An interview with Caroline Pearce

Caroline Pearce is an all-round female health visionary being an international heptathlete, successful nutritionist, fitness consultant, model, TV presenter, commentator and event host. She has now delved into the writing world with the publication of her new book, Better Body Workouts, which allows her to “help and support far more people”, aiming to inspire women to train their body.

What inspired you to write this book? 

I’ve been writing for and contributing to fitness publications for many years and I’m contacted by women daily wanting workout advice and tips specifically for targeting female trouble spots and considerations. So I’ve always wanted to put all my advice, recommended exercises and workouts in one place as a “go to” for women wanting a “one-stop shop” for all their fitness and nutrition needs.

What audience is your new book really aiming at? 

It’s for women of any age who have a reasonable understanding of fitness, who want to take their workout and understanding to the next level, to get real results and break out of a rut. My book is to motivate and provide a practical guide. It includes exercise demos with photos, full workouts, nutrition and weight loss advice, and advice on exercise for female considerations such as pregnancy, menstruation, osteoporosis and common injuries. It guides on the right exercise for different body shapes too, so you can train right for your type. You dip in and out of different sections and revisit as you need. This book is a woman’s fitness bible!

Do you think that keeping fit and nutrition is the key to a lot of common health problems? 

Absolutely. Good nutrition of clean eating combined with exercise and the right mind set boosts our health tremendously. That’s why I address fitness, nutrition and motivation in my book. They are all inter-linked. Exercise produces endorphin hormones (happy hormones) that make us feel good and live a better life.

What inspired you to go into this industry/profession? 

As a former international athlete – heptathlete and bobsledder – I’ve always been interested in how the body works, how to fuel it to work most effectively. I studied hard and achieved a first class honours degree in sports science and a Master’s degree in physiology and nutrition from Loughborough University, and when my sporting career ended it was natural for me to continue to work in fitness and health.  I’ve been travelling the world as a master trainer and developing my own workout systems ever since.

What tips do you have for women who want to be more fit? 

Make exercise part of your daily schedule. Workout time is “your time” and a chance to do something good for yourself, so don’t compromise and allow the stresses of life to push it to the back of your “to do” list.

Set goals for what you want to achieve whether that’s running a 5k or fitting into your skinny jeans and make a plan to achieve your goal. My book guides you on exactly how to do this.

Make fitness fun. If you pick activities you like you’re more likely to stick to them.

Add intensity. You boost your metabolism and sculpt your body far more effectively with short high-intensity workouts (circuit training, intervals, etc) than with prolonged light cardio and you save time!

Most of all be consistent. Doing a little exercise often is far more effective than a one-week all-out effort that you quickly give up on.

Tamara Massey
Photo: Courtesy of Caroline Pearce

Caroline Pearce’s book is available from Human Kinetics, and to get her DVDs Total Cardio Burn, Total Body Sculpt and Total Body Blitz go to Amazon. Find out more about Caroline here,  or visit her Twitter @carolinepearce.