Walker made this lift look way too casual.
Written by Robert Zeglinski
On July 19, 2023, Nick Walker shared a video of himself successfully finishing eight reps of an incline dumbbell press with 68-Kilogram (150-pound) dumbbells in each hand. The athlete controlled the weight with relative ease, taking three seconds to lower each repetition (the negative or eccentric phase) before briefly pausing at the bottom, and showed minimal struggle in each of his lockouts.
The upper body demonstration of strength, performed during a chest/shoulders/triceps workout, is part of the superstar bodybuilder’s ongoing preparation for the 2023 Mr. Olympia. That contest will take place on November 2-5, 2023, in Orlando, FL.
“Nice push day today!”
Walker finished in third place to Hadi Choopan (defending champion) and Derek Lunsford (runner-up) during the 2022 Olympia.
This is not the first instance where Walker has used a pair of dumbbells to showcase his unique power as one of the best active bodybuilders on the planet. If anything, this set was just another example of what Walker is capable of once he gets a pair of weighted “hammers” in his hands and an incline bench to work on. Other specific examples include Walker pressing 83.9-kilogram (185-pound) dumbbells for 10 reps in late April 2022 and the athlete pushing up 90.7-kilogram (200-pound) dumbbells for 10 reps in mid-August 2022.
Walker usually makes it a point to share training updates on his media platforms, and this incline dumbbell press set works is aligned with that precedent.
From a competitive perspective, it’s been a tough year for Walker. After building upon a top-five finish at the 2021 Olympia but failing to secure the title during the 2022 iteration, Walker took home runner-up in his return to the 2023 Arnold Classic (AC). Given that the 2021 AC was originally how Walker burst onto the professional scene, the latter result could’ve been jarring for an athlete of his caliber.
Nonetheless, Walker continues to push forward. He vowed to return stronger after his runner-up result at the 2023 AC and has said he thinks he left something on the table during the 2022 Olympia. If that is the case, Walker might be more of a man on a mission than the rest of the Men’s Open field is prepared for.
Walker faces a tall order to finally break through with an Olympia title later this fall. Beyond Choopan and Lunsford, the Men’s Open class seems more stacked than ever and looks like a greater on-stage challenge than in the past. Walker, like his peers, certainly understands this reality. Nothing ever said climbing bodybuilding’s highest mountain would be easy.
Featured image: @nick_walker39 on Instagram
About Robert Zeglinski
Robert is a seasoned and adept editor and writer with a keen, passionate penchant for the writing craft. He’s been a leader in newsrooms such as SB Nation, USA TODAY, and WBBM Newsradio, with various other content and art production teams, and first made a name for himself in his hometown of Chicago. When not knee-deep in research or lost in a stream of consciousness for a thorough piece, you can find Robert inhaling yet another novel, journaling his heart out, or playing with his Shiba Inu, Maximus (Max, for short).