How come my weight lifting has not improved?

I've been benching the same amount of weight for some weeks now and it's irritating me. I'm not exactly strong and I want to increase my strength by early December since I take an advanced gym class that involves lifting weights most of the time after Christmas break. I would be really nervous going to that class knowing I can't lift as much as the other guys. It would be embarrassing to me for them to see me bench weight that is nothing compared to what they do.

Public Comments

1. first it is not what you bench but how much compared to bodyweight with perfect form.

You haven't said what your lifting routine is but for max strength gains rather than max size you need to be lifting in the 2-6 rep range at 85-95% of 1 rep max with 3-5 minute rest between sets, sets should be 1-5.

you should also be working your whole body not just bench, benching only will cause a muscle imbalance around the shoulder joint which will lead to injury, you need heavy back work to prevent this. Heavy leg work helps the body to produce more natural testosterone which will help your upper body strength.

2. There is no magical cure, except steroids, the only thing you can do is workout 3 times a week, i mean... workout hard for an hour every 2 days, then take protein shakes, i also use creatine but you should consult your doctor before taking that stuff.

Building muscle takes a lot of time, it takes years and years of hard work and proper nutrition.

Don't expect to get massive arms overnight.

Other people shouldn't laugh at you for lifting less, just say to them "i'm doing this to get stronger, if i we're already strong why would i be here?"