Training for Your Future Self: Why Today’s Lifestyle Decisions Matter Tomorrow
Inspired by the work of Dr. Peter Attia
At Fairview Chiropractic & Rehabilitation Clinic, we often talk with patients about how to reduce pain, regain mobility, and move better today—but just as important is how we move tomorrow, next year, and even decades from now.

One powerful framework we’ve been inspired by comes from Dr. Peter Attia, a physician and author who focuses on the science of longevity. In his book Outlive and on his podcast The Drive, Dr. Attia shares a concept he calls the Centenarian Decathlon—a metaphor for preparing now so you can physically thrive well into your 80s, 90s, and beyond.
Much like an athlete trains with specific goals in mind, the idea is to identify what you want to be able to do in your later years—then reverse engineer your training and lifestyle choices today to make that future possible.
For one person, that might mean being able to hike with a loaded backpack into their 80s. For another, it could be getting up and down from the floor to play with grandchildren, or lifting a kayak overhead to place it on a car roof. Or maybe it’s just walking up a flight of stairs without holding the railing, or carrying groceries from the store to the car.
Dr. Attia encourages people to actually write down these goals—not vague aspirations, but specific, functional tasks—and to use them as a roadmap for what to work on now. These goals become training targets, and like all training plans, they require consistency, progression, and support.
A key takeaway from Attia’s work is that two of the strongest predictors of long-term vitality and reduced all-cause mortality are:
• Cardiorespiratory fitness (VO₂ max)
• Muscular strength
These are not just "nice-to-haves"—they’re deeply tied to how long, and how well, we live.
What This Means for You
At our clinic, we believe in helping patients move beyond symptom relief and into a more proactive, long-term vision of health. That means thinking not only about what hurts today, but also about what you want to be capable of tomorrow—and taking steps now to build the foundation.
We can help you:
• Assess your current strength and mobility
• Identify deficits or imbalances that may limit future function
• Build simple, sustainable routines to improve strength, balance, endurance, and mobility
• Understand how your daily choices (nutrition, stress management, sleep, etc.) shape your long-term resilience
Ready to get started?
Ask us at your next appointment how you can begin building toward your personal Centenarian Decathlon.
Attribution Note:
This blog post references concepts introduced by Dr. Peter Attia, MD, in his book Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity (2023) and his podcast The Drive. For more information about Dr.
