1) DESIGN YOUR OWN ROUTINE. Don't take some POS routine out of a magazine making ridiculous claims but it is much easier to design your own routine, and to keep yourself from being bored on it. When you design your own routine, it ensures that you will enjoy it.

2) DEFINE YOUR GOALS. What do you want? Mass? Strenght? Power? Weight Loss? Your routine is 100% dependent on your goals. Custom design your routine to fit your goals.

3) KNOW YOUR REP AND SET RANGE.
>5 reps= strength
6-8 reps= Mass, strength
8-10= Some strength, some mass, some endurance
10-15= Endurance

12-15 sets= Large muscle groups (i.e. legs, back, chest, etc)
6-10 sets= Small muscle groups (i.e. Biceps, triceps, calves, etc.)

4) DESIGN YOUR DIET AROUND YOUR GOALS. This has been discussed a large number of times. If you want to lose weight, gradually cut calories so you lose weight. If you want to gain weight, gradually add calories so you gain weight, this is not complicated!

5) LIFT WITH INTENSITY. Everyday, we see people half-assing life, just going through the motions. You will never get anywhere if you don't put your mind into it. Just the other day, I managed 20lbs more than usual on the bench, just because I held better posture AND put my mind into it. EVERY WORKOUT MIGHT BE YOUR LAST, MAKE THE MOST OF IT! Plus, if you lift hard, you will make gains.

6) REST IS IMPORTANT. Always allow 72 hours between hitting a muscle, and then the next time you hit it. Also, at least 8 hours of sleep is important because your body grows the most when you are sleeping. It's mostly what you do outside of the gym that is important, not what you do inside the gym. Most good 5-day splits hit each muscle once a week, with abs and calves 2x a week.

7) A WHEY PROTEIN POWDER IS A MUST. Some may disagree here, I actually disagree with myself, but this is of utter importance. Post workout, the body needs a fast-dissolving protein, and a few simple carbs. Whey is a fast-dissolving protein, and milk has enough simple carbs to make your body happy. It's a no brainer. My recommendation on this is ON's 100% Whey protein. Cheap, taste good, good protein blend.

8) EAT AT LEAST 6 MEALS A DAY. Your body likes it when your nutrients are fed gradually. The more consistent the timing of your meals, and the more consistent the nutrients fed to your body at each meal, the better. Just do it and don't ask questions.

9) TRAIN EVERYTHING. Don't be that guy. You know, the moron that does BB curls in the squat station, the idiot that does an hour of Bench press and then an hour of alternating DB curls and also has 20'' quads... yeah, don't be that guy. Train your legs, back, shoulders, calves, forearms, arms, abs, chest.... everything! Your body will only grow in proportion with itself, so you must train it to do so.

10) LIFTING IS HARD WORK; THIS IS NOT A HOBBY, IT'S A LIFE STYLE. Honestly, there's no easy way out in lifting. If there was, someone would have found it by now and they would be rich as hell.

11) THERE IS NO PERFECT TRAINING ROUTINE; switch every 8-12 weeks. What training routines work best for you is definitely different than what works for me. You have to learn about yourself, and how your body responds to different routines. You will find one that you like, and you can go back to that if you are in a slump, but you have to switch your routine every 12 weeks at the bare minimum.

12) LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. If you're body does not feel ready, because it will physically hurt to lift, don't lift. Obviously, everyone has moments of laziness, but if you really think it will hurt to lift, don't lift. Always allow more than enough recovery time from injury as well. AND DO NOT OVERTRAIN. Overtraining is bad, just leave it at that. No more than 15 sets for big muscles, 10 for little ones.