workout partner benching more than me?

[mattciupak]

my friend and I started taking the gym more seriously around December (when I got on starting strength). at that time, he was 180 pounds or so, and I was 140. he didn't want to squat or deadlift because his chiropractor told him that it would hurt him in the long run, and because I told him he'd gain 50 pounds on the program, and he didn't want that.
he bench pressed 3 days a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, while I was doing it either Monday and Friday or just Wednesday, as the program calls for. we stayed at around the same pace for a while. recently started only benching on Mondays and Thursdays. since December, he's gone from 180lbs to 190lbs bodyweight, and i've gone from 140 to almost 205 now. yet on Monday, he was able to complete all 3 sets of 5 with 150, and I got 5 my first set, and 3 my next two (I know, the weight is not good at all, I suck). although we've both made some shitty progress (supposed to bench press 135 first week of January, look where we are now), he's still ahead of me. he also started "dieting" a few weeks ago.
he eats practically nothing and sleeps 6 hours a night at most, while I put a ton of effort into eating and sleeping enough yet i'm doing worse than him, and probably everyone else to touch the starting strength program.

why?
didn't mean for this to be a rant, sorry if it is.

[Carnivroar]

because he doesn't squat or deadlift?

[Les Hahn]

Since you guys are both doing 3x5, it probably comes down to genetics and leverage. Some people are just going to be better benchers than others. Check your technique too, you might be able to squeeze a couple more pounds out of it. You have been training for a little over 5 months now, what did you guys start benching at? If you guys started at the same weight, did he have an easier time doing it?

In the end, it just might come down to genetics. Every Moday I do heavy bench, and there are a group of guys that I work in with on the bench press. We spot each other, and they are really nice guys to be honest. The 3 of them follow a similar routine, which is really sort of random with a couple of "challenge" sets. They ramp up to around 300, two guys are at 290ish, BW at 160 and 200lbs. The other guy is stronger and a little bigger, he almost got 315 this week. They then do back off sets, like 4 of them back down to 225lbs. Then starts the rep challenge. They throw 185lbs on the bar and see who can do the most reps. They do 2 sets, and the one guy got 28 reps on both sets (56 total), but all of them are 20+ per set. There is no way in hell I could do all of that shit and recover. They do DB stuff too afterwards and lots of isolation BB stuff. I might lift more, but I am bigger and I "specialize" in strength training, where they are going for low bodyfat and more hypertrophy. Again, they are great guys, so I have a lot of respect for them. Of course they have been doing this much longer than me, but still those are impressive lifts.

So yeah, it sucks. Just stick with it and try to improve your form and weak areas via accessory lifts. Best of luck!

[MikeC1]

Carni's on the money here. You probably aren't going to bench more than someone that is only benching. That said, your bench still sucks, and you should probably be benching closer to 185 at your weight. Remember one thing, eating more food is not the answer to all of your problems in the weight room. Food can only do so much.

[msingh]

my friend and I started taking the gym more seriously around December (when I got on starting strength). at that time, he was 180 pounds or so, and I was 140 .. because I told him he'd gain 50 pounds on the program, and he didn't want that.

Your friend was LESS greedy than you, he didn't want to Get Fucking Huge Right Now, and 4 months later he's stronger than you. Damn right you should feel bad about that, because a random bro working out alongside got better results than you FOLLOWING the Starting Strength program. This is worth re-iterating. SS is sometimes no better than a random program, its far worse. What makes this even more delicious is that your friend didn't take it as seriously as you, he didn't drink a thousand gallons of milk and wolf down a billion cheeseburgers but he still kicks your ass. Fail.

Not only that, your friend only gained 10lb but chances are very good those were muscular since he's gained proportionate strength from those 10lb whereas you LOL gained 65 POUNDS and he's still beating you and convincingly. Gaining 65lb of weight make the bench press much easier for you since the ROM is reduced and he's still much stronger. LOL.

But wait, your friend is dieting (not GOMADING liek you), and he's kicking ass, getting stronger, but wait, you're doing the Program?!

