An inspired effort has seen a Foothills County teen set an Alberta bench press benchmark.
Edison School Grade 9 student Nick Starr made his powerlifting competition debut in record-setting form, eclipsing the men’s 53kg sub junior weight division bench press provincial record at the Grit Power Open in Edmonton.
“It was a decade-old record and I was just trying to get up to that number,” he said. “All of the people at the powerlifting tournament were just really kind, they really took me under their wing and helped me navigate everything.
“It felt so great to be in a community that was so welcoming.”
Starr’s been weightlifting at the family’s gym to supplement his other athletic endeavours as a martial-artist in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and in school badminton at Edison.
He upgraded his equipment from a cardio-centric set-up to one more in the powerlifting realm, including the addition of a Smith machine and dumbbells.
The 14-year-old was further spurred to action after reading a Western Wheel article about Okotokian Chase Weigel’s powerlifting world records achieved in late-2023.
“I had been weight-training a little bit before, but when I saw that I was curious, what was the record for my age and weight?” he said. “I looked and thought this is achievable if I start putting in more effort and here we are.”
On top of balancing his education at Edison, where he’s a first class honours student and computing challenge champion, and other sporting commitments, Starr weight trains four days per week.
“Once you get into it, it’s like muscle-memory almost,” he said. “Jiu-jitsu is a combat sport, so the strength gained helps a lot.”
Achievement in sport runs in the Starr family.
Nick’s older sister Katelyn is a four-time national skipping champion.
“It just showed me to push yourself,” he said. “And to get into a sport and try your best.”
Starr trains in all three powerlifting movements — squat, deadlift and bench press — with only the latter available for his age group and division to compete for in Edmonton.
“That’s what I really focused on for the months leading up to the tournament,” he added. “I follow a bunch of YouTube influencers and they really helped with showing what it was like being in those competitions.
“That really helped along with taking some certifications to learn about working out.”
Through his strength-training experience Starr, who is also dedicated to cooking and nutrition, is taking on his next adventure with plans to pursue wrestling at the high school level.
“I really enjoy weightlifting,” he said. “It’s just a time to mentally relax and it’s really nice to go to the home gym, lift weight and feel good.”
