By By Chandler Myers
Weightlifting takes not only strength, but a knowledge of how to lift correctly, so a lifter does not get injured.
Atmore resident Robert Wilkerson, 29, has that knowledge since he has been lifting for more than 15 years. Recently, he was asked to publish an article for “Power Magazine” by its owner Mark Bell.
Wilkerson, the strength and conditioning coach for Escambia County High School, wrote an article on how to train raw, which means to train without any major equipment, which has been published in the March/April issue of the magazine.
Wilkerson said the idea for the article for the magazine came about after he and Bell began contacting each other via Facebook.
According to Wilkerson, raw training is geared towards getting to where they need to be on their strength level.
That type of training has helped Wilkerson reach the potential he has today as he competes in weightlifting meets around the country.
Wilkerson said he began lifting in high school and has continued to do it since he was 15.
As he continued to get stronger, Wilkerson kept competing setting a Tennesse junior record with a 550-pound bench at the age of 24.
He also set an Alabama state record with 535-pound bench in his first year out of juniors at 25 years of age in 2005.
Wilkerson said he also has the third best lift ever in squats.
Wilkerson is training to beat the world record for squat and hopes to do so at the Southern Power Federation meet, which takes place June 5-6 in Nashville, Tenn.
Wilkerson said his goal is to beat the squat record by more than just a few pounds.
If Wilkerson accomplishes his goal, his next article for “Power Magazine” could be how he trained to set a world record.”