Two years lifting, can't bench BW - second year had no progress. Help?

Summary

• Year 0: Male, age 30, height 5ft 10" - BW 150 lbs Maxes: B80 S80 D90
• Year 1: Male, age 31, height 5ft 10" - BW 170 lbs Maxes: B150 S220 D270
• Year 2: Male, age 32, height 5ft 10" - BW 170 lbs Maxes: B150 S220 D270

Please see my graph of my (almost) two years consistent lifting progress

Details/Story

I read the Fitness Wiki, the whole thing, 2 or 3 times. I chose my program and I followed GZCLP and made moderate progress for the first year. Went to the gym 3x per week, ate 140g of protein per day and enough calories that I gained 20lbs over the year. Happy enough so far with my slow but steady progress. I was 20lbs away from benching body weight.

After a couple of resets/deloads on GZCLP I assumed I was out of the linear phase so at the 1 year mark of lifting and bought the 5/3/1 2nd Edition. I perhaps foolishly wanted to "cut" for the summer. So around March 2019 I started 5/3/1 BBB and started a cut. I continued to eat 140g protein daily and ate few enough calories that I lost 15 lbs body weight over the 25 week period until August 2019. After my "cut" - I still looked weak (no muscle to show off really), and my max lifts had dropped quite a lot. Bummer.

Since Aug 2019 I started eating more, gained weight back up to 170 lbs, my lifts are only just returning to where they were at the year 1 mark.

Looking at the graph I did OK first year, still slow by Reddit standards. A lot of folks seem to be able to 2 plate bench within a year of lifting. I was still unable to bench BW. My second year seems like a total waste. I'm not any stronger, I can't lift any more, I look the same. I weigh the same. Still can't bench BW.

To prevent some common answers coming back:

• I sleep 7.5 - 8 hours every night, I feel it is good quality. I wake up fresh and am never tired during the day. I'm a very regular 11PM - 6:45AM sleeper.
• I work in an office M-F 8-5 (sedentary) - I don't do cardio, just the 3 or 4 lift days per week
• I am happy and fairly low stressed
• I have decent form, not perfect, but I learnt by watching Alan Thrall, writing notes. I'm reasonably confident my form is not holding back my mediocre lifts.
• Am I putting in enough effort? I used to compete in rowing at University. I've done many 2km races, and 3x6km pieces, I know what physical exertion feels like. On my AMRAP sets I do go to failure and I'm not taking it easy.
• Deload weeks. I travel for work about 1 or 2 weeks every 3 months. Those were my "off weeks". Apart from those I was in the gym as per the program.

People of FITNESS, here are my questions:

• 1) Should I not have cut? Did dropping 15lbs BW prevent me from getting stronger? I feel like at my mediocre lifting level level it should not have.
• 2) Should I just keep bulking until I hit maybe 190 or 200 lbs? (Remember I'm 5ft 10)
• 3) If the answer to 1) is true, that you have to bulk to get stronger, how come I see people on r/fitness the same height and weight as me who can do double my lifts but they only weigh 170lbs?
• 4) Why after 2 years and circa 300 times in the gym am I barely able to squat 2 plates and still can't bench my BW?
• 5) Should I get a testosterone test (30% serious)

Thanks for any help

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