Login | August 31, 2026
Duel task training
PETE GLADDEN
Published: August 31, 2026
Did you know that in 2026 the oldest of the baby boomers have now or will soon turn 80?
And here’s another interesting stat: Currently the baby boomers make up approximately 19-20% of the US population.
For a health & fitness professional like myself this population group has gradually become a substantial part of my clientele, and thus I’ve endeavored to learn as much as possible about the protocols necessary to work with boomers as well as the latest geriatric research that exercise scientists have determined can promote the health and well being of those in the boomer population.
And currently one of the more interesting topics I’ve been exploring in this arena of geriatric fitness programing involves prescribing a physical component as well as the cognitive component to a senior’s training program.
This duel exercising concept is termed “duel task training.”
And what duel task training entails is doing exercises while simultaneously performing motor or cognitive tasks at the very same time.
A good example of duel task training would be walking, running or balancing while spelling words, reciting a series of words or working with numbers (addition, subtraction, multiplication, etc.).
Pretty simple really, in that it’s merely a coupling of a physical exercise with a cognitive exercise, and the beauty here is that you can virtually utilize a myriad of physical/cognitive combinations.
And though at first glance it might sound kind of goofy, there’s a slew of solid research out there that’s shown duel task training does indeed yield improvements in an senior’s physical as well as cognitive functions.
And we’re not just talking about this type of training modality being used with completely healthy seniors, duel task training has yielded pretty darned solid results with boomers who have dementia, Parkinson’s disease, stroke impairments, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease.
As a matter of fact when this training methodology has been given to said individuals with neurologic disorders, the patients have been able to improve both their gait, postural balance AND cognition all in one fell swoop.
Now as mentioned earlier, there are many ways to combine the two components, physical and cognitive, into duel task training exercises.
Some of the more interesting cognitive tasks can involve remembering sequences of words or numbers, numerical calculations, trivia, recalling personal information like address and phone number, memorizing a sentence, paragraph or even a poem or figuring out a road route from point A to point B.
And such cognitive drills can be matched with slightly more complex physical skills such as pedaling at a specified cadence on an exercise bike, running/walking/jogging at a specified pace on a treadmill and rowing at a specified cadence on a rowing machine.
Again, the combinations and complexity variations are endless.
Now despite the successes of DT, because of the differing clinical testing and training protocols being used in these research studies there is as of yet no clear and standardized guidelines for health professionals to go by when prescribing this methodology.
But the research thus far has given us several good directions to go when initiating this kind of training.
First, a 12-week minimum of sessions is needed in order to obtain positive results.
Second, a gradual progression in difficulty as well as task specificity is needed to obtain better outcomes on cognitive functions.
Third, the physical task that has yielded the best results seems to be postural balance, both static and dynamic, with progressions that involve modifying body position with movement and gesture as well as changing the surface on which the individuals are balancing.
Fourth, resistance training has also been found to be a physical task which has yielded very successful results, and most of this resistance training was done on machines because they are easier to control the volume and intensity and they don’t interfere with the cognitive tasks.
Fifth, the most successful cognitive tasks involved counting backward, basic arithmetic and sequencing.
Sixth, thus far research has shown that for apparently healthy seniors the most successful training regime consists of two one-hour sessions per week, where the exercises are made progressively more difficult.
And finally, these training regimes should incorporate postural balance, resistance training, aerobic training, and mobility training, while the cognitive tasks should consist of mental tracking and/or working memory tasks.
By pairing physical challenges with cognitive challenges senior individuals can better prepare for real-life situations which involve both thinking and physically action, which collectively helps to boost confidence, support independence, and make daily activities more attainable.