Nick Walker’s Leg Training Updates Heading Into The 2025 Season
Men’s Open bodybuilder Nick Walker is working meticulously with his new coach, Kyle Wilkes, and trainer, Jared Feather, to improve upon his 2022 third-place Mr. Olympia finish. He needs to enter and win a pro-show during the 2025 IFBB season to get there. His target is winning the 2025 Pittsburgh Pro in early May and skipping the 2025 Arnold Classic in Columbus, OH, in March — a show he won in 2021.
“We won’t do the [Arnold Classic] because it wouldn’t be the package I want to present. I don’t think it would be who Nick Walker really is,” Walker expressed.
In a recent leg workout, Walker used myo reps — pausing briefly between sets to prolong the stimulus. Rest-pause sets increase muscular endurance and thigh muscle size more than traditional sets, with two minutes of rest in between. (1)
[Related: Arnold Schwarzenegger Calls This Bodybuilding Exercise an “Absolute Must-Do”]
Nick Walker’s Updated Leg Day
Walker’s leg routine was adjusted to the following new order:
- Machine Adductions
- Machine-Seated Leg Curl
- Machine Hack Squat
- Smith Machine Squat
- Machine Calf Raise
Here are a few standout moments from the leg session.
No Shoes, Myo Rep Squats
Walker removed his shoes for hack squats, a strategy some bodybuilders believe enhances form and muscle activation. Dropping his glutes below his knees, Walker demonstrated “ass-to-grass” squats. Squatting as low as you can maximizes tension in the stretched position to maximize hypertrophy.
On the Smith machine, Walker mimicked traditional squats locked with just 140 pounds to fundamental depth. “Show y’all how to f-ing squat out here,” he quipped. While some would say Smith machine squats don’t count, they offer better stability and similar biomechanics to free-weight squats.
- Jeff Nippard ranked Smith machine squats with the highest “Super” quad movement rating, on par with free-weight squats.
The most recent exercise was a calf raise machine where Walker pressed his toes against swiveling foot pedals. Seated calf raises are believed to bias the soleus, the long flat muscle under the bulkier gastrocnemius, though they work both heads similarly.
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Reference
- Prestes, J., A Tibana, R., de Araujo Sousa, E., da Cunha Nascimento, D., de Oliveira Rocha, P., F Camarço, N., Frade de Sousa, N. M., & Willardson, J. M. (2019). Strength and Muscular Adaptations After 6 Weeks of Rest-Pause vs. Traditional Multiple-Sets Resistance Training in Trained Subjects. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 33 Suppl 1, S113–S121. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001923
Featured image: @nick_walker39 on Instagram
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