What Our Participants Say

Barmer Walking Challenge – My personal unilab highlight

What started as a relaxed participation under the motto “It’s the taking part that counts” quickly turned into a real competition – against other teams, but above all against myself.

My original goal: around 22,000 steps per day. But with each week, my ambition grew – especially during the unilab retreat on Usedom, where a strong team spirit developed. We motivated each other, discovered hiking trails, went geocaching – and suddenly the goal was clear: We want to win!

The daily step count increased, the 50K step mark was broken, and in the final week I pushed myself to the limit – and beyond. On the last day, I covered 89 km, broke the 1,000,000 step mark, and secured first place.

Along the way, mild high blood pressure and exhaustion disappeared – what remains is a new body awareness, genuine gratitude, and a lot of motivation. Thanks to Barmer, unilab, and my family – what an experience!

Getting Fit Together in the New Year

For three years in a row, our company has kicked off the year with the Steps Challenge – always under the motto: “Getting fit together in the New Year.”

The Steps Challenge motivates us to move more: personally, I’ve significantly increased my daily step count and have often chosen a walk over the couch. It even inspired me to start jogging again. The friendly competition within the company, both among colleagues and between our various locations, adds an extra spark and makes the challenge genuinely fun. Many of my colleagues opted to walk to appointments instead of taking the train or car, commuted to work on foot, or found the motivation to hit the gym before starting their day.

Thanks for the fantastic support from Fitnesswunder!

Going Beyond My Own Limits

Last year, my employer offered the challenge for the first time, but I couldn't participate because my phone and smartwatch were outdated. That's why I was really excited about this year's challenge, as I naturally stay very active, even though nobody would expect that from me with a BMI of 33.

My personal goal was to finish in the top third of all participants. I started in 13th place and already thought, wow, it's worth keeping on walking.
In the back of my mind, I always had the usual saying from my (former) family doctor: "You need to lose weight!", even though he had prescribed me the wrong medication for 5 years, which kept making me sicker. Meanwhile, I exercise a lot, climb the Zugspitze every year, go swimming, mountaineering, and cycle to work every day, summer and winter.
Then, all of a sudden, I won a daily challenge, which I found incredible, and that motivated me even more. From that point on, I left my bike at home and walked to work, went for walks in the evening well beyond sunset, enjoyed the beauty of nature, and soon I was in second place.

Our challenge still has 3 days to go, but I already feel like a winner inside because I have gone far beyond my own limits, already won 4 daily challenges, and am still in second place. I would never have dreamed of this at the beginning of the challenge, but yes, even with a BMI of 33 and being over 50, you can be in top shape. I didn't have a single case of sore muscles, and as a reward, I'm buying myself a new pair of running shoes. Thank you for this challenge.

Why 91,783 Steps Are More Than Just a Number

I have been a long-distance hiker for several years and once again took part in the wonderful Fichtelberg March this year.
After 63 km and 1,700 meters of elevation gain, an incredible 91,783 steps appeared on the display in the BARMER step challenge by Dasfitnesswunder.

What an amazing number! It not only made me happy, but also gave me a huge boost of motivation to increase my daily step count in everyday life as well...

Unplugged and Weight Reduced

Here’s how I personally experienced the challenge:

• At the start of the challenge, I weighed 103 kg. By the end, I was down to 94 kg—a total loss of 9 kg! I felt a little better every day and even started noticing those endorphins kicking in again.
• At the beginning of the challenge, I visited my doctor because of knee issues on my left side (meniscus tear, cartilage damage, and arthritis). These were diagnosed, and I scheduled surgery for October 2023. Interestingly, the pain in my knee improved the more I walked. Of course, a meniscus won’t heal itself, but I’m curious to see how the cartilage and arthritis fare (I’ll let you know after the surgery in October).
• The challenge was incredibly fun! Walking became my time to unplug and recharge for the day. The weight loss was just an added bonus.

Overall, it was a fantastic idea on your part!

