Retired Bodybuilder Flex Wheeler is celebrated for his inspiring spirit of never giving up. The four-time Arnold Classic Champion has experienced multiple health hazards throughout his career. Currently, he is a fitness coach to many performance athletes who train their minds, bodies, and speed. Recently, Wheeler reflected on the training process of performance athletes.
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Flex Wheeler began his career as a martial artist. Having suffered an acutely distressing childhood, he resorted to strength-related activities as his escape. After experiencing a glorious career as a bodybuilder, Wheeler announced his retirement in 2000 but continued to compete till 2003. Even in 2017, Wheeler made a comeback in 20117 Mr. Olympia, and now, he works on improving athletes’ performance in various fields.
Flex Wheeler explained how performance athletes are different from bodybuilders
Flex Wheeler works as a coach in his self-owned Flex Wheeler Coaching, providing various fitness services. He helps people with body transformation, living a healthy lifestyle, and preparing for contests. Not just bodybuilders, he trains many performance athletes like powerlifters, MMA fighters, boxers, etc. In his recent Instagram post, Wheeler explained whether such performance athletes should train differently from bodybuilders or not.
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He stated, “YES!!!” and took the example of two of his fighters Neely Kimiko and William A Knight stating that they only work on their performance. Wheeler wrote:
“Training for them is all about performance…period. I can think of a ton of fighters that “look great” but can’t win fights…not the right outcome.”
Wheeler justified his point by explaining that performance athletes deal with excessive movements and are not concerned with their striated glutes or how they look. For such athletes, their speed and mental stability are important to win championships. He continued:
“Aside from the occasional hypertrophy phase (I get it…you’re also half naked in front of a ton of people), anyone training a performance athlete on machines looking for the pump isn’t worth the paper their weekend certification was printed on…”
Moreover, he ended by saying that sports and life require movement. Hence, it is important to train appropriately.
Wheeler once revealed his suicidal thoughts
Flex Wheeler once revealed in an interview that he experienced suicidal thoughts and depression in his teenage. A boy told him that his sister had a liking for Flex. He started talking to that girl and later left her after she conceived.
The incident embarrassed Wheeler as he thought he had let his family down. It had a devastating effect on him. Moreover, that phase left Wheeler in depression. It eventually made him think of suicide.
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Pritam Priyedarshi