For good reason, Nick Walker gets a lot of press during his prep for the 2022 Mr. Olympia contest. He ranked fifth overall at bodybuilding‘s grandest show in his 2021 debut, locking himself a return invitation to attempt to dethrone two-time reigning Mr. Olympia Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay for a second time.
Walker has not competed in 2022, nor will he before the 2022 Olympia weekend on Dec. 16-18, 2022, in Las Vegas, NV. The extended off-season allowed Walker to pack on a lot of mass to his already titanic physique, made partly by his affinity for lifting immensely heavy weights. Check out Walker’s chest day in the video below, courtesy of his YouTube channel, wherein he slings 180-pound dumbbells around during his bench press sets:
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While lifting heavy isn’t the only way to maximize hypertrophy, it is a way that Walker has utilized well. In an interview with Mike O’Hearn on Generation Iron‘s The Mike O’Hearn Show, Walker mentioned that he finds joy in moving big weights in the gym.
Walker seemed to warm up with 90-pound dumbbells, using a slight incline on the weight bench — a nod to just how strong Walker has become with just over a month until the 2022 Olympia. He followed that set by rolling 120-pound dumbbells along the floor by the rack to his weight bench. He moved those through a full range of motion without issue.
For his third set, a fellow lifter hoisted 150-pound dumbbells onto Walker’s thighs, functionally performing a goblet squat to get the bells into position for Walker. At this point, Walker had cinched his weightlifting belt tightly around his waist for added stability. Still, the pacing of his reps remained the same as before, slow and steady, with his elbows at an approximately 45-degree angle to his shoulders.
The 180-pound dumbbells move overhead at the 4:16 mark in the video above. Although Walker wore a lifting belt, he did not wear elbow sleeves or wrist wraps — he finds equipment that takes the pressure off the joints can lead to weaker joints in the long term since they don’t become adequately accustomed to bearing the load.
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Walker successfully hit 11 identical reps before dumping the weight safely to the sides of his bench. After striking a front double biceps pose while catching his breath, he moved back down to 120-pound dumbbells — effectively training with a pyramid scheme.
Walker continued his chest day with machine bench presses and cable flyes to train his pecs in the shortened and lengthened positions, respectively. As though his chest wasn’t burned out enough, Walker closed with seated chest press and dips before moving on to accessory work that included cable front raises, preacher curls, single-arm biceps curls, standard biceps curls, and hammer curls.
As of Nov. 1, 2022, Walker’s body weight was 277 pounds. He will undoubtedly take the stage at the 2022 Olympia at the heaviest stage weight of his career while maintaining tight conditioning throughout his vascular physique. We’ll see how the judges score him in Las Vegas, but if Walker inches closer to the Mr. Olympia crown, it’s doubtful anyone would be surprised.
Featured image: @nick_walker39 on Instagram
