He’s putting the flexing into Flexen.
Mets pitcher Chris Flexen arrived at spring training this year 30 pounds lighter than last season, and more chiseled than ever.
The 24-year-old — who is currently playing for the Amazin’s Triple A club in Syracuse — credits his body transformation to consuming smaller portions and hitting the gym for an hour, four days a week.
“The weight I was at wasn’t sustainable for an athlete,” Flexen tells The Post of his 260 pounds, which he began to shed after having surgery on his knee last August. “The motivation was for my career. I was making bad choices and eating large portions. If I went to Outback Steakhouse, I’d have wings as an appetizer, a large sirloin and dessert. I always said yes.”
Now instead of hitting In-and-Out burger or Chick-fil-A after games, the California native is ordering spinach salads with lean chicken, and cutting out soda and fatty foods.
In the offseason, Flexen committed to making better dining and fitness decisions. The latter included working with Bryan Wright, a strength and conditioning coach at Barwis Performance Center in Port St. Lucie, Fla., to shed weight and tone his 6-foot-3 frame.
“I did a lot of cardio-based circuit training just trying to lose as much fat as possible,” Flexen says.
As this season approached he added weight training like dead lifts to his repertoire. He also supplemented his workouts with swimming, sometimes doing up to 100 laps in the pool.
As a result of his hard work, it’s not just a smaller uniform his current 230-pound frame is sporting; he says his velocity has seen a slight uptick from a 91 mph average to 93 mph average. But more importantly, he’s feeling healthier.
“My legs feel better, and I am recovering much better. I feel strong and the best I have in my career,” he says.
Flexen, who was called up to pitch for the Mets on Saturday and struggled against the Cardinals in a 10-2 loss, was surprised his weight loss made headlines back in February, when spring training began.
“I was kind of shocked that everyone talked about [the weight loss]. It was a drastic thing and looking the two pictures side by side, it doesn’t even look like the same person. It even shocks me how big I really was.”
And he’s not going back to his old ways.
“I try to eat clean. I am not perfect but I am maintaining and working out more in between starts. Looking back and reflecting on it, [my weight] was absolutely not OK.”