We've all been there - you know, that day when you realise your workout routine just isn't working anymore! Just a week ago you were looking fresh, losing weight, getting stronger - now you're stuck in a rut, putting on a couple of pounds and becoming weaker... it happens to the best of us! The majority of the time this happens because people don't vary their training programmes - same reps, and same sets as always, boring, boring cardio. I hope this article will help you become more creative when building your exercise plan!

Believe me - it's not hard. There are loads of ways you can change your routine and make sure you maximise your muscle building or weight loss response to exercise. Most people don't think about changing their routine, and if they do they only think about changing their sets and reps. There are other variables to consider that can dramatically affect the results of your exercise - you can change the order of your exercise sequence, change the type of exercise you are doing, add more exercises per workout, add resistance, change the order of your exercises, use tension or core stability to increase the intensity of your workout i.e. do them on one leg, balancing on a ball, sitting, standing and lying down. Change the angle of your body, and the angle of the exercise, change the repetition speed of the workout or change the frequency.

It sounds a lot, right? This is the moment you need to speak to a personal trainer, they can turn this jibberish into a sensible workout plan tailored for you to make sure you don't get bored - and fall off the wagon! I'll give you a few examples to get your imagination flowing so you can start thinking about your own creative ideas.

Keep it spicy!

- Use a near maximum weight and do 10 sets of 1 rep, take a 30 second rest
- Use a lighter weight and do 1 set of 50 reps for each exercise
- Do a circuit of 12 exercises covering all body areas WITH NO RESTING IN BETWEEN!
- Do the same circuit backwards, again no breaks!
- Complete five 30 minute workouts in one week, and three 1 hour workouts the next

There are so many ways you can keep getting the results you want, variety is the spice of life! Take your body to the next level.

For more information on the various work out methods and techniques visit www.nothing-but-sixpackabs.com

Make 2009 the year you achieve your fitness goals.