WHILE most of us could work up a sweat just thinking of exercise, one woman has been going for the burn for almost 20 years - and enjoying it.

Aerobics instructor Maggie Gilbert has been helping the women of Wharfedale stay toned and honed for 18 years.

Maggie runs seven packed classes a week - and at the age of 54 shows no signs of slowing down. Maggie said: "I am going to keep going as long as my body holds out. When people come up to you at then end of a class and say that was brilliant you walk on air. The job satisfaction is 150 per cent."

Maggie, of Ash Grove, in Ilkley, has been involved in aerobics since it took off in the early 1980's. She said: "I was lucky to get in the real craze of aerobics when it first came out. People are now more interested in going to the gym so I feel very privileged that the people are still coming to me. I must be doing something right."

It was upon leaving the RAF after 25 years, that Maggie first became interested in aerobics. Maggie said: "I was posted back from Germany. I went to the gym and said what is there for women? They said they had this thing to music. I have never been one for group things but I thought I would give it a try."

Maggie soon developed a liking for the sport and within months her instructor suggested she train and take her own classes. Maggie said: "I declined to start with but she asked me again the following year and she began to train me."

Following a six-month training programme with Slimnastics, under the auspices of the YMCA and the RSA, Maggie was assessed as an instructor by Diana Lamplugh, the mother of missing estate agent, Suzy.

Maggie said: "Diana Lamplugh came and took us for our finals. That was three months before Suzy disappeared."

Maggie began teaching in Wharfedale in 1983, when the family settled in Ilkley.

The Aerobics phenomenon was at its height as pop star, Olivia Newton John donned a leotard and invited the nation to Get Physical.

Maggie admits she submitted to the fashion of the time and kitted herself out in Fame-style leg-warmers and headband. She said, cringing: "I never wore a thong but yes I had the leg-warmers and the cuffs."

It is not only the clothing which has changed over the years.

Maggie said: "Aerobics has changed. There is a lot more emphasis on safety. You have to know more about the body and physiology than you ever did.

"You get cowboys in this game as well as any other. You do not have to have certification unless you are working for a gym. But you are putting other people's bodies at risk."

Maggie is the first to admit she does not fit the typical image of a fitness instructor. She said: "I am not 6ft tall, seven stone and blond."

But Maggie, who has three children Sean, 31, Jason, 28, and Vicky, 24, says this could be the secret of her success.

She said: "I think the fact that I have a homely figure is why I am so successful. People are not intimidated when they come to my classes."

Many of the devotees of Maggie's motivational style have been attending her classes for more than ten years.

Maggie said: "I know all of my women by name and there must be 150 women come to my classes. I am interested in them as people."

The instructor's staying power in a fickle industry is also a testament to her determination - and her popularity.

Maggie said: "Even when I broke my ankle I did not miss my classes. I broke it on the Sunday and on the Monday I was at my class, resting my leg on a chair and shouting out instructions."

Women of all ages pack out Maggie's classes - and nobody will be over-stretched. She said: "In one class, a lady brings her four-year-old granddaughter and my eldest lady is 76."

Maggie has been a keen sportswoman all her life.

Before taking up aerobics, Maggie played netball in the RAF.

She even represented the RAF in the Commonwealth in Singapore in 1970. She only retired from the game several years ago, after playing for an Addingham team.

She now teaches one afternoon a week as a volunteer with the Ilkley Grammar School netball team.Maggie said: "Netball is my first love. It was ambition to carry on playing until I was 50 but I stopped at 49."

Maggie still has the energy to play a round of golf with her husband, Dave, 53. The couple, who met in the RAF, are committee members of Bracken Ghyll Golf Club, in Addingham.

They are also avid rugby fans - especially as son Sean plays for Wharfedale and Jason for Birkenhead.

It seems there is no limits to Maggie's talents - she has also proved she has greenfingers after winning Ilkley in Bloom twice for her carefully tended garden.Maggie, who describes herself as 'Ilkley born and bred', loves the town where she spent her early years.

She moved to Wakefield as a youngster with her family but is firmly now anchored back in Ilkley.

She said: "I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. It is wonderful. It is that sense of belonging."

If you are not too tired just reading about her energy levels why not try one of Maggie's Workout classes for yourself.

For further information telephone Maggie Gilbert on (01943) 601198.