When I give talks as a personal trainer in Singapore, many of the questions I am asked revolve around what exercise programs work. Or why a person's program is not getting them results. Here are 3 factors that will make your exercise program give you the results you want.

Progression

This is a simple one. Your body is LAZY, it needs to be forced to get better. So you need to keep progressing in your training. Each training session you should improve, for example each session...run a little faster, rest a little shorter, lift a little more weight, or increase your flexibility a little more.

If you do not progress in your training do not expect your body to get better!

Variation

There is a balance between progress and variation. When you try to progress, you will eventually get "stuck" because there is a limit to your body's ability to improve something. When this happens, you need variation. Change the reps you use, do the exercise faster, do it slower, change the angle, change the position of your hands or feet. Keep the variations coming and the body will keep improving.

De-load

Finally, some people simply train too hard too often (If you are a fat guy sitting at a computer this is NOT you). This means that their body is not able to recover from training in time. For these guys, do what is known as a"de-load" period. This usually lasts a week and a person would reduce the number of sets he does by about half. This gives the body a chance to recover and progress.