Cluster Resistance Training and Older Adults

The MoCA is a brief cognitive screening tool with high sensitivity and specificity for detecting mild cognitive impairment. The MoCA has 16 items. If cognitive impairment is detected through this screening questionnaire, subjects will not be included in the research. The scale has a total score of 30 points. ≥26 points were considered as having no cognitive impairment.

The Hopkins Verbal Learning Test is a brief assessment of immediate recall, delayed recall and delayed recognition commonly used with populations with Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease and amnesic disorders. The maximum score for the test is 36 with scores below 14, indicating dementia. The minimum score is 0 and the maximum score is 36. A higher score indicates better working memory. The test takes about 5-10 minutes to take.

The Dimensional Change Card Sort test is a measure of cognitive flexibility. Two target pictures are presented that vary along two dimensions (e.g., shape and color). Participants are asked to match a series of bivalent test pictures (e.g., yellow balls and blue trucks) to the target pictures, first according to one dimension (e.g., color) and then, after a number of trials, according to the other dimension (e.g., shape). Four trials are also employed, in which the participant must change the dimension being matched. Scoring is based on a combination of accuracy and reaction time. Scores can range from 0-10. The higher the score, the better the capacity to switch from one concept to another. The test typically lasts four minutes.

The Flanker Test uses response inhibition to assess a subject's capacity to suppress incorrect responses within a particular context. The target (for this study an arrow) is flanked by non-target arrows that are either in the same direction as the target (congruent flankers), the opposite response (incongruent flankers), or to neither (neutral flankers). The minimum score is 0 and the maximum score is 10. A higher score indicates better accuracy. The test takes about 3 minutes.

The Picture Sequence Memory Test (PSMT) can test how well a subject can remember events. The participants are asked to recall the sequence of pictures presented over two learning trials. Participants are given credit for each adjacent pair of pictures they correctly put in place. The minimum score is 0 and the maximum score is 17. The higher the score indicates better sequential memory. The test takes approximately seven minutes to administer.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) List Sorting Test measures a person's ability to store information for a short time while doing other tasks. It asks the subject to sort and put in order lists of both sounds and pictures. The lists may include animals to be sorted by size, foods to be sorted by size, or a combination of the two to be sorted by size. The minimum score is 0 and the maximum score is 26. A higher score indicates better working memory. The test takes about 7 minutes.

The Pattern Comparison test measures the subject's reaction time and how long it takes the subject to do a mental task. During the test, the subject will be asked to decide whether two visual patterns are the same or not the same. The minimum score is 0 and the maximum score is 130. A higher score indicates better processing speed. The test takes 85 seconds.

Used to assess executive function in the areas of visual attention (Part A) and set-shifting (the ability to shift attention between one task and another; Part B). The time to complete this test is recorded in seconds.

The ten-meter walk test will be used to assess gait velocity. The participants will be asked to walk as quickly as possible in a straight line on a 10-m course marked at 0, 2, 8 and 10 m. On verbal command, participants will start on the 0-m mark and stop when they cross the 10-m mark. The total time to ambulate from the 2-m mark to the 8-m mark (6 m total) will be timed to the hundredth of a second. Two trials will be performed, and the average will be documented in meters per second. One-minute recoveries will be provided between trials. Total time is 7 minutes.

The five time sit-to-stand test will be used to assess functional lower body strength. The participant will sit with their arms folded across their chest and their back against the chair. On verbal command, the participant will stand up and sit down 5 times as quickly as possible. Timing begins at "Go" and ends when the buttocks touch the chair after the 5th repetition. One practice and two testing trials will be performed. Time will be measured in seconds.

For the Seated Medicine Ball Throw, subjects will sit in an armless chair with their back against the chair back, while holding the 6-pound medicine ball against their chest. Subjects will then throw the ball at a perceived 45° angle as far as possible. Subjects must complete at least three practice trials; however, subjects will be allowed more trials until comfortable with the testing procedure. Upon starting the official trial, subjects will complete three separate attempts at each varying medicine ball, to nine trials in total. Each of the three trials within a given medicine ball will be separated by a 1-minute rest. Distance will be measured in centimeters.

Upon verbal cue, the subject stands up, walks around a cone placed three meters from the front edge of the chair, and then returns to a seated position as quickly as possible. Time is measured in seconds. The faster the person completes the test the better the dynamic balance.

Three images will be taken in the longitudinal view in B-mode. Muscle thickness will be measured by drawing a perpendicular line from the deep to superficial aponeurosis at the thickest region of each muscle. The unit of measurement is centimeters

Muscle quality will be measured using a gray scale. The black and white pixels correspond to arbitrary values of 0 (darker) to 255 (lighter), with darker colors indicting more muscle and lighter colors indicating more fat.