Thrive Sports & Exercise Medicine

Thrive Sports & Exercise Medicine Dr. Louisa Barter specialises in Sports & Exercise Medicine and Women's Health.

As a GP with a Postgraduate Diploma in Sport and Exercise Medicine (PGDipSEM), she brings 15 years of experience in General Practice, Family Planning, and Female Health.

Challenge yourself at home with no equipment to get your heart rate up for short periods. Make sure you rest between and...
15/01/2026

Challenge yourself at home with no equipment to get your heart rate up for short periods. Make sure you rest between and repeat.
Great for the brain, muscles, bones, weight loss and make it fun!
Adapt it to your level by adding weights if you like!



✨ Why baseline fitness testing can be useful in midlife & menopause ✨Tests like these give you far more than a number — ...
12/01/2026

✨ Why baseline fitness testing can be useful in midlife & menopause ✨

Tests like these give you far more than a number — they show how your body is actually functioning.

💡 Why they’re so powerful:
• They show your personal starting point (not comparison)
• Progress becomes visible & motivating
• They reflect real-life tasks — getting up, walking, living
• They can pick up early decline before symptoms
• They help guide the right exercise focus
• Simple, safe, evidence-based, no equipment

🌿 In menopause, where muscle, fitness, energy and recovery can shift, baseline testing helps separate:
❌ “This is just ageing”
✔️ “This is modifiable”

And the best part? These measures are highly trainable at any age.

🟢 Test. Train. Re-test.
That’s how strength, confidence, and long-term health are built.

&exercise

Happy New Year!You don’t need a gym to get strong 💪Low cost. From home. With whānau or mates.Start at your own level and...
02/01/2026

Happy New Year!

You don’t need a gym to get strong 💪
Low cost. From home. With whānau or mates.

Start at your own level and build.

The kids chose this workout and I tweaked parts to make it perimenopause specific, but it meant we all had fun…and it got somewhat competitive!🤣

What exercise looks like different for everyone, but some sort of movement most days of the week is good for both the body and soul.

Reach out if you need a hand getting moving in 2026, I’m here to help!

More fun, free ideas coming up, so watch this space!



&exercise

Bodies change with time, just as the land does.Perimenopause is a shift in rhythm — not something to fight or fix.Moving...
29/12/2025

Bodies change with time, just as the land does.
Perimenopause is a shift in rhythm — not something to fight or fix.

Moving for this season is about paying attention, easing when needed, and caring for yourself in ways that will last.
You’re right where you are.

As we move into 2026, make space for what you need — Thrive is here to support you.

Meri Kirihimete! 🎄✨2026 is your year to thrive —stand in your mana like the tūī on the kōwhai,singing your truth without...
23/12/2025

Meri Kirihimete! 🎄✨

2026 is your year to thrive —
stand in your mana like the tūī on the kōwhai,
singing your truth without hesitation.
Grow with purpose, rise with confidence,
and make this part of becoming your best.

I’m here to support you on your wellness journey.

Louisa x


&exercise

Mere Kirihimete me nga mihi o te Tau Hou! nz
06/12/2025

Mere Kirihimete me nga mihi o te Tau Hou!




nz

For the month of November, our family took on the Diabetes NZ One-Million Minutes Challenge - a campaign to raise awaren...
30/11/2025

For the month of November, our family took on the Diabetes NZ One-Million Minutes Challenge - a campaign to raise awareness and show support for everyone living with diabetes.

This cause is incredibly close to our hearts. Earlier this year our eldest son was diagnosed with type one diabetes, and just last week we sadly lost my mother-in-law, who also lived with type one since the age of 21.

Type one diabetes means living on a knife edge every day - constantly balancing insulin, food, movement, and life. It’s relentless, and it’s brave.

Throughout November we committed to a minimum of 30 minutes of movement every single day and together we’ve raised $620!

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported us, donated, moved alongside us, or simply checked in. It means more than you know. 💙


Women’s wellness workshop.Thank you to those wahine that attended last night.It was a wonderful evening sharing and enri...
06/11/2025

Women’s wellness workshop.

