The effect of 8 weeks plyometric exercise on physical and motoric features of mental disabled

Background and Study Aim. Physical activity for disabled people is a long-debated issue. The number of studies examining the effects of alternative exercise programs on the physical and motor outcomes of people with intellectual disabilities is limited. For this reason, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of 8-week plyometric exercises on some physical and motor characteristics of mentally retarded people. Material and Methods. The method of this study is the experimental method, one of the quantitative research methods. The sample of the study consists of 24 moderately and mildly mentally retarded students aged 11-17 years old studying at a special vocational school. Participants completed a plyometric training program 3 days per week for 8 weeks. Before the training program, height, weight, BMI, vertical jump, sit and reach, standing long jump, circumference measurements, handgrip strength, shuttle test, leg strength, and back strength were compared with those after the training program. The SPSS 25 program was used for the statistical operations. The Wilcoxon test, one of the non-parametric tests, was used to compare the data. Results. As a result of statistical analysis, significant differences were found in height, weight, vertical jump, sit and reach, handgrip strength, shuttle test, leg strength, and back strength of the participants before and after the training program (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the body circumference measurements and BMI results (p > 0.05). Conclusions. When evaluating the results of the study, it was found that plyometric exercises have a positive effect on the physical and motor characteristics of the intellectually disabled people.