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The 2023 Mr. Olympia contest is scheduled for Nov. 2-5, 2023, in Las Vegas, NV. Reigning Mr. Olympia Hadi Choopan will attempt a title defense against the likes of 2022 Mr. Olympia runner-up Derek Lunsford, 2023 Arnold Classic champion Samson Dauda, two-time Mr. Olympia Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay, and 2022 Mr. Olympia bronze-medalist Nick Walker.
Walker is elevating his physique by tightening up his waist further while adding to his X-frame aesthetic via thicker quads. In a training session that occurred on July 1, 2023, Walker shared how he’s packing mass onto his quads with 18 weeks to go before stepping onto bodybuilding’s grandest stage. Walker published the video of his leg session at the Dragon’s Lair Gym on July 6, 2023; check it out below:
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Walker weighed 290 pounds one week after the above training session, which was two weeks into Walker’s Olympia prep. Although the focus of the leg session was quads, Walker still opened with lying leg curls to ensure sufficient work was devoted to the hamstrings.
The first movement biasing the quads was a leg press with the feet positioned on the lower half of the platform. By placing the feet in a shoulder-width stance lower on the platform, Walker can achieve more knee flexion and, therefore, work the quads in their fully lengthened position. While Walker did not specify his top set, he could be seen on camera with eight 45-pound weight plates on each side of the press, which totals 720 pounds.
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Control the Weight
Walker’s second movement was the Hack squat, again training the quads in their lengthened position by achieving as much knee flexion as possible. Walker credits his quad growth to “controlling the weight.” Contracting the muscle as much as possible while moving through the full range of motion is necessary, but it’s not the only aspect of the lift that matters in Walker’s view.
A bigger pump means a bigger muscle.
After hitting his target rep range on the Hack squat with 315 pounds, Walker proceeded with a drop set of partial reps, dropping only until his knees reached 90 degrees. Walker’s aim is a most significant pump, which implies more blood flowing to the target muscle group — more blood equates to more nutrients flowing to the area and, as Walker suggests, greater growth.
Lower the weight; contract the muscles as hard as you can.
Walker finished his quad work with bodyweight walking lunges with the knees moving over the toes for greater knee flexion. To continue progressing his leg growth, Walker has increased his training frequency from a leg session every week to a leg session every four to five days. With just over four months until retaking the Olympia stage, we’ll see if Walkers’ training frequency will pay off with his first Mr. Olympia title.
Featured image: @nick_walker39 on Instagram
The post How Nick Walker Trains Legs 18 Weeks Out from the 2023 Mr. Olympia Contest appeared first on BarBend.
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