Why cant a bench near as much as most people?

[Ueshirokarate]

Lifting is only half the picture. To grow muscle, you need to eat enough in the right macro-nutrient proportions for your muscles to grow. You also need to lift progressively. Lastly, guys with longer arms have a harder time putting up more weight. I have always had much more trouble with my bench than with squats, but I have short legs and long arms/torso.

[SimonAsh86]

Just take it at a pace that suits yourself.

Personal development is whats important, aslong as your improving your own training then thats a truly great thing. At the end of the day, attempting to emulate someone else is a sure fire way to injure yourself an thats when you start going backwards instead of forwards.

Keep at it and improvement will come with time and hard work.

[hx35543]

All these replies look pretty accurate to me. There are a lot of factors that go in to it. It starts with your muscle structure and if your muscles will be able to get in to heavy weights. At 165 lbs I was benching 345 lbs and leg presses over over 1100 lbs but I couldn't arm curl over 135 to save my life. I didn't get it either. It gets down to fast and slow twitch muscle fibers. Progresive resistance is how you get your strength up. But a training routine that works for your friend may not work for you for strength. To me, trying different routines to find the one that fits you is best. I've been lifting for almost 25 years and been through a lot of routines. Some helped some didn't. Nutrition also plays a big role. There are lot of things to consider and a lot of factors involved. Don't get discouraged and don't give up. And again, don't judge your self against others, everyone is unique. Bruce Lee wasn't big, but he was very strong for his size.