Make sure you take good notes as you work out. This is very important for several reasons. First, you may not remember what weight you used in a particular exercise the next time you workout, and you will waste time and effort having to figure it out again! Second, you need be able to gauge your progress as time goes on. It is an awesome feeling and great motivation to see that a month ago you were using 10 or 20 pounds less in a particular exercise than you are using now! I recommend getting a good training journal, but you can use any pad of paper. Create a space for the following data for each workout:

Date

Muscle Group worked

Exercise name

Number of sets

Number of reps in each set

Weight used each set

Personal Notes

Write things down that may have a positive or negative affect on your workout, such as energy level, whether you were tired or still sore from your last workout, or maybe your left shoulder has been bothering you, etc. If you are detailed here, you may be able to learn some important clues as to what makes you have a good workout verses an "ok" workout. Maybe you'll find that when you workout right after work you have more energy than when you wait until 8 o'clock. Perhaps you will notice that eating certain things before training causes you to feel stronger and more energized. Write down if you have a cold, or if you are recovering from an injury, or if any particular exercise hurts you when you do it. Some of these notes will be important in the future.

Use this program for 4-6 months and you should see some real progress. At that time, you may want to start to include some advanced techniques to increase your workout intensity in order to continue making good gains.

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