Interview with Sahil M.

“Always outspoken, and never outclassed.” That is the motto for the status and methods of trainer Sahil M. also known as the “Fit Jerk.”

Outspoken yet never outdone, Sahil M. is the CEO of Hardcore Training Solutions, and the personality behind what used to be the popular site, FitJerk.com.

He holds a National Record in the Raw Deadlift, is a Karate Black Belt, a Level 2 Gymnastics coach, and is someone who stays in shape year-round.

His latest fitness book, Flawless Fitness 2, is one of the highest rated on Amazon and has consulted and trained clients from all over the globe.

Known for stripping people of bad habits both physically and mentally and building them from the ground up into strong, sexy people, he knows that true transformation starts in the head.

This week, Exercise.com got to sit down with Sahil to glean some of his expertise. Read our interview below to find out what he has to say!

How and when did you choose to get into the fitness industry?

I’ve always been an athlete, and I’ve always been the competitive type for as long as I can remember.

My fitness journey started with Martial Arts (Karate to be exact). It got me strong, flexible, confident and gave me the ability to kick some a**. The philosophies I learned in Karate practically poured over to all other areas of life.

After getting my black belt, I discovered something called Xtreme Martial Arts, where dudes would throw in gymnastics moves to spice up their routines — and the extra flair they added won them competitions.

Not to be outdone, I started doing basic gymnastics training and totally fell in love. I wanted to compete but there was a major problem — most competitive gymnasts start at 8. I was already 17. So I specialized in tumbling and floor work.

Through some serious hard work, I caught up to a not-too-embarrassing level and went competitive by 19 (practically unheard of).

I then went to college for a gymnastics and Kin hybrid course. You basically get the same training as other personal trainers/kin students, but it’s specialized in helping your certification as a coach. So I’m currently a Level 2 Coach in that.

To improve my gymnastics game, I obviously had to get stronger — this meant lifting weights. So after dabbling in petty stuff, I finally started reading about strength training from credible coaches and made it a goal to master the big three lifts (Squat, Bench, Deadlift).

From there on, I figured out the puzzle that is nutrition and my body really started to change. Friends started to notice and couldn’t help but ask questions, and after giving a boat load of advice, I released my blog and first eBook in 2008.

Since then, I haven’t stopped and have made it my profession to help people have head-turning bodies. Needless to say, I now have the skills to pay the bills.

Let our community know a little about your training philosophy.

My motto is, “Physical sexiness through mental toughness.” Personally, I think you can do any workout under the sun and take all the garbage supplements you want, but a soft mentality will always create a soft body.

This is why I focus on things like building habits, emotional toughness and developing a winner’s attitude for success.

Seriously… I can take the laziest, most unmotivated couch-rider, strip him down mentally, physically, and emotionally, then build him back up stronger and sexier than ever before.

But while my training philosophy tends to lean on the edge of “hardcore,” I also prefer to play just as hard. This means I’m no stranger to partying, smashing shot after shot of tequila, smoking the occasional green stuff, and generally eating more cheese cake than one could handle.

Yet, I still manage to stay at single digit body fat levels year round. If you didn’t have the picture, you probably wouldn’t believe it. But I can assure you one thing — it’s not genetics, and it’s not necessarily hard work — it’s smart work.

Ludacris said it best: “Why tip-toe through life to arrive safely at death?”

How did your “jerk” motivation of fitness become discovered?

While on my path of transforming complete physical failures into beautiful specimens, I’ve found there are 3 ways to motivate people: Hand Holding, A** Kissing, and A** Kicking.

It just so happens that the latter is most efficient, and so I’m only a “jerk” when people need that kick in the rear end. It’s tough love for a good cause.

Now speaking of the actual name, I actually embraced it; I didn’t invent it. I got it from this lady who was the customer of my very first book (back in ’08), where I had no “handle” or “avatar.”

She wasn’t taking action so I laid it to her straight. She called me a jerk, but a fit one.

I mentioned it jokingly to a few people that were all in the online game at the time that I liked it.

Obviously being straight edged, a**kissing crowd-pleasers that they were (God bless them), they said it couldn’t be done, that no one would buy my crap, it’s too similar to the “rich jerk” who was selling questionable make money online products at the time, and so on and so forth.

And well, when someone tells me something can’t be done, I’m that crazy dude who looks at them dead in the eye and says “Challenge Accepted!”

Needless to say, after a boatload of clients, and realizing that over 20,000 people follow my advice and ramblings on all things fitness and life, I can assure you it’s possible. Why?

Because the number one priority for people is results — and I deliver those in spades.

What is your favorite style of training?

If you were to boil down my training into its absolute core, it could basically be defined as: lift heavy, lift often, and laugh at those on ellipticals.

But that’s just me — I despise cardio. In fact, I might be the first person ever to be allergic to it. Possibly. But that doesn’t mean my cardiovascular ability isn’t up to par. In fact, it’s better than most.

I train Jiu-Jitsu every so often, do lots of kickboxing and still do gymnastics a couple times per week. These activities are not only more entertaining than being a cardio bunny, but the skills you learn are more beneficial.

I mean, if you’re strong as heck, and you know how to kick butt, why do you need to run? You don’t.

What advice would you give to someone just starting on their fitness journey?

Learn and master the three big lifts I talked about. These lifts are the squat, bench press, and deadlift. Forget your silly hours of cardio, machines, CultFit and other garbage. A good program based around the three lifts will do everything you could possibly want.

Fat Loss? Check.

Gain muscle and “tone” out? Check.

Gain strength? Double check.

Improve your performance in the bedroom? Triple check.

I’m not saying this is the only way — the beauty of fitness is that there is always more than one way to skin a cat. However, I think it is the most efficient way.

Now, if you love cardio and it’s working for you then, by all means, run your lungs off. That’s another piece of crucial advice you need to remember — compliance is more important than design.

I could give you the best program in the world, but if you’re bored and don’t follow it for more than a week, then it’s about as useless as non-alcoholic beer.

I would rather put a client of mine on a program that they stick to but takes slightly longer to achieve their goals than giving them one that is hardcore but has a high drop-out rate.

Exercise.com would like to thank Sahil for his time and wise advice. Be sure to follow him on Facebook!

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