Since 1993, Derrick Evans has been appearing on British breakfast television program GMTV and released a number of fitness videos as Mr Motivator, the fitness guru in fluorescent tie-dye lycra outfits.

Masses of viewers turned to him for fun ways to get fit, resulting in massive sales of his Bums Legs and Tums video series – to date, over 1 million copies have been snapped up.

He was in town recently, courtesy of Reebok, for a free all-girls workout at Zirca. Over 150 girls arrived decked out in leggings, leotards and sweatbands of all colours, ready to have fun on the dance-floor.

herworldplus.com caught up with him to pick up some fitness tips and find out more about the 57-year-old grandfather of 4.

How does Singapore as a nation tackle the growing obesity problem?
There are 2 parts to being fit – it’s what you eat and the exercise you do. The problem is the number of fast food chains popping up everywhere, you can never stop people from choosing to eat what they like. I think what’s important is activity. We need to get the whole family involved, and set up a reward system. For example, if you’ve run today, you can watch an hour of television.

Could you share some quick and effective exercise moves busy women can do to stay fit when they have no time to hit the gym?
There are so many things they can do right in their own home. They could sit down on a chair and stand up, run on the spot, clean the windows (in large circular motions, remembering to change arms), do neck rotations, run up and down a long flight of stairs. The point is to feel your body working, so do as many reps as you can, for about 20 seconds for each set.

Name some of our favourite songs to work out to.
I listen to a mix of tracks from the 70's and 80's and today. I love Ain’t No Stopping us now by McFadden and Whitehead, a lot of Lady Gaga’s stuff, Ladies’ Night by Kool and The Gang, Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, and the mixes by Ministry of Sound.

How did H’Evans Scent, your adventure park in Jamaica, come about and what can Sumaya, the Most Motivated Girl from the Zirca workout, expect during her trip there?
We have everything from zip lines across a valley, to ATV rides and paintball. Our newest ride is called “The Screamer”, it’s a giant 50-foot swing that sends you hurtling through the air. Sumaya is going to be in for a week-long adventure that she will never forget.

Mr Motivator led the group through 1 ½ hours of dance, salsa and aerobics moves to a soundtrack of classics from the 70’s and 80’s. 20-year-old Sumaya was declared Singapore’s Most Motivated Girl, and the winner of a trip for two to Mr Motivator’s own adventure retreat in Jamaica, as well as $1000 worth of Reebok goodies.