Neuromechanical effects on Brain Health 13:21

Recent research continues to demonstrate that RT is a significant contributor to slowing cognitive decline and reducing both hippocampal and frontal lobe degeneration, even several months after stopping an RT intervention, in both cognitively impaired and non-impaired populations.

Resistance training seems to protect areas of the hippocampus that are vulnerable to Alzheimer’s Disease-related neurodegeneration

With the advent of unconventional and "functional" training, there is less reliance on fixed exercise machines or linear movement patterns. The cognitive and neural correlates of these approaches are yet to be well researched, but one can hypothesize that if they emphasize more motor learning, unpredictability, and coordination, they are more likely to rely on the prefrontal cortex, cerebellum, and parietal lobes. 

One of the most pronounced macro-level changes from resistance training seems to be in functional and structural changes in the frontal lobe as revealed by various types of neuroimaging. This may partially explain resistance training-related improvements in executive functioning.