I live right next to one of the campus workout centers, and one of my New Years resolutions was to get off my ass and get back into shape. They have a great stock of barbells (does anyone use that word anymore?) so I've just been doing some curls and stuff with the 20 pounders. I want to make sure I'm doing things right though, so what are some good techniques to cover all the muscles associated with upper body strength?

Do they have many machines and crap, too? I'm not big into barbells, so I can't be of much help there. But I do know just from seeing people at the gym that a lot of people that use them try for the highest weight they can manage, and sacrifice form. A lot of the time this leads to something like working out your hip when you're trying to go for the bicep. So make sure you can handle whatever you're doing.

Also, if you've got stations there for pullups and dips, those are my favorite upper body exercises. Pullups get the back, biceps, and abs, in my experience, and dips get the back and chest.

Free-weights are the way to go, IMO. Nothing arcane or outdated about barbells, by any means.

Go to http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/slideshow.php for a really big listing of exercises you can do with barbells, dumbells, machines, and bodyweight.