Nick Walker is forging ahead with his bodybuilding season after finishing second to Samson Dauda at the 2023 Arnold Classic. In a recent Think Big Bodybuilding podcast, Walker reasoned why he should have won the Arnold Classic and teased the package he’s bringing to win the Mr. Olympia contest in November.
“Listen, it’s a very close call. I’m not like mad by any means. They went with who they thought was better and that’s fine. But what they don’t understand is, when I lose, you just lit another fire under my ass,” Walker said.
At the annual Arnold Sports Festival in Ohio, Samson Dauda, Nick Walker, and Andrew Jacked finished on the podium. However, fans and bodybuilding veterans were quick to take issue with ‘The Nigerian Lion’s’ victory. Former Mr. Olympia Samir Bannout was perplexed by Dauda’s perfect scorecard and guru Chris Aceto questioned the outcome as well.
Fans complained about the judging online until Walker urged them to keep conversations respectful. While Nick Walker and veteran bodybuilder Jay Cutler thought he could have won, some thought he deserved third, like athletes rep Bob Cicherillo.
Bob Cicherillo believes Dauda’s demonstration of shape and beauty outweighed the freaky muscle density of Walker on stage. He’s since provided a guide on judging physiques at contests and predicted Dauda and Derek Lunsford to be Hadi Choopan’s biggest threats in November.
With Walker’s off-season underway, he is aiming to craft an Olympia-winning physique in the coming months.
Nick Walker ‘Not Bitter By Any Means,’ Thinks He ‘Should Have Won’ 2023 Arnold Classic
Considering all aspects of a bodybuilding contest, Walker believes he should have won first at the recent Arnold Classic.
“Listen, I am not bitter by any means so let me just start off with that, but I understand why Samson won, I will say that, I get it. But, I do think I should have won. Simply because there’s many reasons and I think the main one is, I personally believed I improved tremendously on my Olympia package. Yes, I was a lot fuller at the Olympia, sure, but I was harder; I think I was dryer, way leaner and I was still full at the Arnold. Sure, not as full as the Olympia but I was still pretty full.
And I – I don’t want to disrespect Samson but I think Samson improved but I don’t think it was a dramatic improvement for him to beat me. In my opinion, I’m happy for him, I’m happy for him, I love Samson. If anyone did deserve the win other than me, it was him, 100%. One of the nicest guys I ever met, very supportive and everything but this is a competition, you understand? At the end of the day, I think looking at all the aspects, I think I should have won.”
Walker’s Goal for 2023 Season: “I Just Feel Like The Olympia Will Be Mine”
Moving forward, Walker plans to improve his conditioning while matching the fullness of his 2022 Olympia physique.
“I know what needs to be done at this point and my goal for the Olympia is to have that same conditioning as the Arnold if not a little more crispier and try and match the fullness of the Olympia. If I’m able to accomplish that…no one can beat me. I don’t think anyone can beat me. Because now it’s like enough growth period right.”
The 28-year-old remains confident that he will claim the Olympia title. He said he’s motivated and built a great game plan with his coach Matt Jansen.
“I’m going to have more muscle maturity, I’m only going to get more dense, and as we all know, the older you get the — I just feel like the Olympia will be mine,” said Walker. “Yeah, now that I’ve gotten out of my little depression phase of losing which is normal, don’t judge me, it happens. And now that I have a new training that’s going really well. Me and Matt have a really good game plan that we’re ready to do. I’m back to who I am and I’m motivated for sure.”
Walker has made it clear his off-season training has changed since the Arnold Classic. He implemented a new push, pull, and legs training split in preparation for his next Olympia appearance. Walker also mentioned that he’s training high-volume but not to near failure.
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Walker is not letting the second-place finish at the Arnold Classic stall his momentum for Olympia. He hopes to knock Hadi Choopan off the throne when they meet in Orlando, Florida later this year.
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