I go three times a week to the gym but I don't seem to get results

If this sounds like you... there could be several factors at play.

1. A structured plan.
Just 'going' to the gym isn't enough. You need a plan. What are you trying to achieve? For most people, it's to 'tone' up and lose weight. What does that mean exactly?? Well, firstly you'll be building muscle to create more lean body mass. This muscle is what you need to rev up your metabolism. Secondly you'll be adding in some cardio - preferably high intensity intervals. Thirdly - you need to look carefully at your nutrition. Each meal needs to be a healthy mix of macronutrients - protein, carbs & healthy fats. The other factors are...hydration - you should be taking in at least 2L of water a day, and one very overlooked factor, REST. Your body needs a good amount of rest through your sleeping at night - 6-8 hours optimum and one day of total rest a week for your body to recuperate.

2. Adaptation
Your structured plan also needs to allow for your body's adaptation to exercises. Around every 4 weeks you need to change what you're doing with your exercise plan.

3. Don't let the machines do the work
Whilst machines can be a valuable tool in the early stages of your exercise routine, the sooner you can master technique with bodyweight exercises and free weights the better. Machines tend to make muscle groups work in isolation. If you think about your real life, when do you really ever use muscles in isolation?
To explain - Say for instance you go to the gym and use the Pec Dec to try and strengthen your pectoral muscles. How does this exercise mimic anything in real life? Then look at another chest exercise, the pushup. The pushup is not only highly functional in terms of you having to support your fully body weight, but it incorporates many many muscles - you are using your core muscles for stability, your glutes will also come into play for some stability, then you are using your arms - biceps and triceps come into play in both phases of the pushup, together with the pectoral muscles. All of a sudden, you've got virtually a whole body exercise. What this equates to is more calories burned during your workout.

More to come on this tomorrow!...