Dr James Donaldson is a Lecturer in the School of Sport & Exercise Sciences at Liverpool John Moores University. He completed his PhD in Exercise Physiology at Canterbury Christ Church University, following his BSc and MSc at Brunel University London. Dr Donaldson is a former international triathlete and holds British Triathlon and England Athletics coaching qualifications, and he continues to apply this athlete-facing perspective to his research and consultancy work. Prior to LJMU, he held lecturer and technical specialist roles at Nottingham Trent University and Canterbury Christ Church University, and has experience in echocardiography. He runs Breakthru Performance, a sport science consultancy providing VO₂max and lactate threshold testing to athletes across the East Midlands and South East London.