If you have absolutely no idea on what it takes to make bigger, stronger, fitter muscles, then this article will lay down the very basics for you to help you build a better understanding.
What are you aiming for, fitness, or strength?
Fitness generally tends to mean endurance, whereas strength is power. There can be some minor crossover/carryover from training for one or the other, but, generally you need to train in a way which is conducive to your specific goals.
If your goal is endurance then you need to train with weights which allow you to do higher numbers of repetitions, from 8 – 15. High rep ranges are what bodybuilders tend to use to give them their big, slow-twitch (endurance) muscles.
Power lifters/strength trainees on the other hand work on their explosive power. While a power lifter can lift maybe far more for a few repetitions which a bodybuilder simply cannot touch, a power lifter generally won’t be able to lift lesser amounts for the number of repetitions or sets that a bodybuilder can. Power lifters build fast twitch muscle fibres, which are in much smaller amounts than slow twitch, so the average muscle size of a power lifter is much smaller. Power lifters may train in much smaller rep ranges, normally between 1 and 5.
What are universal laws (yes, they are that serious) in training the muscles for fitness or strength is the need to replenish their energy supplies sufficiently so they can repair and grow, and also have enough energy to work to their very best the next time around. That is why the diet is absolute key.
Also of great importance is frequency of training. A smart trainee knows when and how much rest (days off, semi-intense sessions, etc.) they need to take, and will be very wary of overtraining. Nobody but the advanced trainee on super-steroids made growth from training every day at maximum intensity.