Nick Walker has had quite a turbulent time. At Mr. Olympia 2025 he mistimed his form and dropped to sixth place, a career low. However, he managed to shut the doubters up at the recent Arnold Classic Ohio 2026, where he showed perhaps the form of his life, finishing a great second place just behind the victorious Andrew Jacked.
Still, Walker finds himself in a difficult situation at the moment. To qualify for this year’s 2026 Olympia, he needs to win a professional competition. However, he has expressed his own doubts and has hinted that he might like to take a break from racing for a year. But according to Milos Sarchev, Walker’s primary focus now should be on the most important thing – controlling his midriff.
“This is not bodybuilding…”
In his recent YouTube appearance, Sarchev was absolutely adamant about Walker’s bulging belly, reminding that the “Mutant” has been warned about this problem in the past.
“Everyone is warned. Nick Walker is being warned, and he’s losing. Does that mean we’re now going to close our eyes whenever he loses, and open them when he’s in shape? Are we going to make decisions based on that?” fumed Sharchev. “I’m talking in general terms now: if someone has a bulging belly on stage, goodbye. He doesn’t belong in the top five. He can’t be. It must not be tolerated. Why do we tolerate it at all? I’ll be honest – this is just not bodybuilding. It starts and ends with a perfect midriff.”
Debate among veterans: Is this a new problem?
Sharchev’s radical stance has sparked a debate among other bodybuilding legends. Chris Cormier and Dennis James have argued that the loose abs of champions are nothing new.
“There have been more champions in the past who didn’t have super narrow waists,” Cormier pointed out. Dennis James added that this trend has been on the scene since 1994. But Shartsev’s response was clear: “It should never have been allowed.”
Not left behind was former pro King Kamali, who warned Walker not to allow his midriff on stage at any cost or he would receive harsh criticism from fans.
“We all know you’re going to get blown to smithereens. They’ll take a picture of you right when you’re relaxed, put it on the networks and start talking about bubble guts. You can’t let them do that. You’re only up there for 15 minutes… so pull it back for 15 minutes,” he advised Walker.
Will Walker ever get a Sandow statue?
Milos Sarcev and many others believe that a perfectly controlled midsection is the absolute foundation for any top bodybuilder. If Nick Walker can improve this aspect of his presentation, many experts agree that he could be one step closer to the coveted Mr. Olympia title once again. The question is whether he will take the plunge right away or actually take a year-long competition break.
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