Stepping into 2022 with style…

Starting a new year can be difficult, Christmas is over, dark mornings and not-so-great weather. Even the most upbeat of us take a hit in early January. Add in a recommendation to work from home and you definitely need something to lift the spirits!

So it’s time for a shout-out – Some tremendous effort from our new Operations Manager, Emma Coulter for coming up with some initiatives to ensure that the Abacus team get up, get out and have some fun early in 2022.

1 The Steps Competition

With some really top-class weekly prizes up for grabs; from a FitBit Charge Watch to Cocktails and an overnight stay in Grand Central Hotel, the competition is fierce. The judges decision AKA “The Wonder Wheel” is final!

Hard evidence of steps is required courtesy of the WhatsApp group:

2 Walk & Talk Sessions – Weekly

For those of our team who are not Covid + and therefore able to get out of the house. A weekly catch-up via phone with a colleague that does not work in your team. Minimum 30 minutes and steps count towards the challenge above. It is just the motivator you need to get you off the computer, out of the house and breathing in that fresh air!

3 Work From Home Yoga – 26th Jan 2022

All the moves we will need to ensure posture, fitness and mindfulness are correctly set for the month ahead. All via Zoom and from the comfort of our homes.

Big thanks to Gary from www.fitnessbelfast.com for guiding us through a really enjoyable 50 min session, it was stimulating and a more than a wee bit challenging! We all felt so good afterward.

4 Healthy Eating Guide – 19th Jan 2022

An interactive video session with our resident Dietician on all things food and drink. We all learned how to make better food choices, what to cut out and how to maximise natural vitamin and mineral intake. Thanks to www.121dietician.com for such a vault of information.

We will all be having more Broccoli, Oily fish, Cashews & Walnuts, Avocado, Chia & Flax Seeds in our diets!

Great efforts from all around the team to try and make the ‘Top 5’ each week. The Abacus Prize wheel cannot be corrupted (even though some people have tried!)

The Lucky Prize Winners so far are…

Week 1

• Adam Myles – Tickets for Cineworld Movie Experience
• Andy Harrison – Nutri-bullet Smoothie Maker

Week 2

• Katie Ashenhurst – Lunch at Slims Healthy Kitchen
• Justin Rush – £100 Sportswear Voucher

Week 3

• Adam Myles – FitBit Charge 2 SmartWatch
• Ross McKee – 1 hour Sports Massage Session

Week 4

• Hannah Bishop -Theatre Show Tickets & Cocktails
• Catherine Foy – City Centre Spa Treatment Session

Overall winner to be confirmed on Wednesday, Feb 2nd 2022.

Who will win the Overnight Stay in Belfast’s Grand Central Hotel ???

And the winner is… JUDE HARKIN with 319k steps in the month!