Hi all, been lurking for a good few years, first post.
Here’s the deal:
I’ve noticed that I am a fair bit stronger (up to 40% in some lifts) than many of my fellow gym mates. We are all pretty much the same height, and have been training for similar periods of time (3+ years), using slightly different, but largely the same, workout routines.
We are all 20 year old white males. I would like to think we have all been training long enough to have fully outgrown “newbie” gains.
My question is; why is it that some of my friends are more muscular than me, but not as strong? I consistantly lift heavier, but some of them are larger than me, some smaller. This could be seen as either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your goals - for me, it is a bad thing, as I am lifting primarily for aesthetic reasons, however I do not want to look like a mens health reader, I want to look strong, and as far as other comments go, I am making good progress.
I’ll add in now that none of us are using, or have used steroids, not any other illegal/semi illegal substances. Just out of curiosity which way would this swing the strength/size ratio?
The science part of me tells me these differences could be down to muscle makeup, ie, slow/fast twitch fibre ratio’s, or genetics, however I want to know what exactly may cause this. I also note that I am the heaviest, at about 210 pounds. Out weights fluctuate by around 30 pounds. Am I just “denser”? for want of a more scientific word. And how can I use my extra strength to my advantage and gain muscle size? We have all cycled routines incorporating 5, 8, and 12 rep sets.
I hope I have posted enough reletive information.
Many thanks for any help.