Doing short, sharp bursts of very intense fitness training is much better than doing the same exercise for an hour or more, according to a leading sports scientist and nutritionist.

Martin McDonald, speaking to the Sun, explained that "steady state" exercise will not shift fat fast.

Research commissioned by the University of Glamorgan backs up the claims, with health scientists announcing that shorter bursts of exercise could be as beneficial as doing up to five hours of exercise a week, as well as being more practical to follow, the BBC reported.

Mr McDonald said that scientific studies have shown that doing short intense periods of exercise (say 30 seconds of indoor rowing) followed by a rest (of a minute) are up to five-times more effective at burning fat than continuous exercise.

"That's why you see people in the gym plodding away on the treadmill and not losing much weight," he told the news provider.

"Doing short, sharp bursts of very intense exercise is much better."