From Federer to LeBron: Longevity Lessons for Midlife Fitness | Dr Peter Tierney

This week, Georgie welcomes back Dr Peter Tierney, senior research scientist with a PhD in sports science, whose career spans work with Leinster Rugby, Chelsea FC, the English FA and Lululemon. Together they explore what elite sport can teach us about exercising effectively in midlife.

Peter explains how athletes like Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and LeBron James have extended their careers through smarter training, recovery, and the support of human performance teams. He highlights that while professionals benefit from world-class physios, nutritionists and coaches, the core lessons of consistency, recovery, and balance are transferable to everyone.

From maintaining lean muscle mass and strength into older age to adopting “exercise snacking”, short bursts of activity spread across the day, he offers practical strategies for slowing physical decline and extending not just lifespan but “healthspan.” He stresses the importance of training power as well as endurance, finding activities you enjoy, and resisting the temptation to do too much, too fast.

Above all, the message is clear: build routines you can stick to, take rest seriously, and surround yourself with a supportive “human performance team,” however that looks in everyday life.

The ainslie + ainslie Performance People podcast talks to high-performers in the world of sport and beyond, to bring defining moments, hard-earned insights and expert advice to everyday performance. New episodes every Tuesday.

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