If one glance at the toned bodies of Mary J. Blige, Beyonce, or L.L. Cool J is enough to turn you green with envy, you have no one to blame other than celebrity fitness trainer, Mark Jenkins.  Mark is the man behind the bangin’ bodies of some of Hollywood’s top-notch talent. 

After serving in the Persian Gulf War as part of the Navy, Mark continued to stay fit at a local gym where R&B singer Brandy decided to recruit him as her personal trainer.  From there it was one body after another that saw improvement as a result of Mark’s eclectic and challenging regimen that includes such practices as pilates, calisthenics, sports drills, weight training, and high intensity cardio. 

Recently he’s been touring with Mary J. Blige to keep her in shape for the grueling tour life and promoting his book, Jump Off: 60 Days to a Hip Hop Hard Body. 

Sixshot worked up a sweat with the fitness guru as we talked male body image issues, Mary J. Blige’s alleged steroid use, why 'Tae Bo' master Billy Blanks isn’t all that honest, fitness myths, the one country you’ll be surprised to learn that ties the U.S. in obesity rates, and more.

When you were young you were overweight and teased.  How much of that experience still pushes you to stay fit?

It’s funny, I'm still critical of how I look and my appearance.  It’s always in the back of my mind.  I think I'm more well adjusted these days, but it's always there.  It’s also an asset because it gives me insight with people whom I'm training.  I can relate to people where I'm not coming off as elitist, and that’s important with training people to know you can relate to them.

Many times when people talk about body image issues they focus on females but what are some of the body image issues you come across for males?

As the obesity rate goes up, especially in the youth, guys find themselves getting teased a lot more.  They can only cover it up so much.  The issues men deal with are the man boobs ‘cause the body fat raises your estrogen.  Therefore you get more breast tissue and if it’s not muscular that’s a big issue for guys.  I think the obesity is in tandem with the big clothes movement; they work hand-in-hand cause you can hide it now.

Many celebrities have had similar negative experiences of body image issues.  So how much of the work you do is about self-esteem and the psychological element?

There’s somebody great inside of every person and all it needs is the proper motivation so that person can come out.  I've been doing it since ‘92 and I never get tired of that feeling of seeing that person come out.  Many people are holding back.  I try to get people to participate in their lives.  When they are in shape and feel confident they are more apt to go out and take a chance or be that person they always wanted to be.  They take that weight loss and apply it to the rest of their lives.

Earlier this year, Mary J. Blige, faced allegations of steroid use which she has since denied.  Were you shocked at those allegations?

Yeah, it was so funny.  We were both pretty shocked.  I was like damn, “Mary, you ain’t looking that good just yet,” and she was like, “Yeah, I didn’t think I was looking that good either.”  [Laughs]  So we both had a laugh about it.  If you know Mary and our history we been training for a very long time to get her to look that way.  She put in a lot of work, dieting, and hard core training—she earned her physique. 

50 Cent and Timbaland also faced allegations of steroid use.  So how prevalent is steroid abuse in Hollywood?

I wouldn’t say it’s as prevalent as in sports, but I would say its prevalent in Hollywood where people gotta get in shape for movies.  In the music industry I don’t think it’s that prevalent.  I can’t speak for 50 and the men.  I can speak for Mary in that regard especially with a female vocalist—that would be the dumbest thing ‘cause it lowers your voice.

When you were training Beyonce I read that her mom would call in everyday to check on her progress.  Was that annoying after a while?

There is s a certain amount of pressure and that's why everybody can’t train celebrities. [Laughs]  You got the label calling you asking “Is she ready for that video?”  There’s pressure to get them in shape with a certain time restraint.  So that goes along with the territory.

Which celebrity has been your proudest work?

There’s so many.  I trained Johnnie Cochran and he was such a leader in the community and so intelligent.  Mary is definitely a success story because when she sings you see these women crying.  They’re like, “Mary looks great.  I'm gonna get in shape too.”

You have so many different workout influences and not one set routine, which makes you different from many other famous fitness gurus.

I get bored like everybody else cause I been at it a long time.  So if I find anything that’s effective for me I try to incorporate it into my own system.  I stay more formless with it. I offer my clients every genre.  Obviously Billy Blanks is not doing Tae Bo cause he looks like a body builder.  So at some point he’s lifting weights, but selling you Tae Bo.  It’s not a bad thing but it's more honest to try and incorporate everything that you’re using.  Fitness is a hustle too.  The way they hustle is on the repeat customer.  I don’t train clients for retention.  I train them for transformation which means you have an education in fitness in a certain amount of time.  I then move on to the next client.  Any time somebody else is responsible for your fitness that’s an unhealthy relationship, ‘cause no one should be responsible for your body.

How important is it to change up the routine for the muscles?

It’s important to keep them off balance.  Psychologically people coast when they know what they’re expecting in the workout.  So the more you think about what you’re doing the more muscle fibers you’re recruiting—variety keeps the mind stimulated

What are some of the myths that you hope to dispel about fitness?

That everybody you see in shape is on drugs.  That’s the worst thing because with obesity levels rising so high and the onset of diabetes with the youth, it puts out the wrong message.  I'm trying to make it fashionable and fly for kids to look in shape.  Another myth is that muscle turns to fat when you get older.  It’s impossible for a muscle cell to turn into a fat cell.  Overall I just want to dispel the myth that you have to be corny to be in shape.  It can just be a natural thing that’s part of your lifestyle.  It’s not about what you look like.  It’s about your overall well-being and fine tuning your instruments so you can receive those blessings.

You seem to be very passionate about reaching the children.

Yeah, with the kids I try to give them real talk.  The children being obese is a million dollar business right now.  It’s the same business that owns stock in these prescription drug companies or in McDonald’s.  These are people profiting off you being sick and decreasing your life span.  You need to be aware of that no matter what walk of life and who you are—people are profiting off of children having type 2 diabetes.  Now it’s a business to keep you fat.

What more do you have in the works?

I have a reality show in the works.  I also have some wellness centers in South Africa, and possibly a reality show deal in South Africa.  They’re tied with the U.S. in obesity surprisingly enough ‘cause the less money you have, the less protein you buy, and the more starchy food they eat over there.  Many don’t know that—they associate Africa with being skinny but there’s a big obesity problem over there. 

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