An age-defying health guru who is about to turn 65 has launched a book showing how to extend mid-life and shorten old age.
And who is this guru we hear you ask, well none other than one of our very own feature writers of Sustain Health Magazine, Wayne Lèal.
Lèal who has been dubbed a ‘Super ager’ because of his youthful appearance has released Meta-Age, designed to combat attitudes towards ageing.
Wayne, who turns 65 this Saturday (March 18), attributes his youthful appearance to lifestyle, diet, exercise, dress and maintaining intergenerational friendships.
The successful coach and senior yoga instructor has launched the book to teach people life-long lessons that everyone can use – improved confidence and resilience, diet, self-image and how to live with chronic pain.
At a time when most mid-lifers have reached a tipping point and also tipping the scales giving them a 40% chance of long-standing limiting illnesses they need a new focus.
Exercise is crucial and he divides mid-lifers into three groups: those who have never stopped exercising, those who have lapsed, and those who have never trained.
People pressure themselves to exercise and train harder, misunderstanding the distinction between pain and soreness that threatens their bodies. They need to re-evaluate their mentality for a fresh approach to a different life stage.
At 45-plus, getting the body into shape is a different challenge from the one faced at 20. Wayne’s Meta-Age training methodology is the first-of-its-kind programme dedicated to training the midlife body.
A proven mix of ancient and new practices that enabled an injury-ridden British boxer Darren Barker to become a middle-weight world champion. The first boxer in modern history to do this with no sit-ups, running or weightlifting.
The book features six core home exercises, engaging more muscles simultaneously than if you were isolating one body region with weights. And they enhance core use, providing an excellent full-body workout with or without equipment.
Meta-Age is an alternative experience for mid-lifers – instead of a descent into old age, an extension of a healthy and active midlife.
The book published by Libri Publishing is the culmination of his quest for a way to live healthier longer, life. It is the final book of a trilogy that covers Wayne’s midlife journey.
Wayne, from London, said: “My book contains life-long lessons that everyone can use – improved confidence and resilience, diet, and self-image, and how to live with chronic pain.
It’s not complicated – I have six core exercises daily for discipline, body strength, mobility and balance. Keep it simple and take your time – it is in your hands!
“All health and fitness roads lead to Meta-Age, that is, self-awareness of physical, mental, and social expectations beyond midlife. The desire to defy age is as ancient as human history.
We cannot stop the natural intrinsic ageing process but by taking some preventive actions we can influence some factors of that process.
The Meta-Age philosophy focuses on an extension of midlife, with a short old age, to write a new narrative of ageing as it could – and should – be.”
Wayne added: “At various life stages, we all need a sense of purpose. In my younger life, mine was survival. At 14, I was the victim of a brutal racist attack.
I was kicked like a football and hospitalised unconscious for several hours with a fractured skull. By 35, I was bust, divorced, and enduring extreme financial woes. By 42, I had recovered and won a Businessman of the Year award. If life were a game of Bingo, I would shout ‘House’!
“One of the things I hear when people talk about training is they haven’t got enough time. Yet great leaders are required to juggle responsibilities, and they somehow make time to train. There are no excuses. I defy my years by remaining relevant because there is no expiry date on learning.”
The first book in the trilogy, 20-21, is about developing the discipline to make exercise an intrinsic behaviour such as brushing your teeth.
Following hip surgery, Wayne lost the enthusiasm to exercise – something that most people experience at some point in their lives. So, he set himself a mental challenge to do yoga every day for 20 minutes over 21 days – ‘move your body change your mind’ was his mantra.
Then came his second book, Lone Wolf – Becoming a Super-Ager. Whilst visiting his late mother’s nursing home, he witnessed how badly most residents aged while a small handful did not. It inspired him to want to become a Super-Ager – biologically younger than his chronological age.
Meta-Age, the final book in the trilogy, marks his midlife transition and the creation of a new life stage which he calls a midlife extension, not old age.
Wayne has travelled worldwide and been featured on various platforms, including BBC News and Australia’s Channel 9 TV. The ethos of Meta-Age facilitates the continuation – of a healthy midlife, not eternal life.
Meta-Age Is published by Libri Publishing. For more information and pre-order, a copy go to https://www.libripublishing.co.uk/