About Strength Progression 5x5's

so me and my buddies out here in the mid east started 5x5’s awhile ago but this is what I don’t understand…

for example we do 225 for 5x5 next chest day comes around
235 5x5 or even 230 for 5x5 now this is whats weird…

they sky rocket to 250 for 5x5 and I can only do 250 for like 3 set of 5 lol

im 30 lbs lighter than them but when we were at 225 5x5 I was dominating they couldn’t even complete the 225 5x5… now the tables turn in 2 weeks ?

how come my buddies skyrocket in weight ?

oh and leg drive I myself cannot use my legs in a bench press, I was thinking maybe this could be it cause i see them engaging their legs. but anyways any idea’s why ive slooowed progression

That could be an indicator that they use more muscle groups more effectively than you. They could be doing a better job at balancing between leverages and muscle recruitment. If they are bigger, they could potentially have had more muscle mass without being very strong. Now that they’re training with heavy weight, they’re easily making progress in strength. It could be that you have a weakness that is limiting you and they have no weakness that is limiting them at the moment. It could be many things.

I’m more interested in why you cannot use leg drive, do you have some sort of disability?

They are recovering better -could be down to genetics, sleep, nutrition, supps or combination of all

Gonna let you in on a secret: everyone progresses at different rates. Worry about training and recovering as best you can, that’s all you have control over.

[quote]tsantos wrote:
Gonna let you in on a secret: everyone progresses at different rates. Worry about training and recovering as best you can, that’s all you have control over.
[/quote]

So much this.

Also, work on finding a setup that lets you use get some leg drive. If its a help, I find constant tension from toes to neck is actually what gives me the best drive, rather than just driving with the legs.

[quote]ARMY_AD_Bo wrote:
so me and my buddies out here in the mid east started 5x5’s awhile ago but this is what I don’t understand…

for example we do 225 for 5x5 next chest day comes around
235 5x5 or even 230 for 5x5 now this is whats weird…

they sky rocket to 250 for 5x5 and I can only do 250 for like 3 set of 5 lol

im 30 lbs lighter than them but when we were at 225 5x5 I was dominating they couldn’t even complete the 225 5x5… now the tables turn in 2 weeks ?

how come my buddies skyrocket in weight ?

oh and leg drive I myself cannot use my legs in a bench press, I was thinking maybe this could be it cause i see them engaging their legs. but anyways any idea’s why ive slooowed progression[/quote]

You should stop comparing yourself to others in the gym. that is a rookie mistake.

Are you progressing? If yes, then that is all you need. If not, then you may start looking around, and asking people. This is productive use.

If you are progressing every session still, you are in the most exciting and luckiest phase f your lifting career so enjoy it.

What i would say is that everyone is different, in terms of recovery, ability to put weight on the bar with novice programs(some people complete a 5x5 novice program with a 405 squat. most people do not) and naturally preferred style of training in terms of volume.

If they are 30lbs heavier than you this will also certainly factor in on the bench press.