ARE you getting the most form your workout? Or maybe what I should be asking is, are you getting results from your workout?

Initially, the hardest part of a workout is actually getting yourself to it! Finding the motivation, time and even confidence to get to the gym or join in a class, but in that same initial period you will probably see or feel the results quickly. This is because your body is doing something new, something that it generally doesn't do.

Our bodies respond to this new experience by becoming more efficient for next time. So, if you have done strength or weight training your muscles will become stronger so that next time they will cope with the exercise easier. If you have pushed your cardio vascular system more than usual then that will also start to adapt to make it easier next time. Your body will make you well aware of this adaption by becoming a tad bit sore and stiff the following few days after exercise.

Once your body becomes accustomed to your new routine, your mind probably will do too. So, getting to the gym or class then becomes much easier as your confidence grows, but you may find the results that you initially saw fairly quickly, may start to slow down more than you'd like.

If this is the case, it's time to take steps to get the boost back into your workouts.

If you've got to the gym, great! Use your time there productively. If you lift weights, structure your programme to make sure you are improving over the weeks. Change the exercises you do and move your body in different ways. Remember, your body changed quickly in the initial phase of exercise because it was doing something new.

If you take a class each week then the routine will probably change every so often to ensure you keep getting results, but don't just rely on this. It's your body, you control how it moves. Make your movements bigger, stronger, faster and always move with control.

Speak to your instructor and tell them what you want to achieve, ask them for advice on how to increase the intensity of your workouts.

Make the most of every workout.