Problems with deadlift & bench

[johnkuc]

Mark,

I am doing the Texas method now and am having good success with the squat but my bench & deadlift are lagging behind. I can understand the deadlift lagging behind. I only 'test' it once every 3-4 weeks and I have short arms, legs and a long torso. In other words I am bio mechanically challenged when it comes to the deadlift. Any suggestions on improving the deadlift?

I thought I would make good progress on the bench but it has been slow. Any tips would be appreciated.

[Mark Rippetoe]

The deadlift is rather dependent on pulling mechanics, and if yours are bad due to anthropometry, there's not much you can do beyond just training it as best you can.

The bench just gets strong slowly due to the fact that the muscle groups are relatively small in comparison to the squat and pulls. If you're not stuck, and you're taking small enough jumps to allow adaptation to keep pace, you're doing fine. Beyond that, I'd need the specific details of your training for several weeks, your diet and recovery situation, videos of several workouts from different angles, etc., and I don't do online training, as we've discussed elsewhere.