Bob Merkh is a middle school teacher outside of Atlantic City, New Jersey. He runs Atlantic City Barbell out of his home since 2014. 

He did his first equipped meet in 2016 and had his daughter (10 at the time) call his depth and his wife wrapping his knees. He went 955/725/700 for 2380 at 275. He used this total to qualify for his first equipped Arnold and hit a 2500 total via 1040/770/690. Things went on this way for a couple of years as he clawed his way up the total charts. He was noticed enough after a 2605 total (1125/760/720), and he was invited to the WPO return in 2018, where he finished second in the heavyweights after Hoff. 

For the 2019 WPO, Bob finished second behind Hoff again, although there were no classes this time. He pushed the total inch by inch over the years from 2710 to 2715 to 2720 (#5 All-Time). His squat is at 1165 (#5 All-Time), and his bench is at 835 (#2 All-Time). He posted large totals in unlimited, with the best being 2905 and his best band bench of 1100.



Bob's IG

About the Host

Dave Tate is the founder and co-owner of elitefts.com. He is the author of twenty books and has logged more than 40,000 hours of training and consulting. Dave is married to elitefts co-owner Traci Arnold-Tate, and they reside in London, Ohio, with their two sons. Personal Credo: Live, Learn, Pass on™.



Dave's IG

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EliteFTS Table Talk— Where strength meets truth. Hosted byDave Tate, Table Talk cuts through the noise to bring raw, unfiltered conversations about training, coaching, business, and life under the bar. No fluff. No hype. Just decades of experience — shared to make you stronger in and out of the gym.

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