Just heard that Earl Jones hasn't shown up yet at UCO. Classes have started almost 2 weeks ago. So where is Earl?

NEVERMIND! Some thought I was talking about Charles Jones for some odd reason. Earl is there! Whew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not only is he at UCO but he Bench Pressed 305 lbs. in pre-Season lifting maxes. A 133 lber. than benches 305 lbs. WOW !!!!

That is an amazing ratio. More than twice his weight. I have a question though as to the benefit of a bench press for a wrestler. I know that there has been a lot of debate in the past about the types of lifts that wrestlers should do. While the bench is a core lift, it would be interesting to hear from someone like Coach Ed, who obviously knows what he is doing on this subject, or anyone else.

Furches,
I was reading the post you put out about Earl Jones. The bench is an enteresting excercise, because most people don't understand that the chest muscle is not just one muscle it's a combination of several muscles. They all tie into the shoulder and neck. In wrestling they can be used for snapping of the head and also body locking when trying to throw. Bench press not only works the chest but also the triceps and biceps. Triceps are used in almost every move you make with the upper body. That kind of explains the importance of benching in wrestling. My hat's off to Earl, not too many people are dedicated enough to achieve such goals. The most unconditioned and overlooked muscles are the hips and lower back muscles. As always in wrestling controlling the hips is vital for control of another person. But he needs to find a way to develop his hips and lower back as well as his upper body with a lot of stretching. I hope Earl is as dedicated to stretching as well as lifting. Alot of lifters, lift to be as tight as possible. Problem one, you are not flexible, and can't move or use a muscle that can't stretch or give when demanded too. The main body parts to consider for developing are 1) Legs for speed, lifting, stability. 2) Arms for control, such as grabbing, blocking, snapping and dragging. 3) Hips and back, for stance, blocking an attack and lifting. It is also good for maintainig a good base when attacked by leg riders. I am a big one on development of the body the natural way also. My motto is "if you can't get it the natural way you don't deserve it". It will come to you if you are patient and willing to put in the Time, Work, and Effort to reach your goal. I will say this one last thing and then let you go. If someone out there thinks that this is a bunch of bologna. Just imagine me at 15 yrs old and weighing 92 lbs and building my self up to what I am today.

Coach Ed

I agree completely with everything you said. Especially about the natural part. I really don't think all the stuff some of my friends have taken to get bigger have worked very well. A good example is my freshmen year, me and my lifting buddy were both 130 pounds and about 5'7". He took a bunch of the protein shakes and all that other fancy muscle building stuff all the time, while I took none. Now he's about 5'11" and 220 pounds while I'm 5'10" 180 pounds. We're still for the most part equally strong. He is a little stronger in the upper body but I'm a little stronger in the lower body. So all the stuff he took didn't help him gain strength, just size.

I have to dissagree. When I entered high school i weighed 86lbs and benched 85lbs.. I started lifting hard and taking creatine. By the time I was a senior I still only weight 140, but i could bench 265, squat 285 and clean 285...
Now to Earl. ... If you've never had the pleasure of Earl Jones crushing grip you should drop everything and let him squeeze the XXXX out of you... So yes his bench is really high, but that is only a small part of his strength.

Who knows how different you may be now though if you hadn't taken creatine.

Very true.. But as soon as I quit taking it after college I lost 15lbs and have never been able to gain it back, no matter how hard I workout.....
I'm a Biology Major with a minor in Chemistry. Not that that makes me a pro on it, BUT I did write a paper on Creatine use for Biochem. As long as creatine is used CORRECTLY there is no damage to be done as creatine exists naturallly in the body... It just jumpstarts your cells ability to produce ATP...

But how many guys use it correctly?

Good question Curtis.... it appears I haven't. I have never taken a supplement so I'm out. But it sure looks like i did

A supplement to make you tall, maybe. I'm not gonna believe that you took supplements for anything else though. lol.