Wellness Points System: How to Assign Points in YuMuuv (With Suggested Values)
Points-based challenges let you combine very different activities – running, yoga, sleep, journaling, time outdoors – into one fair competition. But how many points should each activity be worth? Should 1 km of running earn 1 point or 20? Should 15 minutes of yoga count the same as 15 minutes of hard cycling? This guide shares best practices for setting up a wellness points system in YuMuuv, with suggested values for popular activities.
New to points challenges? Start with everything you need to know about YuMuuv's point system and our 4 point system templates.
Table of Contents
There Is No One-Size-Fits-All Formula
The right point values depend on the goal of your challenge, who is taking part and how you want to balance different activities. The practices below will help you find a fair setup.
Best Practices for Assigning Points
1. 1. Align points with your goal
- Focus on physical activity? Give more points for intense activities like running or swimming.
- Focus on holistic wellbeing? Balance points across physical, mental and lifestyle activities.
2. 2. Prefer time over distance
Distance-based points favour runners and cyclists. Time-based points (minutes of activity) are more inclusive because everyone can choose an activity and pace that suits them. When your participants have very different fitness levels, time is usually the fairer choice.
3. 3. Mix movement, mind and habits
Combining physical activities with habits like journaling, reading or time outdoors makes the challenge inclusive and prevents burnout. People who can't or don't want to exercise hard can still contribute.
4. 4. Use caps to keep it fair
Set maximums for activities that could dominate the leaderboard – for example 120 points for strength exercises or 40 points for calories. YuMuuv also lets you set a daily limit per user; see creating a challenge.
5. 5. Add custom activities when needed
If an activity isn't in the list – volunteering, for example – you can create a custom activity. Custom activities are logged manually.
Suggested Point Values
Use these values as a starting point and adjust them to your goals:
| Activity | Suggested points |
|---|---|
| Physical activities (synced automatically) | |
| Steps | 200 steps = 1 point |
| Distance (any) | 1 km = 2 points |
| Exercise minutes | 1 min = 1 point |
| Cycling | 1 min = 1 point |
| Calories | 100 kcal = 1 point (max 40 points) |
| Running | 1 min = 2 points |
| Walking | 1 min = 1 point |
| Swimming | 1 min = 3 points |
| Yoga | 1 min = 1 point |
| Intensive minutes | 1 min = 2 points |
| Wellness and habit activities (marked as done) | |
| Alcohol-free day | 1 day = 20 points |
| Book reading | 15 min = 20 points |
| Car-free day | 1 day = 20 points |
| Creative arts | 15 min = 20 points |
| Daily flossing | 3 min = 20 points |
| Daily journaling | 10 min = 20 points |
| Deep breathing | 15 min = 20 points |
| Encouraging someone | 1 person = 20 points |
| Finance tracking | 1 day = 20 points |
| Gratitude journaling | 1 day = 20 points |
| Healthy cooking | 1 meal = 20 points |
| Hobby development | 15 min = 20 points |
| Language learning | 15 min = 20 points |
| Mindfulness | 10 min = 20 points |
| Natural light exposure | 15 min = 20 points |
| Outdoor time | 30 min = 20 points |
| Phone-free time | 60 min = 20 points |
| Planking | 5 min = 20 points |
| Pull-ups | 4 reps = 1 point (max 120 points) |
| Push-ups | 2 reps = 1 point (max 120 points) |
| Screen-free meals | 1 meal = 20 points |
| Sleep | 7 hours = 20 points |
| Smoke-free day | 1 day = 20 points |
| Socializing with friends | 30 min = 20 points |
| Squats | 6 reps = 1 point (max 120 points) |
| Water | 8 glasses = 20 points |
Tips for Combining Physical and Non-Physical Activities
- Give daily or weekly bonuses for habits such as journaling, gratitude or creative time.
- Reward commitment-based habits that aren't strenuous – alcohol-free days, healthy cooking, phone-free time – with meaningful points.
- Keep the list short enough to understand: 8–15 activities is usually plenty.
Review and Adjust
There's no perfect formula – the key is fairness and flexibility. Check participation and the leaderboard after the first week and adjust if one activity dominates. For a ready-made format, see the total wellness points challenge.
Need help designing your points system? Book a YuMuuv demo.
