What basic weight lifting exercises should I do?

I'm a 29 year old male in decent shape. 5' 10" 205 lbs. I have a curl bar with weights and two dumb bells. Plus, I also have a cheap home gym with a military press and butterfly attachment. So, what are the basic exercises I should be doing and what weight range should I be lifting at. Also, how many reps and sets? Thanks much.

Public Comments

1. Use compound movements that use more than one joint and exercise many muscles at one time. Isolation movements are very time consuming and don't have as much athletic carry-over value.

A whole body workout:
Military press
Pull-ups or bent row
Bench press or pushups or dips
Squat or deadlift or lunge
Back extension, straight-leg dead lift, or leg curl
Favorite ab exercise
(Optional: Do curls at the end if you have energy)

Caution with the butterfly movement, that irritates the shoulders of many people. Given the position of the shoulder it doesn't provide much of any carryover value to athletics.

Starting weights will vary depending on the exercise. Begin with a weight that you can do 10 reps without strain or undue fatigue. Increase the weight a little every few workouts to get stronger.

A beginner can use almost any rep and set scheme for a few months and get good results. Three sets of 10 reps is fine.

After the first few months, your body will be prepared to tolerate greater intensity and you can increase the number of sets and use heavier weights so that 5 or 6 reps is difficult.

2. Hello, i'm a 15 year old male that weighs 155 lbs. I'm an MMA fighter, and wrestler. Let me tell you my workouts
Muscle building=Max weights 8 reps. 1 set
Strength building=Low weights 20 reps 3-5sets
French press
Inclined bench press
Declined bench press
Regular bench press
Dips
Pull ups.
Military presses
And of course squats.
try doing only 2 muscles a day
and make sure you get a lot of rest.
Good luck! -Flexx