Faulconbridge teen Aaron Long started powerlifting just three months ago and already has a national title under his belt.
The 15-year-old St Columba’s Catholic College student took out the under 16 82.5kg Australian Schools Benchpress Champion title in August.
Aaron, who weighs 75kg and has lost a significant amount of weight since he started working out a year ago, was competing in the 82.5kg weight category at the tournament held in Penrith.
Sick with the flu three weeks before the competition, he managed to benchpress 87.5kg on the day to take out the title, but he’s lifted 120kg during training.
“Competitions are fun, it’s all about individual results,” Aaron said.
“I love training a lot more than competitions … I love waking up every morning and seeing better results.”
Aaron trains at Anytime Fitness in Springwood and is coached by Ray Owen at Strength Nation gym in Penrith.
“I just got completely interested in health and nutrition,” Aaron said.
His next powerlifting tournament is in January, where he’s planning on adding the deadlift and squat to his repertoire.
“My end goal is to compete in the Olympics in powerlifting,” Aaron said. “I’m keen to smash more titles.”
Next year Aaron would like to train to be a carpenter, as well as studying at Tafe to be a personal trainer.