As the individual gets stronger, intensity may be increased first by increasing the number of repetitions from 12 to, say, 15. Then when the participant is adapted to the increased repetitions, increase the weight in about 5% increments and return to the lower number of repetitions.

After the initial conditioning, the weight being lifted should nearly exhaust the muscle group in 8 to 12 repetitions. However, never allow the use of a weight that cannot be lifted at least 8 times.

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