"It’s been the fuc**ng hardest" - Nick Walker says 2023 Arnold Classic prep is his toughest ever

Nick Walker, nicknamed 'The Mutant' for good reason, has one of the most unique physiques in the sport. At just 28, the American seems to have round, well-developed muscles in every part imaginable. Last year, Walker decided to focus solely on Olympia without crowding his schedule. His efforts paid off as he finished in third place behind Hadi Choopan and Derek Lunsford.

Walker announced earlier this year that he will be going to Columbus, Ohio, to compete in his first show of the year, the Arnold Classic. Since then, the bodybuilder has been focused on making a variety of improvements in an attempt to see success come March. Speaking to Guy Cisterninon on episode 8 of the Mutant & The Mouth show, Walker opened up about how hard the prep for the Classic has been:

"I actually had the mentality like this was going to be fuc**ng easy, and it’s been the fuc**ng hardest, literally, the hardest."

At the same time, Walker believes that in order to achieve something as huge as the Arnold Classic, suffering during preparation is imminent:

"But yeah, mentally, I know I can win, and that’s just the mindset that I have. People just need to understand: If I truly believe, if you’re truly suffering, you’ll get to a point where you want to quit. That’s just facts. If you’re not at that point, I don’t believe you’ll be ready."

While he calls himself 'The Mutant', Walker wants people to know that he is just as human as everyone else. The bodybuilder said that he was down pretty badly over the last few weeks as the intensity of the training increased. He even considered giving up:

"I’ll be honest man; I think these last two to three weeks have probably been the hardest I’ve ever been through. Just going to speak honestly because I think everyone should understand that I am human. And as much as I preach how confident I truly am in myself, and I always think I could win – I think everyone has a point where they kind of just break sometimes. It has happened over the past couple of weeks. I’ve wanted to give up a few times because it did get really hard mentally. It’s fine, because this is what it takes. So, I accept it."

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Walker thought preparation for the 2023 Arnold Classic was "going to be a breeze"

Walker had initially thought the preparation for the Classic was going to be easy, especially as he was already in great shape after the Olympia. However, things took a turn when certain complications during the preparation reduced his food intake and increased intensity.

"I think my body went through a little point where it stalled a little bit. So, we really had to crank the cardio really high for a while, drop the food really low for a while, no. I honestly, I’ll be honest, I even said this to Maria, I said this is going to be a breeze."

The Arnold Classic is set to take place on March 3-4 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. Walker will go up against formidable opponents including former champions William Bonac, Samson Dauda, and former Mr. Olympia Big Ramy.