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Monday 6:30pm - 8pm Tuesday 10:15am - 1:30pm 6:30pm - 8pm Wednesday 10:45am - 1:30pm Thursday 10:15am - 1:30pm

Melissa Smith Total Wellbeing

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Oamaru
Melissa Smith Total Wellbeing

Registered Nutritionist and Registered Personal Trainer. Health, nutrition, sport, exercise, energy.

14/10/2026

Following on from my post about building strength in young athletes, I’ve been thinking about how it all fits together when their weeks are already so full.

There are some fantastic opportunities for kids in sport. As someone working with young athletes, and a parent navigating it too, I think there’s a conversation worth having about how we balance those opportunities with preparation, recovery and enjoyment.

These are a few of my thoughts. I’d love to hear how other families, coaches and clubs are finding that balance. What’s working well, and what could we do better together?

13/10/2026

🇹🇴 What an awesome group to work with at the first night of the Waitaki Tongan Community Trust Mother & Daughter Programme! 💪

We kicked things off tonight with plenty of laughs, lots of encouragement and a bit of healthy competition when the sled relays came out! Safe to say things got pretty competitive, although there was some questionable sled steering going on! 🤣

Thanks to funding from Tū Manawa Active Aotearoa, we’re excited to deliver this programme for mothers, daughters and women of all ages, helping them build strength, support their health and wellbeing, and enjoy being active together. Well done to Moana Ahotaeiloa for driving the programme and helping bring this opportunity to life!

A special mention to Ellen, who supported us tonight, and Ash, who will also be taking some sessions. We’re grateful to have them involved in making this programme such a positive experience.

Sessions will include movement skills, mobility, strength, balance, power and fitness, with activities adapted to suit individual abilities. The programme also includes nutrition and wellbeing workshops, home-based exercise options and support to build healthy habits beyond the programme.

The first half of the programme will be held at the Rowing Club, before moving to Athlete Foundry for the second half—giving everyone the opportunity to experience both environments. It’s also a great chance to bring together elements from our different programmes, from younger athletes through to Strength for Life.

Most importantly, it’s about bringing people together, building confidence, encouraging one another and making exercise enjoyable.

Such a fun vibe tonight—we’re looking forward to seeing everyone progress!

Mālō to everyone who came along! 🇹🇴

05/10/2026

I’ve been sharing a lot about our Strength for Life programme, but I'd also like to focus on the importance of building those foundations much earlier.

This post focuses on our girls, but the message absolutely applies to boys too. With trainings, games, tournaments and extra skills sessions filling young athletes’ weeks, are we making enough room for the strength and physical preparation that helps them handle those demands?

Extra skills sessions have their place, but strength training shouldn’t automatically be the first thing dropped when schedules get busy. The slides explain why I feel so strongly about this, including the opportunity to help reduce injury risk.

It’s a big part of why we offer Foundry Foundations, Senior Sport Academy and S&C sessions at Athlete Foundry—helping young people develop their physical capabilities, feel confident in the gym and be proud of what their bodies can do.

And I do think sports could work together more strategically around seasons, trials and rep commitments to avoid so much overlap… but that’s a post for another day 😅

We’re thinking beyond the next game or season. We want strength to become a normal, valued part of looking after their bodies for years to come. 💪

Swipe through for my thoughts, and feel free to message us if you’d like to know more about our sessions.

07/09/2026

When I ruptured my Achilles playing netball last year, I really thought that was it for netball.

Ironically, I wasn't even planning on playing competitive netball that season, which made the whole thing even more annoying! There's a big difference between choosing not to play and thinking you might never be able to play again.

Returning to netball was never the end goal of my rehab. I genuinely thought I wouldn't play again. I just wanted to get my body as strong and capable as I could. But rehab went really well. Things that seemed massive at the start slowly became normal. I went from being nervous walking downstairs and wondering if I'd ever run or jump again, to doing all of it without a thought, and some!

I kept ticking things off until eventually I thought, well what now? The only thing left that I hadn't done was actually play.

I'd shared so much of my rehab publicly and I'll admit I worried that people would think going back was reckless. But I knew how much work I'd done. My physio had cleared me with no restrictions and, to be safe, I went and saw another physio for their thoughts!

I kept the fact I was playing again pretty quiet. I didn't want to make a big deal of it or put pressure on myself. I trained with both Green and Magic, started with small amounts of court time and built up each week.

I love team sport and I'd really missed being part of a team, on and off the court. I knew I'd rather try than look back and wonder if I could have played again but was too scared to. So I did. And I'm so bloody glad I did! After genuinely thinking I'd never play again, ending up playing finals with both teams felt amazing!

