AI and the Future of Human Performance with Pete McKnight

Dec 16, 2025

In this engaging conversation, human performance coach Pete McKnight shares insights from his 25 years of working with Olympians and F1 drivers. He reveals that human performance is a blend of physiology, psychology, and nutrition, emphasizing the importance of collaborative performance teams. Pete discusses how technology and AI are reshaping training and the need for athletes to be understood beyond just data. He also highlights lessons from elite environments, like the power of planning and consistency, which can benefit everyone looking to improve their performance.

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INSIGHT

Performance Is Multi-Dimensional

Human performance is multi-dimensional across physiology, cognition, psychology and nutrition.
Pete McKnight says you must optimise all these areas, not just fitness alone.

INSIGHT

Teams Over Lone Coaches

Modern elite sport deploys integrated teams of specialists across science and medicine.
Pete McKnight stresses that assembling specialists is step one; integration is the real challenge.

ADVICE

Individualise And Integrate Support

Individualise programmes around each athlete's strengths, weaknesses and context.
Coordinate specialists with shared systems so interventions align and progress stacks.

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In this episode, Georgie sits down again with human performance coach Pete McKnight, a man with nearly 25 years’ experience shaping Olympians, F1 drivers and world-class performers. Pete breaks down what “human performance” really is: a multi-dimensional blend of physiology, psychology, cognition and nutrition, and why the days of thinking fitness alone defines performance are long gone.

He explains how the rise of specialist performance teams has transformed elite sport, moving from a lone strength coach to integrated units of physios, psychologists, nutritionists and data experts all pulling in the same direction. But the real magic, Pete says, isn’t in assembling the biggest team; it’s in getting them to collaborate, individualise and adapt around the athlete.

Georgie and Pete dig into what the rest of us can learn from elite environments: clarity of goals, proper planning and, above all, relentless consistency. No shortcuts. No silver bullets. Just smart, sustained work.

They also explore how technology and AI are reshaping training, from affordable diagnostics to data-driven programmes, and how the future hinges on understanding the athlete as much as the algorithm. Plus: fascinating insights from Pete’s work across Formula One, defence and space on how humans and machines can truly perform together.

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The Performance People podcast, in partnership with J.P. Morgan Private Bank, 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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