Webinar: Resistance Training and Brain Health: Is There and Optimal Dose?
The aging process is often accompanied by changes in both physical and cognitive function that can impact independence, safety, and quality of life. While resistance training is widely recognized as a key strategy for healthy aging, emerging research suggests it may also play a meaningful role in supporting brain health and cognitive function.
This evidence-based presentation will focus specifically on resistance training as a tool for improving cognitive health in aging populations. The presentation will examine how resistance training variables—including intensity, volume, and progression—may influence cognitive outcomes and explore whether there is an optimal dose of resistance training for brain health.
Rather than remaining purely theoretical, this webinar is designed to translate current research into practical, actionable program design strategies. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how to apply resistance training principles in ways that may support cognitive function, mitigate cognitive decline, and help older adults maintain functional independence.
Learning Objectives
- Define brain health in the context of aging and explain how age-related cognitive changes can impact activities of daily living, safety, and independence.
- Describe current scientific evidence examining the relationship between resistance training and cognitive function in older adults, including key findings related to training intensity and volume.
- Apply science-backed resistance training principles to program design in order to support both physical performance and cognitive function in aging adults.
Speaker: Dr. Aaron Aslakson, Assistant Professor of Exercise Science at Crown College
This webinar is sponsored by HUR USA, an MFA Industry Partner.
Dr. Aaron Aslakson is Assistant Professor and Director of Exercise Science at Crown College in St. Bonifacius, MN, as well as Director of the Human Performance Laboratory. Previously he spent 13 years as the Director of Fitness Centers for Walker Methodist, a senior living organization in Minneapolis, MN, where he conducted personal training, taught group exercise classes and oversaw 11 Fitness Centers. He is actively involved in the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and regularly presents nationally level for the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) and SCW Fitness.