Keeping up with his ever-growing media empire is no easy task, but Gary Lineker has proven throughout his three distinct careers that he has the physical fitness and mental resilience to do so.
The 64-year-old retired from professional football in 1994, but has stayed in impressive shape ever since. He famously presented the first Match of the Day episode of the 2016/17 season in nothing but his underwear after promising to do so if Leicester City won the Premier League. They duly did, and Lineker duly showed off his impressive physique.
Not that he altered his training too much in preparation for the show. While he cut calories to lean down slightly, Lineker largely stuck to the same exercise routine he'd been following for years. Nearly a decade later, it's an approach he continues to follow today – even if he doesn't particularly enjoy it.
The Rest Is... Fitness
‘I always do the gym on Monday mornings,’ Lineker told the Evening Standard. ‘I work out 3 or 4 times a week and do Pilates as well. I think the older you get, the more you need to do really.
‘I think it's quite easy in midlife to just give up when you start seeing the waistline expand a little bit.’
Lineker admits he's never been someone who loves training for training's sake.
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‘It's funny – I hate training. I've never liked it in my entire life, but I like it even less when I miss it because I think it's important. But I do love the feeling afterwards, in the shower, thinking you've actually done it.’
His passion for Pilates has grown in recent years, with Life Body Studio revealing that he's been attending sessions for more than 5 years. His London home is also equipped with a treadmill, weights, an exercise ball and a Kinesis machine, meaning he has few excuses to skip a workout.
Even though he no longer enjoys cycling and can't run long distances due to old injuries, Lineker continues to find ways to stay active.
Gary Lineker's Rules for Healthy Ageing
Above all else, Lineker understands the importance of movement as he gets older. He's conscious of making smarter, more active decisions to help offset some of the physical effects of ageing.
‘I just think the older you get, the more you have to apply yourself to fight off the obvious things that happen when you get old,’ he told MH.
He echoed a similar sentiment when speaking to the Swindon Advertiser.
‘Try to do as much regular exercise as you can because it helps hold the years back physically and mentally, and there’s really no need to give in to age or accept an expanding belly.
‘Try to burn off what you take in food-wise, even if it’s just walking instead of taking the car and doing at least 1 gym session a week.’
Why He Eats One Meal a Day
Lineker also pays close attention to his diet, opting for a one-meal-a-day (OMAD) approach.
‘I only really eat one major meal a day,’ he told the Evening Standard. ‘Breakfast I don’t eat, and then I’ll either pick in the evening if I’ve had lunch, or pick in the daytime, with nuts and fruits.’
There's no magic formula behind OMAD. A 2022 study found that intermittent fasting is no more effective for weight loss than non-time-restricted eating. Similarly, a review published in the Annual Review of Nutrition concluded that most intermittent fasting protocols can produce weight loss, but largely because they help reduce overall calorie intake.
Ultimately, whether you're following OMAD or a more traditional eating pattern, the same principle applies: consistently consume more calories than you burn and you'll gain weight; consume fewer and you'll lose it.
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Ryan is a Senior Writer at Men’s Health UK with a passion for storytelling, health and fitness. Having graduated from Cardiff University in 2020, and later obtaining his NCTJ qualification, Ryan started his career as a Trainee News Writer for sports titles Golf Monthly, Cycling Weekly and Rugby World before progressing to Staff Writer and subsequently Senior Writer with football magazine FourFourTwo.
During his two-and-a-half years there he wrote news stories for the website and features for the magazine, while he also interviewed names such as Les Ferdinand, Ally McCoist, Jamie Redknapp and Antonio Rudiger, among many others. His standout memory, though, came when getting the opportunity to speak to then-Plymouth Argyle manager Steven Schumacher as the club won League One in 2023.
Having grown up a keen footballer and playing for his boyhood side until the age of 16, Ryan got the opportunity to represent Northern Ireland national futsal team eight times, scoring three goals against England, Scotland and Gibraltar. Now past his peak, Ryan prefers to mix weightlifting with running – he achieved a marathon PB of 3:31:49 at Manchester in April 2025, but credits the heat for failing to get below the coveted 3:30 mark…
You can follow Ryan on Instagram @ryan.dabbs or on X @ryandabbs_
