Read the lines bellow for an introduction of the basic principles around which you should build your weight lifting routines.
The best about weight lifting is that it improves your health and you don't depend on external factors like weather or teammates. This is a sport that can dramatically change your physique, for good. Logically, weight lifting gives your muscles more strength, size and power. Another great benefit is the effect that weight lifting has on the metabolism, which is the amount of calories our body burns to maintain its daily functions.
There are hundreds of different weight lifting routines, so it will be almost impossible to list all of them. Nevertheless, there are some basic principles, techniques and combinations that can help you out. Fist of all, you should remember that weight lifting routines make up only a small fraction of your success. The recovery phase is of equal importance and that includes what you eat, what supplements you take and basically your whole daily regime.
Supplying your body with the right amounts of protein (1.5 grams per pound of body weight) and getting between 8-10 hours of sleep is the key to recover. Completely muscle recovery is the key to growth. The rule that you should follow here is - maximum workout intensity followed by maximum rest.
There is no universal weight lifting routine that works for everyone, because every individual is different and his muscles respond in a different way. But still, there are some basic principles that are always true and we will try to shed some light on them. The foundation of a good workout is to have a proper warm up.
Warming up properly is the best insurance against injuries in this sport. Of course, most people know that, but simply don't do it properly or at all. This is not just some part of your training that you can skip or get over with quickly. During that phase, you send a signal to your body that you will be training.
Any weight lifting routine must be focused around a given individual, depending on how much time he can devote to weight lifting and what his/her goals are. For people that can only find time to train 3 days a week, it's advisable to combine two muscle groups in the same day. Those of you who have more time will find themselves in a better position as it is much more effective to train each muscle group separately. Don't worry, you won't over-train, because one muscle group is recovering while you are training the other.
Stick to the basics. There are some classical exercises that bodybuilders have been doing for years. Learn them and be consistent with them. Bench press is the best exercise for chest, squats are the most effective movement for legs, while barbell rows hit your back the hardest.