The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of hydraulic resistance (HR) training on total work and peak torque measures of isokinetic strength for tests of knee extension and hip abduction on men with mental retardation (MR). The subjects, 22 men with mild to moderate MR, were randomly assigned to two groups; 11 subjects trained three times a week for 12 weeks using HR exercise machines, while the other 11 served as controls. Prior to and after the 12 weeks of training, all subjects were assessed on isokinetic tests of knee extension at 60 deg/s and hip abduction at 30 deg/s. The strength trained subjects exhibited significant increases in total work scores on knee extension and hip abduction tests for both legs ranging from 25.0 to 177.1%. Significant increases ranging from 50.1 to 82.7% were also noted on two of the four peak torque measures. The control subjects did not exhibit significant changes in total work or peak torque scores on either muscle test between test sessions.
Copyright Human Kinetics. Reprinted with permission from Human Kinetics (Champaign, IL).

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