Heart rate recovery and variability following combined aerobic and resistance exercise training in adults with and without Down syndrome.
Twelve weeks of treadmill plus weights speeds one-minute heart-rate recovery in adults with Down syndrome but not in typical adults.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Mendonca et al. (2013) ran a 12-week gym program for adults with and without Down syndrome. Each week had three sessions that mixed treadmill walking and weight machines.
Before and after the program the team checked heart-rate recovery. They looked at how many beats the heart dropped during the first quiet minute after exercise.
What they found
Only the Down syndrome group got faster heart-rate recovery. Their hearts calmed down more in that first minute after the final test.
Both groups grew fitter and stronger, but the quick heart calm-down was special to Down syndrome.
How this fits with other research
Ellingsen et al. (2014) ran a similar 14-week mix of cardio, weights and balance. They also saw better fitness in adults with intellectual disability, backing up the idea that mixed workouts work.
Andrews et al. (2024) later tested high-intensity sprint intervals in older adults with ID. Fitness rose, yet heart-rate recovery did not change. This seems to clash with V et al., but the older group started at a lower baseline and the sprint style was much harder.
Oppewal et al. (2014) showed that a heart-rate drop of 12 beats or less in one minute is a red flag for poor fitness in Down syndrome. V et al. now prove training can widen that drop, giving the cut-off real-world value.
Why it matters
If you support adults with Down syndrome, a simple 12-week mix of walking and light weights can help their hearts settle faster after activity. Faster recovery means less cardiovascular stress and safer daily exercise. Track one-minute heart-rate drop at intake, run the program, then re-test to show clear physical progress that families and funders can see.
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Join Free →Take a post-walk heart-rate count, wait one minute, count again—if the drop is 12 bpm or less, plan a mixed cardio and weights program and re-check in 12 weeks.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Persons with Down syndrome (DS) are at high risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and there is compelling evidence of autonomic dysfunction in these individuals. The main purpose of this study was to determine whether a combined aerobic and resistance exercise intervention produces similar results in cardiac autonomic function between adults with and without DS. Twenty-five participants (13 DS; 12 non-DS), aged 27-50 years, were included. Aerobic training was performed 3 days/week for 30 min at 65-85% of peak oxygen uptake (VO(2peak)). Resistance training was prescribed for 2 days/week and consisted of two rotations in a circuit of 9 exercises at 12-repetition-maximum. There was a significant improvement in the VO(2peak) and muscle strength of participants with and without DS after training. Heart rate recovery improved at 1 min post-exercise, but only in participants with DS. Both groups of participants exhibited a similar increase in normalized high frequency power and of decrease in normalized low frequency power after training. Therefore, 12 weeks of exercise training enhanced the heart rate recovery in adults with DS, but not in those without DS. Contrasting, the intervention elicited similar gains between groups for cardiovagal modulation.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2012.08.023