As someone who has been going to the gym for years best tips I can give are:
Compound lifts are the best lifts; squats deadlifts and benchpress
Diet is extremely important, it can stop a skinny person from ever putting on muscle to the other end a fat person never getting skinny.
Decide if you want muscle mass or muscle strength early on as mass requires a different number of reps. Yes you will still gain mass on low reps just not as much.

8% body fat maintaining it is an unrealistic goal imo. You will be miserable trying to maintain that low of a body fat percent. 10-12 is much more achievable and easier on the body.