Here are the top ten reasons why you may not be getting the results you would like from your current exercise progam.

1. Not having an identifiable goal - Most people do not pick a quantifiable measure for their success. For example "to get in better shape" - how will you know what better shape is? You need to be able to measure when you are there or better yet halfway there. Better to have something like a waist measurement goal and break that down into smaller measurements over a period of time.

2. Too many changes - Many people want fast dramatic results and attempt too many big changes at once such as a new exercise program and improved eating plan all starting in the same week. Remember you can't light a big fire.

3. Lifestyle factors - People have other factors other than their lack of exercise contributing to their current state of health. Such as not getting enough sleep, but they claim to not be able to get up an hour early to hit the gym on the way to work. Other factors that can get in the way of your health and fitness plans are stress, activity level at work, relationship stress. All of which can contribute to a lack of energy for a demanding workout.

4. Exercise selection - The majority of your effort should be spent on working multiple major muscle groups together with compound lifts. The more muscles you can train with one movement pattern the better as it burns the most calories and raises the heart rate. Additionally these exercises tire the smaller muscles so these muscles require less direct attention to reach fatigue. The idea is to raise the metabolic rate so the each exercise needs to be as challenging and interesting as possible.

5. Exercise variation - Your body adapts quickly to an exercise program and it needs to be changed every 4-6 weeks. Many people keep the same program for six months or longer and wonder why they do not see results. It is important to keep your program fresh to maximize results and enhance enjoyment.

6. Eating plan - The results of your exercise program is directly related to the fuel you give your body. If you are not eating properly do not expect to be able to train at optimal intensity with your program. The best way to fuel your workout is with 4-6 small meals spread every 2-3 hours throughout the day. These meals should always contain 20 - 30 grams of protein and be made up of natural, whole foods as much as possible.

7. Staying motivated - Without a clear goal it is hard to stay motivated. Setting workout related goals such as becoming stronger through increased weight or resistance or beating your number of repetitions from your last workout will keep you motivated to increase performance. Small consistent increases in performance from workout to workout will result in better results in the long term.

8. Consistency - Changes to your eating and your exercise program need to be maintained over a long period of time to see results. Stop start type exercise will not result in progress and will only cause frustration. Don't start off trying to go to the gym 3-4 times per week. Get 1-2 times cemented into your life for a period of say 3-6 months before you add any extra sessions. You would get way better results even going to the gym once per week rather than every day for six weeks and stopping because you cannot maintain that pace.

9. Intensity and frequency -.Many people go to the gym for an hour per day, yet see no results and in most cases they are training at too low intensity (degree of difficulty) for a longer period, or more often than necessary. Doing a workout that is too low in intensity more frequently will still produce no change. You can train long or you can train hard - but you can't do both! Shoot for performing the most work in the shortest possible time for best results.

10 .Progressive overload - All exercise training needs small increases or progression in workload to keep forcing your body to get stronger. Repeating the same level of intensity will cause no change to occur. These small changes add up to big results over a period of time.

Implement these tips and you will be amazed at the results you will achieve.