But this was about more than netball. I've got three very active boys, and I want to keep running around and joining in with them for many years yet, and not be afraid to do it. As well as obviously keep showing them who's boss 😂

I'm definitely not saying everyone should return to their sport after a serious injury. Everyone's injury and circumstances are different. For me, this feels like the final piece of my rehab puzzle. Trusting my body again and getting on with life without always thinking about my Achilles.

28/08/2026

So great to see this project come together! ❤️

We now have an AED installed outside the Oamaru Rowing Club, making it accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week — not only for our gym and rowing club members, but for the wider community.

With the playground, harbour and so many people walking, running, cycling and enjoying this area, we felt it was a really important location to have an AED readily available if it is ever needed.

A huge thank you to the Oamaru Rowing Club, Rotary Club of Oamaru and Waiareka Valley Lions Club for coming on board with us to make it happen.

And a special thank you to Anna Spittle, who did a huge amount of work behind the scenes sourcing community funding and helping drive the project forward.

A pretty cool example of what can be achieved when local people and organisations work together.

Hopefully it’s something that never needs to be used, but if it does, it’s there.

And lovely to see the project featured in the Oamaru Mail this week! 🙌

17/08/2026

There are a lot of things we can focus on when it comes to our health, training and nutrition, but sometimes a few simple reminders are all we need.

Eat enough. Fuel your training. Build strength. Prioritise recovery. Move your body. And aim for consistency rather than getting caught up in the small stuff.

The goal is to support your body so you can feel good, perform well and keep doing the things you love, whatever that looks like for you.

📷: Sari Renee Photography

30/07/2026

Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the busy days and forget to stop for a moment.

Feeling pretty lucky that this is what I get to call work.

To be able to help others with their health and fitness journey, while also having a space where I love to train myself, is something I definitely don't take for granted.

Thank you to everyone who's trusted me to be part of your story. 🫶

📷: Sari Renee Photography

12/07/2026

Well, that didn't take long!

After last night's post, our last few spaces in our Term 3 Strength for Life classes are now FULL. Thank you to everyone who got in touch. We can't wait to welcome our new members!

Now... while we can't promise you'll end up looking quite like these two gym bunnies (who created this AI masterpiece themselves... and definitely tried to convince me it was real 😆), we can promise you'll get stronger, move better, improve your balance, and have a lot of laughs along the way.

If you missed out this time, send us a message and we'll add you to the waitlist for Term 4.

(Shared with permission from these two legends, who insisted I post it!)

11/07/2026

Our Strength for Life classes are always popular, with many of our members returning each term to continue progressing through the programme. After offering places to our current members and those on our waitlist, we've opened an additional Thursday 10.30am class, with just a couple of spaces still available.

We also have 1–2 spaces remaining across a couple of our other classes.

Strength for Life is designed for adults who want to improve their strength, balance, mobility and confidence in a supportive, welcoming environment. Whether you're looking to stay active, keep up with the grandkids, or simply feel stronger in everyday life, we'd love to help.

If you've been thinking about joining, now is a great time to get started!

Check out the poster for class times and details, then send us a message to check availability. We'll help you choose the class that best suits you and, once we've confirmed your place, we'll send you the quick online registration link.

Classes begin the week of 20th July.

01/07/2026

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Oamaru for inviting me to be the guest speaker at your Changeover Dinner this evening.

It was a privilege to share the journey of Melissa Smith Total Wellbeing, how the business has evolved over the years, and how one opportunity has naturally led to the next, from starting out at Movement Hub, to the Rowing Club, and now Athlete Foundry.

It was also nice to reflect on how the different programmes we now offer, including the Senior Sport Academy, Youth Athlete Development Programme, Strength for Life and Athlete Foundry, have all grown from recognising a need within the people and communities I was working with and simply asking, "How can we help?"

Thank you to Immediate Past President Miles Koberstein for the kind introduction, and congratulations to incoming President Ele Ludemann. I wish you and the Rotary Club of Oamaru all the very best for the year ahead as you continue the incredible work you've been doing in our community for more than 100 years.

I also had the opportunity to apologise for Athlete Foundry taking over Bookarama's 'perfect' venue! 😅 I think it's fair to say it looks a little different these days than it did on Bookarama weekend!

Thank you again for such a warm welcome and an enjoyable evening!

Address

Oamaru Rowing Club
Oamaru
9400

Opening Hours

Monday	6:30pm - 8pm
Tuesday	10:15am - 1:30pm
	6:30pm - 8pm
Wednesday	10:45am - 1:30pm
Thursday	10:15am - 1:30pm

Website

http://www.melissasmithtotalwellbeing.co.nz/

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