Dr. Tariq Al-Zahrani
Sports physician and exercise physiologist applying elite-athlete performance testing to the longevity context — VO₂max, HRV, and muscle-quality assessment at clinical grade.
Dr. Al-Zahrani trained in sports medicine at Loughborough University — recognised globally for exercise science research — and holds an IOC Sports Medicine Diploma. He spent six years as a performance physician for elite Saudi athletic programmes before joining Smart Santé, where he applies the same precision testing to longevity-focused adults.
At Smart Santé he leads the physical performance assessment: cardiorespiratory fitness (VO₂max by indirect calorimetry), heart-rate variability profiling, grip strength and muscle power index, and gait analysis. His observation is that VO₂max is the single strongest predictor of all-cause mortality in the data — and that it is trainable at any age.
Beyond measurement, Dr. Al-Zahrani designs the exercise prescription protocols that come with every Smart Santé longevity programme — tailored to each patient's current capacity, not a generic plan. He is a regular contributor to the Saudi Sports Medicine Society and lectures on physical performance as medicine at King Khalid University.
Areas of Expertise
- VO₂max Testing & Cardiorespiratory Fitness
- Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Profiling
- Muscle Quality & Sarcopenia Prevention
- Exercise Prescription for Longevity
- Gait Analysis & Functional Movement
- Zone 2 & Zone 5 Training Protocols
Education & Credentials
- MD — King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh
- IOC Diploma in Sports Medicine — International Olympic Committee
- Fellowship, Exercise Physiology — Loughborough University, UK
- MD, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences
- Diploma in Sports Medicine, IOC Medical Commission
- Fellowship in Exercise Physiology, Loughborough University
Languages Spoken
Arabic (native), English (fluent)
A Note From Dr. Tariq Al-Zahrani
"VO₂max is the single strongest predictor of all-cause mortality in the data. And it is trainable at any age. That is the most important sentence in longevity medicine."