Thank you to those wahine that attended last night.

It was a wonderful evening sharing and enriching our knowledge and understanding of perimenopause.

We had a really great interactive session covering some of:

- what happens to our bodies during perimenopause
- how and why certain exercise is so important
- what food really can nourish our bodies at this time
- what is our pelvic floor, how it works and how to strengthen it

It’s such a privilege to be able to share this kōrero with so many wahine in Rotorua, as it something that’s been hidden and misunderstood for many years and having knowledge allows women to thrive rather than just survive.

💙 1 Million Minutes Challenge — November! 💙This month our family is moving for a cause close to our hearts — we’ve joine...
31/10/2025

💙 1 Million Minutes Challenge — November! 💙

This month our family is moving for a cause close to our hearts — we’ve joined the One Million Minutes challenge to get active and raise awareness and support for people living with diabetes. 🩵

Every walk, jog, run, ride, swim, football or futsal game, and gym session counts — we’re logging our minutes of movement to help reach 1,000,000 minutes of activity together across NZ! 🇳🇿

For us, it’s personal — staying active is such an important part of managing type 1 diabetes and staying healthy as a family. 💪

So this November, we’re moving more, supporting each other, and raising funds for Diabetes NZ. We are aiming for 30 minutes of movement for every single day of November!

👉 You can join in too! Big or small, every minute matters.

📲 Sign up or donate: https://one-million-minutes.raiselysite.com/team-barter



Let’s move for more than minutes — let’s move for awareness, health, and hope. 💙

October challenge: done ✅I’ve walk/jogged/run at least 3km every single day this month, a challenge set by a great frien...
31/10/2025

October challenge: done ✅

I’ve walk/jogged/run at least 3km every single day this month, a challenge set by a great friend — and here’s what I’ve learned 👇

Being consistent is hard. Some days I had energy, others I didn’t. But showing up anyway mattered more than how far or fast I went.

Having someone to be accountable to — or just someone to head out with — made a huge difference. Sometimes it was a friend, sometimes one of my kids, or our dog, sometimes just knowing I’d promised myself I would.

As a busy mum of three sporty kids, fitting things in around their schedules and work isn’t easy. But I realised if I wait for the “perfect” time, it never comes. You have to make small pockets of time for yourself.

And here’s the bit that links to perimenopause — consistency in movement really helps. The days I moved, my mood, sleep, and stress were all better. Exercise isn’t just about fitness anymore — it’s about managing the rollercoaster that hormones can bring.

Small steps add up. 3km a day might not sound like much, but over the month that’s nearly 100km — and a reminder that showing up for yourself counts. 💚

New challenge for November starts tomorrow so watch this space…😊

Perimenopause strength training with a twist!Strength training allowed to shift 3m3 of top soil this weekend…and a crazy...
26/10/2025

Perimenopause strength training with a twist!

Strength training allowed to shift 3m3 of top soil this weekend…and a crazy form of strength training in its self! Building muscle and keeping my bones strong…keeping me strong into old age, so I can still do all the gardening jobs! Hope the boys are happy with the new improved football lawn!! 🤣

✨ World Menopause Day ✨Today’s a reminder to pause, reflect, and reconnect — with your body, your wellbeing, and with ea...
17/10/2025

✨ World Menopause Day ✨

Today’s a reminder to pause, reflect, and reconnect — with your body, your wellbeing, and with each other.

Perimenopause and Menopause isn’t just something to get through — it’s a time to tune in. To notice what your body needs. To move, eat, rest, and live in ways that support your changing hormones and energy.

💬 Talk about it.
💗 Share your story.
🌿 Reflect on what’s working (and what’s not).
👭 Support the women around you — we’re all walking this path in our own way.

Let’s make menopause a time not to endure, but to evolve, grow, and thrive. 🌸

Address

1221 Haupapa Street
Rotorua
3010

Opening Hours

8:30am - 1:30pm

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