do i have a strength imbalance?

[arag]

male
height 5'10"
weight 180lb
age 29
dead lift: 1x5 @ 405lb - difficulty: hard
squat: 5x5 @ 325lb - difficulty: medium
bench press: 5x5 @ 175lb - difficulty: very hard
press: 5x5 @ 105lb - difficulty: medium
barbell row: 5x5 @ 155lb - difficulty: hard

[Adam Skillin]

Why would it matter if you did?

[arag]

i guess it does not matter.
i progress so much faster on lower body lifts than upper body, i am trying to gauge whether i should change my routine or not.

[Adam Skillin]

i guess it does not matter.
i progress so much faster on lower body lifts than upper body, i am trying to gauge whether i should change my routine or not.

A better question would be "how can I speed up my upper body progress." (Assuming you don't need our help slowing down your lower body progress). What is your training history? What program have you been running?

[SmokingSnake]

It would seem you are a novice who has a relatively weak upper body(or a very strong lower body, depending on your answers to Adam)

[muntz]

I'm 48 and have similar numbers DL 405 1RM, SQ 320x5, Bench 1x187.5, OHP 130x3. I've exhausted SS and am doing 5/3/1. I sort of feel the same about my lifts as you. I think improvements on form can help. Read through the book (again). Check out articles on T-Nation. I find upper body lifts to be much more technical than lower body - yes, even squats. Have you tried a false grip? I was able to add a lot to my OHP with that. I'm a little afraid to use a false grip on bench, and i wouldn't suggest using a false grip on bench unless you have a spotter.

I find that tricep work can help upper body lifts: lying triceps extensions, press downs and DIPS.

[lou t]

i guess it does not matter.
i progress so much faster on lower body lifts than upper body, i am trying to gauge whether i should change my routine or not.

before we blame your routine, Can we first establish what you have been doing and for how long?

Can we analyze form to see if there are inefficiencies?

You would not be the first person I've seen with a weaker upper body. During competitions I see it all the time. Doesn't mean its right of course.

I would respectfully disagree that bench (upper body) is more technical than squats. I would agree that bench requires more work/volume than lower body. 2 out of my 5 week cycle I bench 3x's a week for more volume.

my numbers
squat 340 x 1
dl x 380 x 1
bench 260 x 1
press 150 x 1
bw 158
ht 5'6 (when I had hair, 5' 5 1/2" shaved head)

[iamsmuts]

before we blame your routine, Can we first establish what you have been doing and for how long?

He's been doing 5x5s and barbell rows instead of power cleans. I wonder?

I doubt that many people could progress on bench and press doing 5x5. I'd stall pretty fast on that. Try 3x5, microload, and then 3x3 with back of sets as written in the Good Book.

[lou t]

He's been doing 5x5s and barbell rows instead of power cleans. I wonder?

I doubt that many people could progress on bench and press doing 5x5. I'd stall pretty fast on that. Try 3x5, microload, and then 3x3 with back of sets as written in the Good Book.

you bring back some memories of when I ran with 5 x 5 for about 1 year. I got great gains but then hit the wall of all walls. In my own experience I could not use the same protocols for both upper and lower body. what worked for one didn't work well for the other. I had to use different training methods for upper and lower. It took me awhile to figure out what type of training would move the needle on my bench without hitting a wall or plateau. Its been a long time now since I hit a wall in my training....lift and learn.

It couldn't hurt him to look at his form though or the assistance work his doing or not doing to aid his bench.

[Músculo-Tonto]

Senor ragdoll. . .

I have seen more than once in these forums that bench-press and OHPress are particularly finicky about responding better to a higher body mass. At 5'10", perhaps your weight is too low.

Secondly, *get the micro-loaders*?. I added .625lbs/side every session (2.5lbs/side) every 4 BP sessions. Progress was "slow", but it allowed me to break 200lbs and get to about 230@5x3.

-aJeremy