how many exercises per muscle group?

i read the how long in the gym posts and obviously time doesnt accurately measure what the average hombre does in the gym. just curious as to how many exercises everybody does for each group they workout. im not sure if im overdoing it or not. i do 4-5 exercises for each group and 4 sets of 8 or less reps.

also, just a little side question:
bench press, take the bar to the chest or take the bar down so your upper arm and forearm make a 90degree angle through your elbow?

The bench press should go just slightly above your nipple area
and i find it best to just touch the chest and do not bounce it off.
As to how many excersices per body part well that does depend
on what you want to achive .IE mass or shape for mass i
would stick to the basics IE chest bench press and incline press
same with back deadlift and bent rows.So for shape you would
add a couple of isolation moves like flys and lat pulldowns.

I agree, for mass stick with the basics and go heavy for few reps. I choose 3 different exercises per muscle group for 3 sets and keep the reps in the 6-8 range. My main focus is 6 reps for the max.
MsFit

My routine:

chest, back, shoulders - 4 exercises each, 3 work sets per exercise, reps depends...usually 6-8

biceps, triceps - 3 exercises each, 3 work sets per exercise, 6-8 reps

Quads - 4 exercises, 3-4 sets 6-8 reps
Hams - 2 exercises, 3-4 sets, 6-8 reps

pete, what is a work set?

Sorry BG...I should have clarified. I usually do one or two warm sets (depending on where I am in my workout) to get blood flowing and muscles stretched. Very slow deliberate cadence with strict form and long pauses on the top and bottom of the movements. Work sets refer to the sets in which the heavy wieght is being used or the muscles are being fatigued.

I normally go for 3-4 excercises with reps in the 8 range.I normally have two warm up sets just to get the blood pumping

The basic movements are great for mass worrying about isolating muscles once you have a very good base.

i usually go with four different exerscise per bodypart, four sets each

I would really have to say that it depends on what muscle groups you are referring to. Legs for instance can withsatnd alot more work and therfore can have more sets per excerise than that of say arms. BUT as a general rule, I do 5 sets per excersie. First with lighter weights repping out really high reps then increasing each set with more and more weight as I go reducing the nnumber of reps as well.
Tobey