This made my day, thanks for that OP. It goes to show, those who aren't greedy, those who are smart not to get taken by Get Rich Quick schemes (sorry get Huge Right Now schemes) do better than the greedy. Brilliant.

[forgeforth]

From what I can tell, you are both benching approximately 150 and these are your results after implementing SS for approximately 6 months. There is something very wrong with this picture. What was your bench when you started. Were you doing 135 in January?

I think it's quite odd for a 205 pound man to only be able to bench 150 after having implemented a strength program for 5-6 months. How many workouts did you miss? What are your other lifts like? The purpose of SS is to create an artifical growth spurt. I think your story is missing a few pieces so I can't comment much more. It's true that genetics often tell the story, but I don't think this is the case with this one.

[Dastardly]

Your friend was LESS greedy than you, he didn't want to Get Fucking Huge Right Now, and 4 months later he's stronger than you. Damn right you should feel bad about that, because a random bro working out alongside got better results than you FOLLOWING the Starting Strength program. This is worth re-iterating. SS is sometimes no better than a random program, its far worse. What makes this even more delicious is that your friend didn't take it as seriously as you, he didn't drink a thousand gallons of milk and wolf down a billion cheeseburgers but he still kicks your ass. Fail.

Not only that, your friend only gained 10lb but chances are very good those were muscular since he's gained proportionate strength from those 10lb whereas you LOL gained 65 POUNDS and he's still beating you and convincingly. Gaining 65lb of weight make the bench press much easier for you since the ROM is reduced and he's still much stronger. LOL.

But wait, your friend is dieting (not GOMADING liek you), and he's kicking ass, getting stronger, but wait, you're doing the Program?!

This made my day, thanks for that OP. It goes to show, those who aren't greedy, those who are smart not to get taken by Get Rich Quick schemes (sorry get Huge Right Now schemes) do better than the greedy. Brilliant.

I have a friend I would like you to meet:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7PzDi9dq10

[msingh]

From what I can tell, you are both benching approximately 150 and these are your results after implementing SS for approximately 6 months. There is something very wrong with this picture. What was your bench when you started. Were you doing 135 in January?

I think it's quite odd for a 205 pound man to only be able to bench 150 after having implemented a strength program for 5-6 months. How many workouts did you miss? What are your other lifts like? The purpose of SS is to create an artifical growth spurt. I think your story is missing a few pieces so I can't comment much more. It's true that genetics often tell the story, but I don't think this is the case with this one.

Or in other words, "You Didnt Do the Program Bro". Obviously he didn't eat enough calories to create teh artificial growth spurt to cause the steroid novice effect for growing young mammals. needs moar MILKS. Word.

[RobCor]

What are your other lifts?

Sounds like you 1) ate too much/wrong stuff and pulled an msingh, or 2) Your form sucks and you're benching over your shoulders with your elbows flared out, 3) You are just a bad bencher, since some people just are.

I'd guess it's either 1 or 2.

This is going to be a long thread.

[Mr.City]

Your friend was LESS greedy than you, he didn't want to Get Fucking Huge Right Now, and 4 months later he's stronger than you. Damn right you should feel bad about that, because a random bro working out alongside got better results than you FOLLOWING the Starting Strength program. This is worth re-iterating. SS is sometimes no better than a random program, its far worse. What makes this even more delicious is that your friend didn't take it as seriously as you, he didn't drink a thousand gallons of milk and wolf down a billion cheeseburgers but he still kicks your ass. Fail.

Not only that, your friend only gained 10lb but chances are very good those were muscular since he's gained proportionate strength from those 10lb whereas you LOL gained 65 POUNDS and he's still beating you and convincingly. Gaining 65lb of weight make the bench press much easier for you since the ROM is reduced and he's still much stronger. LOL.

But wait, your friend is dieting (not GOMADING liek you), and he's kicking ass, getting stronger, but wait, you're doing the Program?!

This made my day, thanks for that OP. It goes to show, those who aren't greedy, those who are smart not to get taken by Get Rich Quick schemes (sorry get Huge Right Now schemes) do better than the greedy. Brilliant.

Jesus.

Side note: you're leaving things out, limb length, etc. How are your other lifts?