Fitness instructor marks 50 years at leisure centre

Maureen Conroy (in the blue shirt) has run classes at Bath Sports and Leisure Centre since 1975

A fitness instructor who has run exercise classes for 50 years said she continues to enjoy teaching, and has no plans to stop.

Maureen Conroy, 84, has worked at Bath Sports and Leisure Centre since it opened in 1975, teaching exercise, movement and dance classes.

"I always say your bones are like a gate, and if it doesn't move it ruts up and if it rests up, you can't move it," she said.

Ms Conroy teaches people even older than herself, with a 99-year-old regularly attending one of her seated exercise classes.

Ms Conroy was there when Princess Anne opened the centre in 1975

Ms Conroy was there when the centre was opened by Princess Anne in 1975.

After teaching, she has a brief power nap before continuing her day.

"I always say to my class, 'listen to your body.'

"Your brain will tell you you're 20, your body will tell you you're a lot more than that.

"If you feel any pain, ease off that part. But keep moving for as long as you can and also, if you are ill, you get better quickly if you have been keeping active," she explained.

"Getting out, meeting people, that's the thing. It's the social side," she said.

Her classes run for 45 minutes and include a wide range of exercises to music

Centre Manager Callem Goodman said Ms Conroy was "fantastic."

"She just loves what she does and she loves the impact she's having on the people that come to her classes."

"To still be instructing when you're 84 is massive.

"I don't think I'd get through one of her classes if I tried to participate," she said.

"The centre's now 50 years old but Maureen's been here since day one and I think that in itself is a massive inspiration to everyone," he added.