If you could only perform 3 weight exercises for your arms/legs/chest/back... which are most effective ones to perform?

Chest - Bench, Dips (on rings if it's an option) Legs - Squats, Deadlifts, and Sprints Back/Arms - Chin-Ups You already hit the arms at this point, but you can keep those tricep dips and bicep curls in if you want to hit them some more. Also, try running some barefoot sprints on the grass/beach and tell me your calves aren't sore afterward (running barefoot-style will make you use your calves more but you can run in that style with shoes too after practice).

Most good exercises target multiple parts of the body. Instead of 3 per body part, I'll give you 6 per area plus 4 for the core (I mean... you want those Jesus abs don't you?) Upper body: bench press, row, chin up/wide grip pull up or the relevant cable machine exercises if you can't get chinups/pullups right now, shoulder press/push press, Lower body: squat, deadlift, lunge/step up, supine hip extension/split squat Core: plank (60 s), side plank (45 s), plank with pull down (4x20), side plank with row (4x20) Do a 4 workout split of these exercises (upper A, lower A, upper B, lower B). Always be doing the first two exercises. Switch between the ones with the slash every other workout. Do one of the core exercises every work out. Since you're going for mass, do 5 sets of 5 reps except for the core exercises. A few pro-tips: 1. Don't focus too much on your arms. Most compound exercises should cover your arms. You don't need to dedicate an entire section to just arms. 2. Avoid machines. As a rule of thumb, the only machines you want to use are the ones where you're pulling a cable. 3. Make sure you take the first two workouts easy so you can get your form down. Having bad form will break you. 4. Muscles are built in the kitchen, not the gym. If you're serious about putting on mass, you need to eat 4000-5000 calories a day, depending on your body type.

Great question, because you only need three exercises.  The squat, deadlift, and bench press.  These three are know the power lifts.  I great way to design a program is to build around the powerlifts and perform other exercises only for the purpose of increasing your strength in the powerlifts.  The only hedge I'll put is that bench is not a full developer of a balanced upper body.  You will need to add on rows, pull-ups, or pull-downs to not develop a strength imbalance.  I wouldn't hurt to add shoulder presses or military presses, curls, and situps. Powerlifting is great for building strength and mass.  The key to progress is to focus on compound moves especially focusing on the legs and back. I would cut your arm training to presses and barbell/EZ bar curls.  I'd cut out the flies, and I'd probably cut out the calf extensions. So I recommend the following program:  Squats, deadlifts, bench press. rows (I like high dumbell rows the best), Military Press, barbell curls, and situps. I believe sticking to a few basic powerful moves has been proven to be  most effective training approach, especially for people who don't take  steroids.  I recommend http://www.brookskubik.com/ and  http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Brawn-Insiders-Encyclopedia-Muscle/dp/9963616062

I thought you meant 3 exercises at first (in which case I would have chosen Squats, Bench Press and Weighted Chin-Ups). The way you've phrased it, it's a weird question, noone needs 3 arm isolation exercises and you've neglected shoulders completely.