SB is a true inspiration to anyone looking to improve their health and wellness. Despite living with Down Syndrome (DS), she has shown remarkable dedication and commitment to her health over the past 12 months.
When SB first started training, she weighed 105 kg and felt a little unhappy but determined to change. So over 12 months, SB hard work twice a week, lost an impressive 16 kg and currently weighs 89 kg. With the help of her mum and support workers MB accomplished her goal of getting below 90kg. But weight loss isn’t SB’s only achievement through her fitness journey.
SB has also made incredible progress in her strength training. When she first started, her trap bar deadlift was at 30 kg. Now, she lifts an impressive 55 kg. Her bench press started at 15 kg, and she now presses 37.5 kilograms. Even her high power clean has improved from 10 kg to 17.5 kg. Her DB bicep curls have also increased from 3 kg to 9 kg.
These strength improvements have transited into her posture; she is carrying herself better and has lost her rounded shoulders. This has led to significant improvements in her form, and she is now standing taller and feeling happier about the day-to-day things in her life.
SB is a lovely young girl who volunteers in the community and loves music and dancing. Her mum is incredibly proud of her progress and can’t wait to see what else she will achieve.
SB inspires everyone living with a disability and a reminder that you can achieve the impossible with regular exercise and activity.
Training Notes
The HR determined exercise intensity throughout the exercise intervention using a SpectO2 │30 HR and SPo2 monitor.
Exercise Heat rate Zone: is not standard and personal to the individual and is based on other comorbidities, i.e., medications, weight, BP
Exercise BP: is taken pre-session, during the session x2, and post-session
Exercise exertion: Rating of Perceived exertion (6-20 Borg point scale) and Rating of Perceived Breathlessness (0-10 Borg point scale)
Exercise Strength: Grip strength is taken using a Smedley Digital Hand Dynamometer every 8 weeks. Bicep Curl text is completed every 12 weeks
Other tests: Standing Stork, Sit up, 3-minute step test, Wall squat and modified Push up, Back extension hold, Gluteal hold.
Why Exercise Is Important for Down Syndrome
Physiological factors: obesity, hypothyroidism, decreased resting metabolic rate, increased leptin levels, and lower muscle tone, known as Hypotonia. Hypotonia makes physical activity more difficult and prevents an individual from doing practical strength exercises. This limits their ability to increase muscle mass, making it more difficult to speed up their metabolism.
This can lead to susceptibility to systemic inflammation, metabolic diseases, and/or slow metabolism. Unfortunately, people affected by DS can consume less healthy food and show physical limitations and depression, which is brought on by weight gain due to, for the most part, medications.
Why strength training? It has positive benefits in different aspects of the individual’s life, from cognitive performance like information processing speed, mental planning, and inhibitory control; these are an improvement that young adults with DS experience after extended months of exercise.
Training protocol for MB: 70 percent of SB’s sessions are isometric training because this allows for a tightly controlled posture when applying force within joint angles. These isometric exercises provide a pain-free force overload significantly more than concentric (force) contraction. Understanding the physiological effects this has on hypotonia means SB will increase joint stability, tendon strength, and tendon thickness and elicit changes in muscle architecture in response to these exercises. In the case of SB, it was good to use isometric training to focus on specific weak points within SB’s standing and moving posture and give her the knowledge for pain‐free dynamic loading.
Final Thought
Working with people who live with a disability is a great rewarding job because it’s not about the disability, it’s about their ability and the great power they possess, and you build on that. Exercise training is excellent for everyone, and more people are advised to get started. But when it comes to exercising with a disability, you do more than improve health; you’re improving posture, quality of life, strength, balance, and many more physical attributes. In addition, SB’s functional performance at work, dancing, and other aspects of life have benefitted her by doing regular exercise. While DS may require specific training in a movement or time to optimize neuromuscular patterns, it is clear that isometric exercises have helped SB produce and maintain muscle mass and strength, which is a priority for anyone living in today’s world.