A community-based strength training programme increases muscle strength and physical activity in young people with Down syndrome: a randomised controlled trial.
Twice-weekly student-led weight training makes teens and young adults with Down syndrome stronger and more active, yet work skills stay flat.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team ran a 12-week gym program for teens and young adults with Down syndrome. Half lifted weights with college-student mentors twice a week. The other half met for social games only.
Both groups kept their usual routines. Staff checked leg strength, daily steps, and a simple work task at the start, week 11, and week 24.
What they found
The lifting group grew stronger and walked more by week 24. The social group did not change.
Surprise: stronger legs did not help either group finish a work-box puzzle faster.
How this fits with other research
Hoyle et al. (2022) used the same student-mentor model and found small gains in everyday planning skills. Together the papers show the program is safe and helps both body and brain, just in different ways.
Costa et al. (2017) reviewed 19 studies and agreed exercise can aid daily life, but they warned most trials are small and short. Our 2013 RCT is one of the few with follow-up past the program end.
González-Agüero et al. (2011) ran a similar teen program two years earlier and also saw stronger legs. Their design lacked random picks, so the 2013 study gives us cleaner proof that lifting, not luck, caused the change.
Why it matters
You can partner with a local campus gym and run this program tomorrow. No fancy gear is needed—just barbells and student volunteers. Expect stronger legs and more steps, but pair the gym work with job-site coaching if work skills are the goal.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This randomised controlled trial investigated the effects of a student-led progressive resistance training (PRT) programme in adolescents and young adults with Down syndrome. Sixty-eight young people with Down syndrome (30 female, 38 male; mean age 17.9±2.6 years) and mild to moderate intellectual disability were randomly allocated to a PRT programme (n=34) or a social group (n=34). Participants in the PRT group trained twice a week for 10 weeks at a community gymnasium with a physiotherapy student mentor using pin-loaded weight machines. Participants in the social group completed a 10-week programme of social activities also with a student mentor once a week for 90 min. Work performance, muscle strength and physical activity levels were assessed at weeks 0, 11 and 24 by an assessor blind to group allocation. Data were analysed using ANCOVA with baseline measures as covariate. Participants attended 92% of their scheduled sessions. There was no difference between the groups on work task performance. The PRT group increased their upper and lower limb strength at week 11 compared to the control group, but only their lower limb muscle strength at week 24. There was a significant difference in physical activity levels in favour of the PRT group at week 24 but not at week 11. PRT using a student mentor model helps young people with Down syndrome become stronger and more physically active but its effect on work task performance is unclear.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.09.022