Guitar guys??? BEST training exercise?

Every scale you can get your hands on. Run them in each mode, in each key. Single and multiple octaves. Arpeggiated. Run them by interval, i.e. root second, root third, root fourth, etc. Run them in broken seconds, third, fourths, etc. Run them in cycles of fourths and fifths. Work on extending the chords scalarly, i.e. Major, major seven, major eleven, minors and diminished. Practice the arpeggios and their inversions in a scalar fashion. Work on your ear. Recognizing scanned, modes, interval and chord qualities. Work on your reading.

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Every scale you can get your hands on. Run them in each mode, in each key. Single and multiple octaves. Arpeggiated. Run them by interval, i.e. root second, root third, root fourth, etc. Run them in broken seconds, third, fourths, etc. Run them in cycles of fourths and fifths. Work on extending the chords scalarly, i.e. Major, major seven, major eleven, minors and diminished. Practice the arpeggios and their inversions in a scalar fashion. Work on your ear. Recognizing scanned, modes, interval and chord qualities. Work on your reading.

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Ummm.... That's everything, no?

That's like me asking for an exercise, and you listing a 20 year long exercise of "learn to play."

I assume you are paid to play at times or play in public places if you have all of that down?

If that's it I'd recommend chord changes.

Why you would want or need to learn every scale is beyond me.

I'm a professional double bassist. It is a lot, but if you're looking to fill your time that's a start.

The guys at the top have a ton more talent than me and many still practice hours a day. If you've got the time it's the right way to get better.

Eta: Just saw your goals post. I'd still run a lot of scales for finger independence, but I'd focus on playing the most common chord progressions and playing them with good time. Play with a drummer, drum loop or metronome if you can.

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE

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Jack off and then play. Your hands and fingers will be nice and lubed still giving you a smoother touch on the neck and strings.

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Do you not jerk off or not play guitar?

Sounds like a good way to screw up the tips of fret fingers.

I can't speak for everyone but starting on bass probably helped me a lot. By the time I moved onto guitar, I knew my way around the neck in a simpler way. The hand strength required for bass transferred to crisp, no fret-buzz notes. I would have taken lessons when switching if given the chance to do it over, but everything coming at once to beginners seems like it would be overwhelming.

Make beautiful music with your instrument... forget about exercising your fingers, playing guitar should not be a wankfest. Unless your name is yngwie.

Slight hijack: one thing I've always struggled with on both guitar and bass is moving positions on the neck. Anybody got any tips for learning the notes at each position?

Having a firm foundation or system in positions is important. I didn't realize that until I began playing upright.

With upright you have develop a lot of muscle memory for position shifting. It's helped my playing on every string instrument.

I'm not sure what guitar methods focus on position systems. I used Simandl, Nanny and Rabbath on upright. Surely, there equivalents for all string instruments.