BEFORE YOU BEGIN

There's no good or bad time to workout as long as you're not fatigued; nights are no different than mornings. Workout when you have the most energy. That's why energy drinks like Gatorade are so popular: They give you carbs and energy to keep you going. (I don't drink that shit though; I just stick with water at the gym.)

While you're working out, visualize the muscle your excersizing. Watch your form in the several hundred square feet of mirrors in the gym (no, not her form, your form!). Don't concentrate on finishing the set; concentrate on the muscle and its power. Picture it pumping and growing and close your eyes if you have to. What you're doing is important, so don't be hasty about getting it over with.

Your body really needs something after all that hard work; it's peak time for protein and other building essentials, so eat something after you're done working out. (This is why I usually workout before dinner.)

Sleep is when your body recharges and regrows, so if you don't get enough of it (8 hours would be nice), you're achieving nothing by working out. Nothing is being rebuilt. You're probably hurting yourself, fool!

REPS & SETS

There's a basic, generic style to each exercise that you should use. In layman's terms and with a nifty equation...

Grab a weight and lift it up 12 times (reps). Exhale air to give that extra effort during a primary push or pull phase of the lift (kinda like when super Kung Fu masters do that "hi-yah!" yell when they throw a kick or punch, but you don't have to make that noise, ya weirdo). Inhale during the lowering phase. Rinse and repeat. How did that feel? Could you do a whole bunch more or are your muscles feeling a bit warm and tired? Hopefully the latter and if not, you'll need to start with more next time (start a log if you need to). Rest for a few minutes, stretch some and get refreshed.

For your second set, increase the amount of weight roughly 25% and lift it 10-12 reps. For those who suck at math, that would mean if you lifted 50 pounds the first set, you lift 65 pounds the second. Now how did that feel? You still shouldn't be struggling, but the fatigue should be rising. Rest for a few minutes again.

Third set, add 50% more of the original weight (50 the first time, now 75). Lift 8-10 reps. Getting tired yet? Good! Rest.

Fourth, add 75%. Get a spotter if you need to (I've never needed one because I'm safe like that) and lift 6-8 reps, struggling with and barely finishing the last one, if not failing completely (failure).

Here's that equation:

1st set = 100% weight x 12 reps
2nd set = 125% weight x 10 reps
3rd set = 150% weight x 8 reps
4th set = 175% weight x 6 reps

Everyone does weight training differently. You should know that any exercise above 12 or below 6 reps for less than 3 sets is usually unprogressive for building muscle

DIFFERENT EXERCISES

So you did one exercise. Feeling tired now? Good! You'll prolly be sore in the morning. Now get up and let's do a whole bunch more. The following exercises are to be done with the four set equation, which means you'll be spending at least an hour a day doing these in the gym until you get the hang of it. Don't switch the following days around. The different push and pull days were meant to be separated from each other. Two push or pull days in a row will lead to overtraining, or damage and loss of muscle.

While these exercises don't cover every muscle area, like calves, forearms and abs, they hit most of the important ones. A lot of men only concentrate on certain upper body areas like chest and arms for their own reasons, which isn't recommended because you should try to cover as much ground as possible (think about it: a V-shaped body with big pecs and arms complementing chicken legs would look kind of goofy).