The American College of Sports Medicine Training Guidelines for Muscular Fitness:
Emphasizes development of strength, hypertrophy, power and endurance through progressive resistance training. (18):
Large muscle groups before small: As a rule, large muscle group exercises should be performed before small muscle group exercises. Also, multiple-joint exercises should be performed before single-joint exercises.
Novice and untrained individuals: Untrained individuals with no resistance training experience or who have not trained for several years (novice) should exercise with a repetition rage of an 8-12 repetition maximum (RM) 2-3 days per week. RM is the maximum number of repetitions that can be done at a given amount of resistance. For instance, a 6 RM is the weight which a person can lift a maximum of 6 times.