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Assessment of Human Motor Power for Health

2-3 July 2026

Lisbon, Portugal

About

Welcome to the Powerpeople Conference 2026, which will take place in Lisbon, Portugal, on July 2nd and 3rd of 2026.

Aiming to promote human health and prevent age-related decline, several markers have been proposed over the past four decades, such as sarcopenia (i.e., originally referring to the loss of muscle mass) and dynapenia (i.e., a concept focusing primarily on maximal muscle strength). However, considering the growing body of evidence showing that human motor power capacity is reduced at a greater rate with age than either sarcopenia or dynapenia and is also more strongly associated with overall functionality and health outcomes than other muscle parameters, the concept of powerpenia was introduced in 2024, anticipating that it may serve as a sensitive marker of age-related decline. Powerpenia reflects not only the loss of motor power with age, but also with that associated with disease and physical inactivity.

In 2024, the first international seminar on powerpenia was held at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, in Porto Alegre, Brazil, bringing together more than 500 registered participants from 22 countries. Now, in 2026, evolving from a seminar format to a conference, a new event is planned to take place in Lisbon highlighting aspects of assessment of human motor power for health.

500+

Participants

22

Countries

The event will be held over two days and will feature 3 keynote lectures, 10 oral presentations, 1 round table discussion, and a session dedicated to short (3-minute) oral poster presentations, from which three will be selected for extended presentations (15 minutes), culminating in anaward-winning abstract. The event will also include social opportunities for interaction among participants and event sponsors.

This conference will explore topics across three thematic axes:

  • Technology & methodological approaches
  • Considerations in different populations
  • Assessment in geriatric contexts

All researchers and professionals interested in this topic are invited to participate and to submit their work. We look forward to welcoming you to an event dedicated to extensive knowledge sharing.

Sandro R. Freitas Organizing committee chair

Portugal, Lisbon

July 2 • 3 • 2026

3

Keynote Lectures

11

Oral Presentations

1

Round Discussion

1

E-poster session

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Key dates

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Abstracts

  • Opening of Abstract Submissions: 15th of February, 2026
  • Deadline for Abstract Submissions: 30th of April, 2026
  • Notification of Abstracts Acceptance: until 9th of May 2026

Registration

  • Opening of early-bird Registration: 15th of February, 2026
  • End of early-bird Registration: 15th of May 2026
  • Registration Upgrade: from 16th of May
  • Registration deadline: 26th of June

Abstract Submission

You are welcome to submit an abstract on the topic of the conference, i.e. assessment of human motor power for health.

When submitting you should select:

  • Technology & methodological approaches
  • Considerations in different populations
  • Assessment in specific contexts

Abstracts MUST be submitted until April 30, 23:59 CET:

Submissions

Make your abstract submission here

Guidelines:

Please follow the instructions below when submitting an abstract:

  1. The research must be original, i.e., not already published or accepted for publication in any peer-reviewed journal nor in any book at the time of abstract submission deadline.
  2. Abstracts are restricted to (but not names or affiliations): title with max. 500 character, main text (introduction, methods, results, conclusions, and references) with max. 1,000 words, and with max. 2 figures, and no supplementary material.
  3. Supplementary material is not allowed.
  4. If there are references in the text, they have to be cited at the end of the abstract (they must fit in the 1,000 words).
Additional guidelines for virtual abstracts:
  1. Due to the high demand, the organizing committee now allows for virtual abstract submission.
  2. Virtual works must comply with the on-site guidelines for abstract submission according to the template (please click HERE).
  3. For accepted virtual works, the 1st author must send a 3-minute video until the 20th of June 2026, according to the video format and template (which will be sent by the organizing committee upon abstract acceptance).
  4. Virtual works will be uploaded to the conference online channel during the conference, however works will not be considered for prizes.
  5. Abstracts from virtual works will also be published in the conference eBook of Abstracts.
Notification of submission decisions (acceptance or rejection) will be made via email until 9th of May 2026.

All accepted abstracts will be published in the eBook of Abstracts of the Powerpenia Conference 2026, preconditioned the first author has paid the registration fee by 15th of May 2026 – abstracts without a paid registration fee until this deadline will be irrevocably removed.

In case the first author is unable to attend, a registered co-author is permitted to present the research on his/her behalf.

For an Abstract Formatting Example, please click HERE .

Abstracts MUST be submitted using the following form LINK until Apr 30, 23:59 CET.

Any queries should be sent to powerpenia@fmh.ulisboa.pt

Committees

Scientific Committee

  • Walter Herzog, Chair (University of Calgary, Canada)
  • Fátima Baptista (University of Lisbon, Portugal)
  • Carlos Cruz Montecinos (University of Chile, Chile)
  • Ronei Silveira Pinto (University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil)
  • Sebastien Ratel (University of Clermont Auvergne, France)
  • Sandro Freitas (University of Lisbon, Portugal)
  • Paulo Santos (University of Lisbon, Portugal)
  • Leonardo Peyré-Tartaruga (University of Pavia, Italy)
  • Lucimere Bohn (University of Porto, Portugal)

Organizing Committee

  • Sandro R. Freitas, Chair
  • Fátima Baptista
  • Raúl Oliveira
  • Miguel Peralta
  • Paulo Santos
  • Isabel Morais
  • Ana Clara Comarella
  • Rodrigo Neske
  • Caroline Pietta-Dias
  • Miguel Peralta
  • Helô-Isa André
  • Flávia Yazigi

Sponsors

Keiser

Partners

Frontiers
partners

Workshops

Information soon available

Registration

Early-bird
(until May, 15)
From May, 16

REGULAR PARTICIPANT

Early-bird
(until May, 15)

230,00€

Register now
From May, 16

260,00€

Still closed

STUDENTS 1, 2

Early-bird
(until May, 15)

170,00€

Register now
From May 16

200,00€

Still closed

Workshop 1 3

Early-bird
(until May, 15)

40,00€

Register now
From May 16

60,00€

Still closed

Workshop 2 3

Early-bird
(until May, 15)

40,00€

Register now
From May 16

60,00€

Still closed

Virtual Participant 4

Early-bird
(until May, 15)

100,00€

Register now

The registration fees include:

  • Admission to all scientific sessions
  • Admission to Opening Reception
  • Admission to Farewell Dinner
  • Congress materials
  • Lunches (1) and coffee breaks (2)

  • 1 The student registration fee is only available to full-time students. Please send University student enrolment certificate in English, including an expiration date for 2026 (or beyond). Other Certificates will not be accepted

  • 2 The registration fees include for in-local Regular Participants and Students include:

    • Admission to all scientific sessions
    • Admission to Opening Reception
    • Admission to Farewell Dinner
    • Congress materials
    • Lunches (1) and coffee breaks (3)

  • 3 Workshops are limited to 50 participants, who can only choose 1 workshop. Workshop 2 topic is still to be announced.

  • 4 Participants with an abstract accepted may submit a video with a 3 minute’s presentation. The abstract will be included in the Abstracts Book, but will not be subject for the award for the three best works.

    The video should respect the conference template (which will be sent directly to authors), videos will be uploaded to the conference online channel during the event.

  • 5 Virtual participants will have access to online streaming + off line conference contents access during 7 days following the event at the conference @zoom account.

  • 6 The registration fees include for virtual Participants include:

    • Online access to all scientific sessions
    • Congress online materials
    • Certification of virtual participation

Contact Us

For any queries, kindly contact us via the email address:

powerpenia@fmh.ulisboa .pt