Walker guest poses like that… this is when bodybuilders should go on stage.When promoters give you five or seven whatever grand to guest pose, you want to show the audience muscle. Honestly, Nick looks incredible and not bad. His performance and his posing it’s improving as he’s going on.”
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“I would put a little bit more tan on his face a little bit though, but fantastic, fantastic. Really, I’m surprised. I don’t see any sign of hamstring issue even though you can see slightly a little bit of bruise.Yeah, he looks very impressive John. Very impressive. I think he’s going to come back with a vengeance. I’m telling you, he’s determined. I saw him at the Olympia, I gave him a quick hug and said hi to him,” said Samir Bannout.
According to Bannout, Walker displayed a quality physique but stressed that he doesn’t need to concern himself with weight, sharing, “You don’t need to be 280” pounds.
“Nick Walker he changed from in the past two years in a huge way. Why? Because him and his coach realized that the quality is the only way to go and that’s why we are getting to respect him more now. It’s very unfortunate he got injured but look at his body. Even his guest posing condition was very impressive, you have to understand its quality.
I can see he trains super hard. Whatever he’s doing with his coach, they are doing a great job. I wish him a speedy recovery but you know what, it’s true John, you gotta listen to your body. Counting sets and reps is not necessary, just look in the mirror. You don’t need to be 280, you don’t need to be 240, just look at yourself and improve,” explains Samir Bannout.
Aside from Bannout, other major voices in bodybuilding have been asked how Walker would have performed at 2023 Olympia. Derek Lunsford, the newly minted two-division Mr. Olympia winner, claims that Walker could have battled Samson Dauda and pushed into third place had he participated in the show.
If Walker hopes to compete at the 2024 Mr. Olympia, there are only two routes to ensure his spot on the major stage. He can either win a Pro show during the season and earn a qualification or the Mr. Olympia organization would have to offer him a special invite to compete at the event’s 60th anniversary next October. As for Samir Bannout, his biggest piece of advice for Walker was to pay more attention to the mirror than the scale moving forward.
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