Flex Ability: A Story of Strength and Survival

Author: Flex Wheeler, Cindy Pearlman
List Price: $13.95
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 1401901743
Publisher: Hay House (April, 2004)
Sales Rank: 1,088,549
Average Customer Rating: 3.78 out of 5

Customer Reviews

Rating: 5 out of 5
A Great Inspirational Book
I'm not a fan of the bodybuilding industry, but happened upon this book. All I can say is it reminded me of the movie "Rocky." It's the story of a man who defied the odds and came out a champion. But then he learned that being a champion isn't enough. Life is really about health and your family. Do that right and anyone can be a champion. It's sad to me to see the one bad review on this site that obviously comes from a jealous competitor who doesn't have his own book. I'm sure glad Flex did this book because it gave me a thrill to read it and hope when it comes to my own life.

Rating: 1 out of 5
Hideous, uninformative, cowardly book. WHY???
I would give this book 0 stars if I could. Where do I start? First, I love bodybuilding. I read all of the muscle magazines every month, and have followed the "sport" for almost 20 years. Mr. Wheeler, who never misses a chance to remind everyone that he is a Christian, must not be 100% converted yet, because he lies throughout this book and wastes valuable paper with this gutless tome. For those who don't know, Mr. Wheeler has been one of the top ranked bodybuilders for over a decade. He recently had a kidney transplant because of a rare kidney disease that has tragically stricken NBA superstar Alonzo Mourning and Sean Elliot. The fact checkers, or is that liar enablers, that allowed Mr. Wheeler to say that these athletes did not disclose their disease when they retired (Mourning twice) should be fired and never be allowed in the industry again because they both spoke about it when they retired. Wheeler's past steroid use did not cause this problem, allegedly, which I do believe.
Mr. Wheeler regales us, or is that bores us to death, with stories about his numerous sexual conquests, of course while he was in relationships.
Wheeler details his troubling health problems because of his use of diuretics (taken to eliminate all water fromt the body to make someone look leaner). Amazingly, he collapsed at a show with the judges knowledge, and yet this supposed-truth-telling Christian, does not name those who knew about this and chose to ignore and enable this plague on our sport. Instead, Wheeler attempts to have his cake and eat it, too: put out a book to entice the legions of fans of bodybuilding, but because he is now competing again (drug-free???), he refuses to point fingers at a sport that has been ruined by bloated, drugged up freaks weighing 300 lbs. at 5-8-6-0. Wheeler had a unique opportunity to out the sycophants in the bodybuilding media, the pimp empire of Joe Weider, and the psycotic bodybuilders who have ruined this sport.
Wheeler refuses to even name the bodybuilder who famously accused him of having calf implants. This from a guy who claimed to be afraid of noone and brags of beating people senseless, but oh, that is because he was sexually abused, so it's ok, right.
One of his most notable lies is that bodybuilding magazines had annointed him the best bodybuilder...ever. Not one magazine has ever said that about Wheeler, simply because it is not true. That isn't a subjective analysis, it's a fact. He never even won the Mr. Olympia, the most important bodybuilding show. Also, he plays "the media was out to get me card." In fact, just the opposite is true. The press in bodybuilding don't really call anyone out because of their attitude; if they did, they would only be writing about the personalities of so many of these guys.

His training section is stupid as well. He was being trained by world class trainers (Charles Glass for one), yet he supposedly did three hours of cardio a day (yes, THREE hours a day). Any person with even the most rudimentary knowledge of bodybuilding knows that this training suicide!!

His "bling-bling" descriptions would make P Diddy proud. By my count he had 11 cars at one point and 48,000 sq. ft. home.

Another great "Wheelerism": he says there is a dearth of research on his kidney disease because it primarily effects African-Americans.

He glosses over his steroid use, again because he was afraid of offending others in the "community." Pick up any bodybuilding magazine today and the descriptions of the current "stacks" of roids these freaks are taking will blow your mind. Bear in mind, these drugs are ILLEGAL. The reigning Mr. Olympia, Ronnie Coleman, was a police officer until two years ago. How do you reconcile ingesting massive amount of illegal drugs while serving as a police officer. Many of the athletes purchase steroids that are prescribed to horses.

What a shame that honorable, decent men such as Lee Haney, Sergio Olivia, and many others don't get a chance to write books. Instead, a bible thumping, philandering, ostentatious, drug addict does, and yet doesn't have the courage to address the many issues ruining the sport.

Save your money!!

P.S. I apologize for not disclosing my e-mail, but frankly I feared retaliation.

Rating: 4 out of 5
Danger! Roid Rage Male Beauty Contestant!
The book is reasonably well written, not fantastic. The organization and pace could use some help. It scratches the surface on most subjects and leaves me feeling that Flex's primary issue preventing him from success and enjoying his success are his immaturity, his emotions,his morality, and his intelligence level. I don't buy into his crying about his upbringing, his seduction by an older woman/women which he now calls abuse or anything else. Nor do I buy into his passing off of Steroids in the 80's as an unknown OK or an unknown safety issue. The danger, and the illegality of steroids has been around gyms since I can remember - which includes the 70's.

However, since there are so few tittles on this subject - if you are a bodybuilder, or a casual lifter who works out to look and feel good - this book is a must read. I hope Flex's next book has more details on the Male Beauty Contest Industry, (Bodybuilding) the Supplement Industry that Supports it, and Strange people like Joe Weider. We all read the magazines, and we all try to get through to the truth of the mater, and this book gives you a quick fish eye lens view of it. The fact that Weider Industries cut off Flex's contract immediately upon his car crash without even checking on him or his family tells you something about the industry. I finished the book wanting more, and a faster pace. Do another one Flex and Stay Clean!



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