The Effects of Multi-Session Resistance Exercise on Cognitive Function in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Research Review and Meta-Analysis

Objectives

Cognitive decline is a growing global concern, and lifestyle-based interventions are increasingly recognised as promising preventive strategies. This review synthesises evidence on the cognitive effects of multi-session resistance exercise in healthy adults, organising outcomes within the broad ability structure of the Cattell–Horn–Carroll (CHC) framework.

Methods

Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines and a PROSPERO-registered protocol, comprehensive searches of electronic databases identified studies evaluating multi-session resistance exercise interventions and cognitive outcomes in healthy adults. Study quality was assessed using RoB 2, and random-effects Generic Inverse Variance meta-analyses were conducted to account for between-study heterogeneity. Cognitive outcomes were independently classified as global cognition, executive function, working memory, processing speed, and episodic memory.

Results

Resistance exercise was associated with improvements in global cognition and in several domains, including executive function, working memory, and processing speed. In contrast, episodic memory retrieval showed no consistent overall benefit and demonstrated substantial variability across studies.

Conclusions

The findings indicate that the cognitive effects of multi-session resistance exercise are domain-specific rather than uniform across cognitive abilities. Resistance exercise appears particularly promising for supporting cognitive processes involving executive control, working memory, and rapid information processing. However, interpretation should remain cautious given heterogeneity across studies, limited evidence in some domains, and variation in intervention duration, intensity, and cognitive measurement approaches. Future research should employ larger samples and more consistent CHC-aligned outcome measures to strengthen the evidence base.