How do I track the use of an exercise machine on the Android app?

[electromag11]

When I go to "Track your exercise" there are three options: Run, Walk, Hike. I contacted support, and they told me I had to use my Charge 4 to track exercise on a gym machine.

Why can't I track exercise on an exercise machine using the Android app? 

Moderator edit: Subject for clarity.

[JohnnyRow]

The phone app has only those 3 choices.  I expect they were the original ones before any Fitbit models had the capability to handle such input.  I think the phone exercise tracking part has been left the same for many years and all effort now is put into improving the Exercise App on the Fitbit device.

See How do I track my workouts with my Fitbit device? for more on tracking via the on-wrist Exercise App.

As for "why", you would probably have to locate some lead Fitbit designer 8 years ago to get an answer to that.  The on-device is able to offer several more workout types and more options within each type.

[electromag11]

Thanks for your swift reply!

It would be much easier to track use of an exercise machine in the app, vs. on the device. Another useful feature would be the ability to save the settings on the exercise machine, including seat setting and weight settings.

[RodrigoMFitbit]

@JohnnyRow Thanks for your help and input. @electromag11 Welcome to the forums. I will gladly help you log an exercise on the Fitbit app. Please note that there are two options to track an exercise. Live Tracking on the app is GPS exclusive. How do I use the Fitbit app to capture GPS data?. That is why there are no options for stationary workouts. Although I agree there could be more options.

You can log the rest of trainings with the second option. Just swipe left to use the "Log previous" option. How do I manually log exercises in the Fitbit app?. You will have to input all details of the workout, such as type, start- and end-time and calories. You have a search option to help you select the desired workout.

I do understand what you wish it could be done on the Fitbit app. Just let an overall training be started on the app, so that when you finish you can stop it. However, not much details are gathered when you do this. Just start and end time. That may be the reason the developers decided that it is best that the training is manually logged with all of its details. 

However, that sounds interesting. The best place to make your voice heard is the Feature Suggestions board, where you can submit your ideas and share it with other members. If a suggestion gets enough votes to get the attention of the developers, there is a better chance of having the suggestion implemented. The more votes the better the chance of getting the attention of the developers.

Have a nice day!