Nick Walker is ready to exact his revenge against fellow star Derek Lunsford at the upcoming 2023 Mr. Olympia. In a Mutant and the Mouth Podcast, Walker discussed his prep and chances against top contenders this November on the sport’s biggest stage.
The 2022 Mr. Olympia event served as one of the most surprising shake-ups to the Men’s Open division in recent years. In a stunning upset, former two-time champion Mamdouh ‘Big Ramy’ Elssbiay was ousted from his throne. Instead, Hadi Choopan, Derek Lunsford, and Nick Walker battled for gold.
Ultimately, Choopan emerged victorious and won his first Mr. Olympia title. Nick Walker, however, continued to improve on the big stage and took home a third-place finish. His rival, former 212 Olympia-turned-Open threat, Derek Lunsford, left Sin City with silver.
On the heels of his best Olympia performance, Walker entered the 2023 Arnold Classic on short notice. At the event, he faced Samson Dauda and Andrew Jacked in the finals. In the end, ‘The Nigerian Lion’ came out on top in a close affair. His victory prompted discussions online and in the community about judging standards.
Looking ahead, Walker is convinced Dauda won’t pose a threat to the Mr. Olympia title this Nov. Despite having taken runner-up to Dauda in March, ‘The Mutant’ insists the next Mr. Olympia trophy will be held by either himself or Lunsford.
With the massive event approaching, fans and bodybuilding veterans have named frontrunners. Former eight-time Mr. Olympia kingpin Ronnie Coleman is one of them. He argued Lunsford will defeat Hadi Choopan when the two meet for a second time later this year. Walker, on the other hand, believes 2023 will be his year to shine when the contest returns to Orlando, Florida.
“I Honestly Feel This Is My Year,” – Nick Walker Talks 2023 Olympia Prep & Derek Lunsford
In 2022, Walker was forced to navigate most of his off-season without his coach Matt Jansen. Given that Jansen oversees Walker’s diet, training, and supplementation, the 28-year-old said it impacted his results last year. However, that won’t be the case for his preparations in 2023.
“Yeah he [Derek Lunsford] beat me right, I kind of called that,” said Nick Walker. “Yeah, talking about having a half-ass off-season last year compared to how things have went this year. I personally feel… you know with the 20 weeks I’m going to have now, no travel, strictly just fucking focus, right? Knock on wood no hiccups, I honestly feel this is my year. I honestly do. I feel like everything is aligned and there’s always you know, Matt’s happy, I’m happy right? So he’s the one that has to look at me, so if he has no issues and everything keeps flowing the way it’s going, I personally feel this will be the year.”
Hadi Choopan vs. Derek Lunsford at 2023 Olympia? Walker Says Lunsford Wins.
Walker believes Lunsford would defeat Choopan in a rematch and added that it’s ‘inevitable’ that Derek wins a future Mr. Olympia show.
“If it came down to Hadi and Derek this year… and you’re a betting man, who do you bet on?” asks Guy Cisternino.
“Derek. And listen, I’ll probably get a lot of shit from the Hadi fans because I still get roasted,” said Walker. “He’s a Mr. Olympia, that’s it. He was slaying people when he was 212 in the Open. And he has some of the best conditioning, hands down, probably the best in my opinion. Not last year but the couple years prior, peeled to the bone.
But I think me and Derek are young, we’re fresh. I think – I don’t want to disrespect Hadi and say he’s getting older and the time clock is ticking here… but I think the only reason why Derek lost to Hadi was from the front. If Derek’s backside matched the front, Derek is going to win, it’s inevitable, Derek would have won,” said Walker.
“I just have a gut feeling that it will be me and him in the final two,” added Walker.
Walker Back Up to 294 Lbs, Talks Off-Season Updates & Cardio
Even though Walker dropped 10 pounds during his trip to Canada, he says his body has rebounded nicely as he’s now tipping the scales at 293 pounds.
“I actually think this weekend is 19 [weeks away from 2023 Olympia]. I believe so [we’re inside 20 weeks] yeah. Yeah, [cardio] is 20 minutes six days a week. That was my off-season cardio as well. With all the traveling I kind of slacked a little bit, it’s whatever. Now, it’s steady, it’s consistent so.”
“What I like to do in the mornings is all I’ll do my 20 minutes of cardio. I’ll turn it on [the sauna] and heat it up. I’ll train abs for a good 15 minutes or so or whatever. Yeah [at my house]. Right now, [crunches] if I don’t feel like doing them I’ll obviously go to the gym and after training hit them.”
He also specified that he’s eating less food compared to last year’s season.
“Yeah, I mean obviously, I don’t think the food if I can remember… because last year was a bad off-season, you know that. I don’t think I was eating as much this off-season compared to last off-season. But this is where I’ll say genetics plays a huge role. I think when you are able to just train the way you adapt, the way I’m adapting to this, I don’t need a shit ton of fucking food to grow.
Genetically, it’s just boom boom. I lost 10 pounds when I went to Canada for the Canadian tour. I was like 284-ish. And now I’m back up to 293 and I texted Matt and said, ‘Bro, I don’t know my weight is not – we’re not doing anything different I don’t know what’s going on.’ He’s like, ‘You’re not getting fat don’t worry about it.”
Having trained together in the past, Walker and Lunsford’s professional rivalry will be on full display later this year. If history dictates the future, Walker is slated to move up in placings at the Mr. Olympia contest in November.