Goal Achieved

First of all, I want to thank you for this amazing platform. Our team had a blast, and we enjoyed some exciting battles along the way.

The challenge really helped us motivate our less active colleagues to incorporate more movement into their daily routines. The feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive, ranging from “I’m sleeping so much better now” to “I’ve lost a significant amount of weight and can now wear clothes 1-2 sizes smaller.”

With that in mind, we’ve truly achieved our goal. What’s more, these changes in behavior seem to be much more sustainable for many of us.

Together Around the World – for a Good Cause!

We set ourselves an ambitious goal: together, we aimed to collect enough steps to “walk” to all HDI locations across Germany and all global headquarters of the HDI Group. And to make it even more meaningful, we tied this challenge to a fundraising campaign for the ASB-Wünschewagen Niedersachsen. This required over 100 million steps! In the end, we didn’t just meet our goal — we surpassed it with nearly 150 million steps.

The HDI Group donated the funds needed for seven wish-fulfilling journeys with the ASB-Wünschewagen Niedersachsen, making it possible to grant the last heartfelt wishes of terminally ill individuals.

It was an incredible initiative that motivated many colleagues to get moving together. Not only was it a lot of fun, but we also drastically increased our average daily step count during the challenge. Office paleness was traded for vitamin D, and the extra movement felt amazing!

Motivation for Employee Health and Sustainability

With the Steps Challenge, we promoted employee health and engaged in preserving and protecting the forest in our region, Sarstedt. Fit into Fall: Together with BARMER, we launched the Steps Challenge in October 2023 to bring more movement into our professional lives.

For every completed round, representing the total distance of all our locations, a tree was to be planted. The tree planting ceremony took place in the presence of BARMER representatives from Hildesheim, the press, and the city of Sarstedt.

On a typical office day, we walk an average of 1,500 steps, which accounts for about a third of the required steps. To improve physical fitness and prevent the effects of a sedentary lifestyle, we partnered with BARMER to launch the “Step Masters” challenge.

Alongside the health aspect, sustainability was also a key focus: for every round completed, covering a total of 832 km, a tree was to be planted in Sarstedt to help protect local forests. After the four-week challenge, nearly 20 million steps and around 12,489 kilometers were achieved, which corresponds to 16 rounds. We rounded up the result to twenty trees in partnership with BARMER.

Climate change has caused a massive tree die-off in Germany, so we are incredibly happy that, with the tree planting initiative, we could actively contribute to our environment, especially in the Sarstedt region.

The Steps Challenge proved to be an excellent “tool” to motivate employees to move more, create a competitive spirit among colleagues, and, in the process, do something positive for the environment.

A big thank you to the Fitnesswunder team for the fantastic support!

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Thank You for This Amazing Initiative!

Hello ..,

I just wanted to personally thank you for this fantastic initiative!!! Especially at this time of year, when everyone retreats to their “caves” and lounges on their cozy sofas with hot tea and chocolate, you’ve inspired me to overcome my inner couch potato 😊 Despite drizzle, wind, and even storms, my husband (same company) and I were out hiking, walking, and running through our beautiful, colorful Harz region! We had an absolute blast—keep up the great work!

I wish you and your team a colorful fall and lots of health!

Best regards from family x from y!

Ten Times Around the World with Over 1,000 Colleagues

I’m thrilled that again this year, more than 1,000 colleagues participated in the BARMER Steps Challenge. Together, we almost managed to walk around the world ten times.

An average of 8,210 steps per day per participant is truly impressive, and most importantly: we received a lot of positive feedback. Some colleagues have rediscovered their love for movement (or found it for the first time).

Personal Camino de Santiago

I know, 50,000 steps a day is crazy—it takes a lot of motivation, time, and energy from me every single day. This is a challenge I’m facing with myself. It’s not about public recognition or prizes.

I love this challenge because it pushes me to my limits—it’s my very own Camino de Santiago.

A big thank you to all of you who make this possible!