There is no easy answer, it depends on your goals. Generally, my advice is for people who want real results as far as strength, looks, health, and physical functionality. Hard-core bodybuilders will probably scoff at my opinions, but I am talking to REAL PEOPLE here.

Generally I advocate three sets per body part. This is a subject that is hotly debated however. If you read bodybuilding magazines you will see that the pros do as many as five sets per exercise, and four exercises per body part. That's 20 sets per body part! They are also pros, and more than likely on some sort of anabolic steroid, so you should not even consider trying to emulate a program like that. On the other end of the spectrum, former Mr. Univeres Mike Mentzer insists that anything more than one set per bodypart is not only unnecessary, but it is detrimental. This theory relies heavily, however, on the stipulation that the aforementioned one set takes you completely, and utterly, to muscular failure, anything short of that is not enough. With all due respect to Mr. Mentzer, I doubt that anyone can actually push their body past all natural defense mechanisms to totally acheive "muscular failure", and even if they could, they could not do it on a regular basis. Thus, I firmly beleive in the set system that I have described. This is just a guideline however, it varies from time to time, and from body part to body part. For most body parts I advocate two sets of a heavy compound movement, followed by one set of an isolation movement. Here are some exceptions;

• ABS

Everybody wants to concentrate on their abdominal muscles. I recommend two sets of a movement targeted at the lower abs, followed by two sets of an upper ab movement. I generally advocate specifically exercising the oblique muscles sparingly, because you may get the impression of "love handles" if they become overly developed. When you do exercise the obliques, stick to low weight, high reps.

• CALVES

Do two sets of calf exercises, don't worry about a third, because your calves get worked all day long as you walk around.

• FOREARMS

The forearms get worked very heavily when doing numerous other exercises, so I advise only specificaly targeting the forearms with one set.

Rest approximately 1 1/2 - 2 minutes in between sets, and slightly longer in between body parts, (I never time it myself, just rest long enough so that you can successfully complete another set, but not so long that you defeat the purpose of working out).

To start out, let me clarify that if I suggest 10 reps on a given exercise, that does not mean pick a comfortable weight, do 10 reps, and then stop. It means pick a weight that only allows you to complete 10 reps, while bringing you very near muscular failure. If you train alone, as I do, then for safeties sake, stop 1-2 reps short of muscular failure on exercises that put the weight in a dangerous position, and which could cause injury upon achieving muscular failure and losing control of the weight. It is fairly well accepted that to add mass, lower rep ranges, (6-10), are most effective, while for so-called toning, higher rep ranges, (10-15), work best. That being said, I recommend doing 8-12 reps for most major body parts. Pick a weight that allows you to successfully complete 8 reps, then add 1 rep every workout, or as often as possible. When you reach 12 reps, increase the weight by approximately 10%, and start all over again. Of course, there are exceptions;

• ABS

(It seems abs are always an exception) Stay in the 20-50 rep range. The reason being, lower reps/higher weight promotes muscular growth, and most people want strong, toned abs, not large abs.

• CALVES

Alternate between lower (8-12), and higher (20-30) reps every 2-3 weeks. Without going into physiological details, suffice it to say calves are unique, and somewhat different from most other muscles in your body.

• FOREARMS

For much the same reasons as above, treat forearms like calves, rep wise. That is, alter between high and low rep workouts.

Circuit training is a method of weight training that combines the benefits of weight training and aerobic/endurance exercise. In circuit training you complete one set of an exercise for each body part continuously, one after another, with little or no rest in between, (max. 30 seconds between sets, and 1 1/2 -2 minutes between circuits). Continue this three times through the entire circuit. You will find that you can not use quite as much weight as in conventional weight training, but it will work your cardiovascular system and help burn body fat very effectively.

As I said, these are just guidelines. Feel free to tweak and adjust according to your individual goals.

GOOD LUCK !!