Bodybuilder Nick Walker took to his YouTube channel on March 11, 2022, to share an intense leg workout. “The Mutant” is known for his freaky wheels and the veins in his lower legs which look like a wayward road map. Walker’s quad-dominant leg workout consisted of eight exercises — squats, leg extensions, hack squats, cross-body single-leg hack squats, leg curls, hip thrusts, sumo squats, and adductors — including two supersets.
The 2021 Arnold Classic champ also shared insights into the above exercises and tips for getting the most out of them. Check out the full workout in the video below, courtesy of Nick Walker’s YouTube channel:
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Nick Walker’s Intense Leg Workout (Quad Focused)
Walker’s leg workout consisted of the following exercises:
- Front Squat (w/ Kabuki Transformer Bar): 4 x 10
- Leg Extension: 4 x 12, double drop set on the final set
- Hack Squat: 4 x 8-12
- Cross-Body Single-Leg Hack Squat: 4 x 8-12 (on each side)
- Superset: Seated Leg Curl + Dumbbell Sumo Squat & Dumbbell Hip Thrust: 4 x 10-12
- Hip Adductor Machine: 2 x 15, rest-pause to failure on the final set
Below is a more in-depth breakdown of each of Walker’s sets.
Squats
Walker starts his quad-dominant leg-day with squats on the Kabuki transformer bar. Different adjustments on the specialized bar help target specific muscles. “The Mutant” uses the bar on the front squat mode to annihilate his quads. Before getting to his working sets, Nick performs a warm-up set with just the Kabuki bar to get his lower body ready for more intensity. Walker started the exercise with one weight plate on each side and worked his way up to four plates on each side
Leg Extensions
While performing the leg extension, Walker pauses at the top for two to three seconds on every fourth rep of a set. “The Mutant” performs a double drop set on the final set. Notably, he does not hold the weight at the top during the drop sets.
Hack Squats
While performing the hack squat, Walker follows the 1.5 rep technique for the first two sets. To perform 1.5 squats, he drops into the bottom of the squat, then rises only halfway up before dropping back down to the bottom again. Only then does he finish the rep by standing up to the lockout.
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“The Mutant” then switches to the orthodox hack squat technique — a full range of motion — for the final two sets of the exercise. Walker can be seen using a resistance band on the hack squat machine. Walker goes comparatively heavy on the last set and uses the rest-pause technique to achieve muscle failure.
Cross-Body Single-Leg Hack Squats
The 2021 Arnold Classic champ switches to the cross-body single-leg hack squat. He performs four sets of eight reps on each leg.
“That’s more brutal than I thought,” claimed Walker after completing what appeared to be his second set of the exercise. “That really gets in the outer [quad] sweep.”
Seated Leg Curls, Hip Thrusts, & Adductors
For the first two sets, Walker holds the weight at the bottom of the movement for three seconds on every fourth rep. Walker went comparatively heavier for the final two sets of the seated leg curl and performed a superset with the dumbbell sumo squats. He emphasizes squeezing the glutes while performing the dumbbell sumo squat. On the fourth set of the exercise, Walker performed a tri-set by adding dumbbell hip thrust to the mix. He did 10-12 reps with a dumbbell on his lap, then ditched the dumbbell and performed reps to failure.
I have pretty big adductors, so I don’t need to murder them anymore, but I still want to hit them.
Walker closed out his leg workout by hitting his adductors and then called it a day.
2022 Olympia Weekend
Walker is unlikely to compete in a pro show before the 2022 Olympia weekend on Dec. 16-18, 2022, in Las Vegas, NV. He is training with his new coach — dietician Dominick Mutascio — to bring up the areas of his physique that kept him from ranking higher than fifth, as Walker did in his Olympia debut in 2021.
Featured image: @nick_walker39 on Instagram
