John, 77, wins fight to stay fit
Old Father Time will have to get his skates on to catch evergreen John Lee.
The 77-year-old keeps old age at bay with a keep-fit regime that would take the breath away from many younger men.
The widower from Stafford Road, Oxley, works out for an hour at the Firewalker Health Club in Roseberry Street, Merridale, five days a week. Mr Lee, who has four children and 14 grandchildren, started going to the gym six years ago and was immediately bitten by the fitness bug.
Now the former production worker, who took early retirement aged 62 after more than 28 years employed at the Goodyear works near his home, spends three of his daily sessions circuit training and the other two either weightlifting and kick boxing.
He said: "I tried to keep fit at work and went running every Sunday with mates from Goodyear and continued with it after my retirement.
"I felt a bit lonely running by myself so I decided to try something different." Mr Lee, who is 5ft 8ins tall and weighs 13.5-stone , continued: "As soon as I went to the gym I realised that it was the place for me. It keeps me out of the house and helps me to stay fit. I lift up to 32 kilograms.
"I do not enter competitions. The other lads are more than half my age and so I just do my own thing. It keeps me feeling young. I suffer withdrawal symptoms if I miss a session. You feel like you have let yourself down."
Mr Lee, who does not smoke and only drinks an occasional bacardi and Coke, has no intention of slowing down. And he had this message for people of his age who sit with their feet up: "You don't know what you are missing."
