The Impact of 6-months of Resistance Training on Brain and Muscle Health in Older Adults With MCI

Supervised PRT will consist of leg extension, leg curl, leg press, and calf raises. Initially participants will start with a 4 weeks adaptation with low loads at 15 (repetition maximum, RM) conducting for 1-3 sets. Further on subjects will continue with a 5 month of PRT with intensity increasing every 2 weeks from 12 to 6 RM. Each exercise will be done for 3 sets with 2 min rest periods between sets. After the 2 weeks at 6 RM, 1 week of rest will be applied. After the rest week, the same cycle starting from 12 RM will be repeated until the end of intervention.

Supervised static stretching exercises will be performed without causing an unpleasant feeling of stretching, up to pain, maintaining the stretching position for at least 30 s. Exercises will be performed slowly so that heart rate (HR) does not exceed 50% maximum. Subjects will calculate their HR before training, in the middle and after the training measuring the pulse for 10 s. Exercises will be repeated 3-5 times for each side of the body. The duration of the training will be match to PRT group and will take around 40 min. In order to keep the subjects interested and motivated, two of the stretching exercises will be changed every two weeks.