摘要
Background: Age-related declines in cognitive and physical function may compromise independence in older adults. Exercise training combined with cognitive demands has been proposed as a potential strategy to address these changes; however, the role of training frequency remains unclear. Aims: This study examined the effects of exercise training combined with cognitive demands, delivered at different weekly frequencies, on planning ability and functional fitness in older adults. Methods: This study included 92 community-dwelling older adults (mean age = 76.45 ± 6.02 years), who were allocated to one of three groups: once-weekly training (n = 23), twice-weekly training (n = 37), or a control group (n = 32). The 12-week intervention consisted of 90-min sessions integrating multicomponent exercise (i.e., aerobic, resistance, balance, agility, and coordination training) with concurrent cognitive demands targeting short-term memory, reasoning, and processing speed. Planning ability was assessed using the Tower of London task. Functional fitness was evaluated using measures of cardiovascular endurance, agility and dynamic balance, static balance, muscular strength, flexibility, and lower-extremity function. All outcomes were assessed at baseline and immediately following completion of the intervention. Results: Both training groups showed significant reductions in TMS, whereas no significant change was observed in the control group. At post-intervention, the twice-weekly group also demonstrated a lower TMS than the control group. No significant intervention-related changes were found for the other Tower of London indices, suggesting that the observed cognitive benefit was primarily reflected in planning efficiency rather than in accuracy or time-based performance. For functional fitness, cardiovascular endurance improved only in the twice-weekly group, while both training groups showed improvements in agility and dynamic balance and upper-body muscular strength. Improvements were therefore evident across a broader range of outcomes in the twice-weekly group, although direct differences between the two training groups were not consistently observed. Conclusion: Exercise training combined with cognitive demands was effective in improving planning ability and selected aspects of functional fitness in older adults. While both training frequencies produced beneficial changes, the twice-weekly condition was associated with improvements across a broader range of outcomes, highlighting the potential importance of training frequency when designing cognitive–motor exercise programs for older adults. © 2026