I’ll include a whole bunch of basic exercise descriptions in another post. But let’s get one thing straight. I will do this against my better judgment. The truth is you don’t need many exercises to build muscle fast. You only need a handful.

Listen. I know that you will hear all about the need for split- routines, and the use of a wide variety of exercises. I don’t buy it. And I hope you will forget all about that nonsense as well. But, since I know old habits die hard, here are a list of nine basic performance guidelines. Plus you get a list of 37 “key” exercise descriptions. Use them if you want a little variety. They do say it’s the spice of life.

You should know by now, that how you perform your exercises is at least as important as the exercises themselves. The following basic performance guidelines will help you “improve” your form, and guarantee fast muscle gains.

1. Select a weight, or level of resistance, for all exercises that allows you to perform repetitions within the recommended guidelines, each training set.
2. Increase the resistance by approximately five percent at your next workout, when you are able to, perform the high number of repetitions on each of the  exercises.
3. Perform all your  exercises in a positive upward movement of two seconds, and a negative lowering of the movement in four seconds.
4. Always move slower, never faster, if you are in doubt about the speed of movement.
5. Maintain as strict a form as possible on each exercise. This means don’t use any unnecessary momentum or speed to complete a repetition. Remember, we are watching you. No cheating.
6. Attempt to increase your number of repetitions or the amount of weight, or both each workout. But do not sacrifice proper form trying to do so.
7. Keep accurate records of your resistance, your weight used, and the number of repetitions performed. (See Workout Journal Below)
8. Select  exercises for all your different body parts, and try and create a balance between compound and isolation exercises.
9. Perform a total of no more than ten different exercises and no more then a total of twelve sets each  workout.