Unless you have limitless time at your disposal, not to mention the discipline of an Olympic athlete, your workouts probably don't span longer than an hour, hour and a half -- tops. More likely than not, they probably even take less time than that -- which is perfectly OK. When it comes to getting into better physical shape, quality should always win out over quantity, which is why it's imperative to maximize your time in the gym.

One way to do this is to avoid spending time on detailing exercises. If your goal is to drop some pounds, tone up your muscles and improve your overall health, doing a bunch of bicep curls and leg extensions just ain't gonna' cut it. These exercises are used by seasoned exercisers to fine-tune their physique; they should not be used by beginner or intermediate lifters who are in the early stages of rebuilding their body. Remember, with only an hour or less a day to fit in your workout, you have to make every single minute count. This means leaving exercises such as pec deck flys and other isolation movements to the gym vets, while you instead turn your attention to calorie-burning compound exercises (i.e. squats, deadlifts, bench press, pull-ups, push-ups, etc.).

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Moves like hamstring curls and pec deck flys are great exercises in their own right, but they're not going to get you into the shape you're hoping for all by themselves. These are what more advanced lifters consider "finishing moves," exercises used to help put the finishing touches on an already built physique.

For this very reason, the less seasoned exerciser would be much better off sticking to compound movements, such as the bench press, squat, cleans, deadlifts, pull-ups, and snatches. These exercise target multiple muscle groups, therefore burning more calories than isolation exercises.

If you fear bulking up as a result of these traditional lifting exercises, a simple solution is to use lighter weights, perform around 15 reps per set, and minimize your break time in between sets. Following this approach will also add a cardiovascular element to the workout. But, if you happen to be the guy who had sand kicked in his face at the beach last summer and are now looking to get put on size, stick with heavier weights, lower reps, and longer rest periods in between sets.