As the prep period for the 2022 Mr. Olympia starts to heat up, some of the most accomplished bodybuilders in the world are already producing incredible feats of strength on social media. Leave it to someone nicknamed “The Mutant” to deliver yet another astonishing display of strength.
On Aug. 8, 2022, Nick Walker — fifth-place finisher at the 2021 Mr. O and aforementioned “Mutant” — posted a video to Instagram where he powered through a set of 10 incline presses with 200-pound dumbbells.
Though his coach, Dominick Mutascio, lent some assistance on the final two reps, Walker displayed impressive form and control as he fired the cartoonishly-large dumbbells off his chest. The set in question prompted four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler to write “that was easy” in the video’s comments.
View this post on Instagram
[Related: 12 of the Biggest Men’s Bodybuilders of All Time]
The video went live just a little over a week after Walker debuted a new YouTube series detailing his prep work for the Mr. O. In the debut installment, the Men’s Open competitor hit an impressive set of incline bench presses with 165-pound dumbbells with bodybuilding coach Brandon Long. It appears that “heavy” will be a main theme of Walker’s 2022 prep.
These are just the latest head-turning lifts from Walker. He already hit 200 pounds on the incline back in April, but that was for a set of six. That same month, he also posted a video of himself performing shoulder presses with 165-pound dumbbells for a set of 10.
As his strength seemingly increases with each new video, his size looks to be following suit — the 2021 Arnold Classic champ said he was approaching 300 pounds in an Instagram post from the end of May 2022.
Nick Walker’s Road to the Olympia
Walker’s fifth-place finish at the 2021 Olympia came just months after his wins at the Arnold Classic and the New York Pro. While 2021 was a successful year for the 28-year-old, Walker knows what he needs to improve upon to reach the ultimate goal of bagging his own Sandow trophy.
View this post on Instagram
[Read More: The Best Leg Exercises for Your Next Leg Day]
“The judges at the Olympia told me I need to bring up my quads, so I’m working hard to dial them in,” Walker told BarBend in 2021.
He also said he wants to work on the details in his back and become more aesthetic overall. To come out on top at the Olympia, though, Walker will face some stiff competition in the form of two-time reigning champ Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay; former Mr. O, Brandon Curry; and young upstarts like Hunter Labrada.
The 2022 Mr. Olympia show takes place in Las Vegas, NV, from December 16-18.
Image: @nick_walker39 on Instagram
