The Benefit of Simplicity (1 of 2)
Training
Let there be no confusion about this: In order to get anywhere, you must train on a consistent basis. Period. That means a steady schedule of 3-5 days a week, where you push yourself out of the "comfort zone."
Beginner
A beginner may benefit from, for example, a 2-split of the body, as in:
Day 1: Arms, Chest, Back and Shoulders.
Day 2: Legs, Abs
...And going through the entire body twice a week. Train Monday-Tuesday, rest Wednesday, train Thursday-Friday, and then rest the whole weekend.
During this time, you should focus on learning the basic exercises, such as deadlifts, squats, dumbbell presses and dumbbell rows. Start out light, get someone who's experienced to show you the right form (Personal Trainer!), and practice until you've got the hang of each specific movement. Then, and only then, you should start adding on more weight. As a result of all the learning, your workout routine will turn pretty similar from session to session. As a beginner, this is not a problem!
You'll grow anyway, perhaps more than you ever will again in your bodybuilding career, so ignore the advice about always changing and shocking your muscles for now.
Intermediate
6-12 months later, you're no longer a beginner, and will start getting more efficient in using your muscles. Not only are you getting stronger, your nervous system has adapted to the training so that you, simply put, make better use of what you've got. Gradually, split your body into three, then four sessions or more, and give yourself at least a full week of rest between each bodypart. It may be slightly discouraging to see the rapid pace of the initial gains go away, but if you hang in there you'll notice that the gains still comes - it's only coming along slower than before. This is perfectly natural, and only means that you're definitely out of the "beginner" state. This is also were you start getting imaginative and make drastic changes in your workout schedule. The principle of "Shocking your muscles into growth" gets more and more applicable to you.
However, the mainstay of your training should still be the heavy compound-movements - deadlifts, squats etc.
Try to get a little stronger every month, but make sure not to sacrifice the form you learned during the "beginner" phase, and to keep your goals realistic. The priority is still to learn perfect form and stay injury-free.
Advanced
After a year or two of consistent training,
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