Exercise selection

With so many exercises to choose from, how does one determine what the best fit will be? The first thing to determine is what your goals are and what you want to accomplish. This will guide the creation of the workout to achieve specific results. Next, we need to determine if there are any injuries or weak links that may need special attention. If someone is recovering from a knee injury and has limited motion for squatting then we have to choose other exercises.

Normally, I like to structure workouts around compound movements that work large muscles. This is very effective from a strength development standpoint, as well as a caloric expenditure standpoint, so it is helpful for gaining strength and burning calories. I then divide the exercises into different movements and choose a particular exercise to fit that movement. This is based on the individual needs of the client in order to create the most effective and efficient workout.
The movements I typically choose are squats, lunges, hamstrings, horizontal pressing, horizontal pulling, vertical pressing and vertical pulling. This framework allows for a number of different exercises without changing the overall structure or flow of the workout.

Squats
back squats, front squats, kettelbell squats, kettelbell swings, single leg squats
Lunges
barbell lunges, dumbbell lunges, alternating lunges, walking lunges, lunge jumps, rear foot elevated (Bulgarian) lunges
Hamstring
straight leg deadlift, Romanian deadlift, single leg deadlift, stability ball curl, Russian hamstring
Horizontal press
bench press, dumbbell bench press, incline bench press, dumbbell incline bench press, machine chest press, pushups
Horizontal pull
bent over row, cable row, one arm dumbbell row, standing cable row, machine row, Tbar row
Vertical push
push press, standing overhead press, standing overhead dumbbell press, single arm dumbbell press, rotational overhead press, seated overhead press, handstand pushups
Vertical pull
Lat pulldown, close grip lat pulldown, pull up, chin up, high row

Depending on individual circumstances and goals there are specific exercises that are implemented to support weak areas, target individual muscles, improve stability of joints

These can include lateral raises, scaption (45 degree raise), I,Y,T,W exercises, side leg raises, single leg lateral step ups, bicep curls, lying overhead tricep extensions and the like

This general guideline allows for numerous workouts and multiple organizational platforms that can be customized to each individual's unique goals and limitations.