Nicholls just isn’t a mean teen in strength.
On June 11, 2023, teenage powerlifter Morgan Nicholls shared an Instagram clip of himself scoring a raw 238.1-kilogram (525-pound) bench press during a training session. In accordance with the caption of the 16-year-old athlete’s post, the upper body feat marked a personal record (PR) for the competitor. Nicholls wore wrist wraps for his press — which can be considered raw in a sanctioned powerlifting context. On the time of this writing, it’s unclear if Nicholls wore a lifting belt under his shirt.
To assist him with this recent milestone, the younger Nicholls was spotted by his father, Chad. The senior Nicholls is a renowned bodybuilding trainer and nutritionist, perhaps most famous for his diligent work with eight-time Mr. Olympia (1998-2005) Ronnie Coleman and former two-time Mr. Olympia (2020-2021) Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay. It appears his son is constant to live as much as an illustrious family name in strength sports — his mother, Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls, is a four-time Ms. Olympia (1996-1999).
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Based on the tenor of Nicholls’ lift, an achievement like this might need almost been inevitable. Actually, a general perusal of Nicholls’ Instagram page will provide evidence that the athlete has been steadily but surely working on his bench press in recent months. For instance, in late November 2022, Nicholls achieved his first 226.8-kilogram (500-pound) bench press. Fast-forward to early May 2023, where Nicholls shared a video of himself ending off a 224.5-kilogram (495-pound) paused bench press for 2 sets of 1.
In that very same post, Nicholls revealed he underwent ACL surgery in early January 2023. The athlete had apparently suffered the injury sometime at the top of his highschool football season in late Fall 2022, but it surely was initially “misdiagnosed.” Nicholls didn’t provide precise details on the extent of his tear, on which leg it occurred, or any specific rehabilitation methods and subsequent recovery timelines.
What’s apparent is that the ACL injury can have slowed a few of his progress to begin the 12 months 2023. The video of his 495-pound bench press was Nicholls’ first post in roughly five months, which might align along with his surgery and recovery timeline. On the time of this text’s publication, Nicholls understandably doesn’t appear to have attempted any staple leg exercises just like the back squat or deadlift since his surgery. Based on his social media presence, the last he left off with each lifts were a raw 288-kilogram (635-pound) deadlift PR from early December 2022 and a 247.2-kilogram (545-pound) squat with wraps PR in April 2022.
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On the time of this writing, it’s unclear when Nicholls plans to dive head-first into a few of his lower body movements. Given his youth, the athlete is probably going taking his recovery time slow, easing his way back into his entire training routine with a protected process.
That said, if Nicholls is already logging massive bench PRs in his comeback, a return to being an all-around powerhouse seems inevitable.
Featured image: @raising_mayhem on Instagram