Flex - January 2011 Issue - Review.

Flex Magazine is kind of the bigger brother of Muscle and Fitness. Both are produced by Weider Publications. That is where the similarity ends and as a general rule Flex is far more advanced in its content and it has as its focus bodybuilding as a sport. If there is something you want to know about bodybuilding competitors or competition, Flex probably has it. In fact, I find it at times to be cluttered with 'sound bite' type articles that give quick blurbs about something and then it is off to the next thing. The content ultimately is either intermediate or advanced training and nutrition or the sport of bodybuilding in its various forms from men's to women's (bodybuilding/figure/fitness and bikini).

The theme of January 2011's issue is arms and arm training. There is also a lot of 'looking back' articles.

Best Quote: "When the desire to succeed is in your heart, setbacks won't hold you back." -- Yenny Polanco -- Women's Fitness Competitor p. 68

Highlight Article: "Arm Yourself/Feed Yourself" p. 124-146 -- Actually this is two articles back to back but the focus of which is to provide both training and nutrition for a three week program to blast your arms to 1" growth. Everything is laid out including advice, supplements and sample meal plans. I am focused on what to do for arms later on in this year, so it caught my attention and it might be a possibility.

Notable Articles:
1. "Phil Heath's 23" Gun Salute": A good close up look at Phil Heath's arm training.
2. "Top Secret Arm Arsenal": A look at some of the better, but less known, arm exercises
3. "Pecs in the City": A close up look at Kai Greene going to the gym where he started his career and his monster chest routine.

Dud Articles:
1. Fast Food Fix: The Guide -- Trust me I understand that people may want this info but the fact is it covers only a few places and it relatively short on each one. It could have been much more in depth. Great concept, but poor execution.
2. Assortment of small articles: Its the sound bite thing that often bothers me. Its not the content of the articles that bothers me so much as the quick word, lack of depth style.

Graphic Content Review: Flex has a far more graphic content than most muscle mags. Tons of pictures of competitors and they are usually crisp and clean. Each article often has its own graphic style too and so the magazine avoids repetitive graphics. Their black and white photos are some of the best. There are two pictures of real note: Jack LaLaane is featured on page 70 from the cover of May 1950's Your Physique and an old photo of Eugen Standow on page 304 which are both classics. Probably one of the best long running photo shoots is the one Flex does with female competitors (This month it is Alicia Harris - Figure competitor) where each woman every month wears the same olive green and black workout outfit as they do their training so you get a more true comparison of how they actually look. There is of course a closer look at the online monthly winners for Flex's Bikini model search featuring the winners from month one through four. Finally, the same Met-Rx calender that was in Muscle and Fitness this month is also present here. It means I could put one side of one and the other side of the other together and have the whole year in front of me all year long, but that would almost assuredly bring about the breaking of both arms and probably other important pieces of my anatomy by Mrs. Rabyd Theologian. It too will remain in the magazine.

Rating: I always like the graphic content of the Flex magazine line and this issue is no exception. Lots of pictures an good pictures. The articles are often helpful when they are not of the 'sound bite' variety. Four stars.