Peter Attia Hosts Longevity Roundtable on Strength, Protein, and Training for Healthy Aging

Highlights

• The panel agreed that maintaining and building skeletal muscle is central to healthy aging, with resistance training linked to lower mortality and better late-life function.
  
• Protein targets and meal setup matter for older adults. Total daily protein drives results, while spreading protein across meals can help hit a per-meal dose that triggers muscle building. Five small meals is one workable pattern, but consistency and totals beat clock-watching. 

Physician Peter Attia brought together three voices with complementary lenses on training and longevity:

• Gabrielle Lyon, MD, emphasizes “muscle-centric” medicine in older patients.
  
• Mike Boyle draws on decades of coaching athletes and everyday adults.
  
• Jeff Cavaliere blends physical therapy with widely used training education.
  

Their shared premise is straightforward. Strong, functional muscle supports blood sugar control, mobility, and independence as we age. Large population studies back that up. People who do muscle-strengthening activities have a 10–17 percent lower risk of all-cause mortality and fewer major diseases, and those who combine resistance work with aerobic exercise do even better. Skeletal muscle is not only for movement. It acts like a metabolic organ that soaks up glucose and communicates with other tissues. 

Evidence check on strength and lifespan

• A meta-analysis of 11 studies found 21 percent lower all-cause mortality in people who performed resistance training, and 40 percent lower when they also met aerobic guidelines.
  
• Another meta-analysis suggests around one hour per week of resistance training captures most of the survival benefit, with diminishing returns at much higher volumes.
  
• Cardiorespiratory fitness also tracks with longevity in a graded fashion, with higher fitness tied to better survival across age groups. 

Programming that Ages Well

Heavy barbell lifts are not the only path to strength. The panel favored progressive, joint-friendly training (think split squats, lunges, rows, presses, and carries) adjusted for history of pain or injury. That approach aligns with evidence that maintaining strength and balance lowers fall risk and supports daily function into older age. The key is consistency and incremental progression, not hitting max loads.

Protein Targets that Older Adults Can Actually Use

What total should people aim for

• Meta-analyses indicate that about 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of weight (0.8 grams per pound of weight) per day is where gains in muscle and strength tend to plateau for resistance-trained adults. Older adults often benefit from aiming near this range due to anabolic resistance, the age-related blunting of the muscle-building response to protein.

Why distribution helps without obsessing over timing

• Muscle protein synthesis responds to per-meal dosing. Evidence suggests ~0.4 g/kg per meal in older adults helps hit the leucine threshold—the amino-acid signal that flips muscle building on. For a 176 lb older adult, that is roughly 30–35 g of high-quality protein at a sitting. Spreading intake so each meal reaches that dose can boost the day’s total muscle-building response.
  
• A feeding study found that an even distribution of protein across breakfast, lunch, and dinner produced ~25 percent higher 24-hour muscle protein synthesis than the common skewed pattern with most protein at dinner.
  

Where “five meals a day” fits

• The panel’s five-meal idea is a practical template to help people hit per-meal protein doses without oversized portions. The science favors daily totals and per-meal dose over strict timing of meals. Meta-analyses show that protein timing around workouts matters far less than getting enough protein overall.
  
• Meal frequency by itself shows no consistent advantage for weight or body composition once calories are matched. Reviews and trials comparing intermittent fasting, time-restricted eating, and classic calorie restriction generally report similar weight loss when weekly energy intake is the same. Choose the pattern you can stick with.
  

What’s the Leucine Threshold – and Why it Matters

• Leucine threshold is the amount of the amino acid leucine needed to trigger a strong muscle-building signal. Older adults often require more leucine per meal than younger adults, which is why 30–40 g of high-quality protein per meal is a useful target. 

Injury Prevention that Keeps You Training

The roundtable’s bias toward single-leg and machine-assisted work for many midlife and older trainees aims to protect backs, knees, and shoulders while keeping training volume high. That matches the broader goal in longevity training. The best program is the one you can keep doing through aches and life changes.

For kids and teens, the experts warned against early sport specialization. Multiple studies connect year-round single-sport training in youth with higher overuse injury risk and a greater likelihood of dropping out. A broad base of play and skills appears safer and more sustainable.

Putting It All Together

• Lift two to three days a week with movements you can progress (with weight, volume, or difficulty) safely over many years.
  
• Walk or cycle most days to build aerobic fitness that also tracks with longevity.
  
• Hit daily protein goals and distribute intake so meals reach an effective dose.
  
• Pick a meal schedule you can maintain, since calorie consistency drives body weight. outcomes more than timing
  
• Avoid early specialization in kids and keep adults training around injuries rather than stopping altogether.