"I work damn hard for my body": Ellie Goulding puts us through our paces in an intense workout

Ellie Goulding is picture perfect when we meet her after an intense workout session, still looking flawless despite the vigorous routine we've both just endured.

While I'm standing next to her looking like a shining tomato, you would be forgiven for thinking the 29-year-old Love Me Like You Do singer had just gone for a brisk walk, not put her body through squats, backwards burpees (yes they are a thing) and medicine ball lunges.

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And while I gasped for air at the back of the room, Ellie breezed through the 30-minute 'Tighten and Tone' NTC workout, which she has just released on the Nike app.

So what's the secret behind her incredible fitness, despite the fact that she's constantly on the road? Well it turns out it's hard work and a lot of it.

Speaking to Be, Ellie revealed that the workout she just showed us (backwards burpees people) was a "walk in the park" and usually she runs a mile as a warm-up before progressing into sprints and cardio.

"I work damn hard for my body," the petite singer said.

"I thought that workout was going to be about half and hour longer to be honest, I was prepared for something really hardcore."

Ellie, who has been a Nike ambassador for the past year and has also completed four marathons, started running when she was 18-years-old but admitted that her lifestyle wasn't always so clean and healthy.

"I used to have such a sweet tooth that I would literally only eat sugar," she said.

"I was addicted to sugar in a really bad way to the point where I didn’t want anything else I just wanted sugar, sugar, sugar.

"I’m surprised that my body hasn’t freaked out over that because that’s all I used to do."

The star went on to admit that when she was studying drama at the University of Kent, she would fill-up on chocolate bars but then she would go for a 10km run.

"Now I’m much more sensible I actually don’t crave sugar as much anymore," she said.

Ellie says she wouldn't touch McDonalds or fast food in a million years but with such a busy schedule she finds it hard to stick to three meals a day.

"I’m not too hard on myself because I think my body understands at this point that it’s a little bit irregular and just kind of adapts to it," she said.

"Mainly I just try to get green juices and green tea down me as much as possible at any opportunity.

"I eat quite a bit of fruit but not too much fruit and I eat a lot of greens, a lot of rice, a lot of tofu, basically a s***load of protein."

For those looking to change their lifestyle and get healthy and fit, Ellie says not to be too hard on yourself but know that nothing is going to change about your body unless you "do something quite drastic".

"You don’t just change your diet and you don’t just exercise you’ve got to do a bit of both," she said

"You can have days off but when you’re working out you really commit and if you’ve had an off-day of eating then you just make sure you doing it a bit healthier the next day."

According to Ellie, people are scared of diets and training regimes because they "sound scary" but "actually it can be really fun and doing it with people and having someone cheering you on is motivating".

"I think people should stop being so scared and get yourself a gym membership - they’re not that expensive - or just go out for a jog or a run," she said.

"Just get outdoors and off your phone."

Ellie is set to hit the stage in Sydney tonight, at Allphones Arena, as part of her Delirium Tour.

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