PURPOSE: To compare the effects of four resistance exercise orders on muscular strength, body composition, functional fitness, cardiovascular risk factors, and mental health parameters in trained older women. METHODS: The intervention lasted 63 weeks. Sixty-one physically independent women (> 60 years) after completing a 12-week resistance training (RT) pre-conditioning phase were randomized into four different exercise orders groups to perform 12 weeks of RT: multi- to single-joint and upper- to lower-body (MJ-SJ-U), single- to multi-joint and upper- to lower-body (SJ-MJ-U), multi- to single-joint and lower- to upper-body (MJ-SJ-L), and single- to multi-joint and lower- to upper-body (SJ-MJ-L). This was followed by a 12-week detraining period and another 12-week RT in which exercise orders were crossed-over between MJ-SJ and SJ-MJ conditions. Body composition (DXA), muscular strength (1RM tests), functional fitness (gait speed, walking agility, 30-s chair stand, and 6-min walk tests), cardiovascular risk factors (glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL-c, HDL-c, C-reactive protein, AOPP, TRAP, and NOx), depressive (GDS-scale), and anxiety symptoms (BAI), cognitive performance (MoCA, Trail Making, verbal fluency, and Stroop test) were analyzed. RESULTS: Following the final training period, all groups presented significant improvements (p < 0.05) in almost all analyzed variables (muscular strength, body composition, functional tests, blood biomarkers, and mental health parameters), without significant difference among exercise orders. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that RT exercise orders in which MJ, SJ, upper, or lower-body exercises are performed first have similar effects on health parameters in trained older women.

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