1. It must be short (between 45 to 75 minutes maximum; 60 minutes being best). After 75 minutes, the levels of muscle building and fat burning hormones that your body produces (such as testosterone) begin to drop. What this means is that training more than 75 minutes will prevent you from gaining muscle and losing fat fast! It will also prevent you from fast recovery. As crazy as it sounds, more is not necessarily better for huge bodybuilding gains.
   
   
2. The rest in between sets should be kept to a minimum (90 seconds or less). Keeping your rest in between sets and exercises down not only helps you to perform a lot of work and still finish within the 75 minutes, but it also helps improve your cardiovascular system. In addition, it has also been shown that this kind of training stimulates growth hormones output the most.
   
   
3. Generally, depending on the goal, the sets should be between 8 - 15 repetitions for muscle mass gains and 15-25 repetitions for body sculpting purposes. There are many reasons for this:
   
   - You get the best pump (blood flowing into your muscle cells) in these repetition ranges. This is important since along with the blood come nutrients that nourish the muscle cells and help them recover and rebuild bigger faster.
   
   - Since you are doing so many repetitions, there is less probability of injury since you'll be using a weight that you can control.
   
   - Again, studies show that muscle building and fat burning occur more efficiently at these repetition ranges.
   
   (Note: For bodybuilding training, however, I also recommend periods of 5-8 repetitions as well. This is of crucial necessity for a bodybuilder as an increase of strength is required in order for continued muscle growth to occur.)
   
   
4. Training must be varied and cycled. Please, don't get stuck with the same routine day in and day out. If you are a bodybuilder, and you do this, this guarantees zero muscle growth. This is without even mentioning boredom and lack of enthusiasm. For bodybuilding cycle periods (3-4 weeks) of high volume (8-15 reps/set) with periods of higher intensity (5-8 reps/set).
   
   

• If you are an absolute beginner, please read my article on Getting Started for a suitable beginner's routine.
  
  
• If you have been training for at least 3 months but less than 6, then please take a look at my suggested Intermediate Routine.
  
  
• If you have been training hard for 6 months or more, then please take a look at my suggested Advanced Body Sculpting Routine.

Training for Bodybuilding

The goal here is maximum muscle size with minimum body fat. In order to accomplish this, 4 - 6 weight training sessions of 45-75 minutes composed of basic exercises are required per week (Note: Due to the cycling of workout parameters, workout length will vary between 45 to 75 minutes).

As far as cardiovascular exercise, 3 to 4 sessions of cardio first thing in the morning (or three hours after a meal) consisting of 20-30 minutes during a muscle mass gain phase should suffice. More cardiovascular exercise than this may be necessary during a cutting up phase.

• If you are an absolute beginner, please read my article on Getting Started for a suitable beginner's routine.
  
  
• If you have been training for at least 3 months but less than 6, then please take a look at my suggested Intermediate Routine.
  
  
• If you have been training hard for 6 months or more, then please take a look at my suggested Advanced Bodybuilding Routine.

Conclusion

Whether you are planning to just tone up or really bulk up, you are practicing bodybuilding. Implement the guidelines above in your program and you will see how much bodyfat you will lose and how much muscle you will gain in no time.

Author Bio

Hugo Rivera, CFT, SPN, BSCE and About.com Bodybuilding Guide is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, multi-certified personal trainer, industry consultant and fitness expert who not only knows training and nutrition theory but also applies it on a daily basis as evidenced by the fact that he is always in shape and by his awards and high placings at numerous national level bodybuilding competitions.  He is also an internationally known best selling fitness author with a very successful franchise of books called "The Body Sculpting Bibles" which collectively have sold over a million copies. 

Hugo is also author of the very popular "Body Re-Engineering" e-book which teaches how to gain lean mass and get lean without drugs, or fancy expensive supplements, using the secrets he devised after many years of weight problems as a child.  This system can be used not only by the recreational or competitive bodybuilder but also by those who are simply looking to lose weight and get fit. 

For more information on Hugo's Muscle Building / Fat Loss Program please click on the link below:

www.LoseFatandGainMuscle.com