Spinning steps

[chemieglennie]

Just rode exercise bike for 90 minutes and noticed my step count had gone up by about 5000. This can't be correct can it?

Can they be deleted? 

What's the point in choosing "spinning" as exercise mode and then still getting steps? 

[SilviaFitbit]

Hey there @chemieglennie! I totally understand your point. Currently, the exercise bike option will still track how many steps you did during that time. 

You can delete this steps by logging driving as an activity, but this will also delete calories burned and other data. 

Additionally, you can learn more about activities and how you can track them by checking How do I track my exercise and activities with Fitbit?. 

Hope this helps! 

[chemieglennie]

Thanks for your reply. I don't want to log it as driving and lose that data. That's one of the reasons I upgraded to the fitbit Blaze.

How are the steps calculated for stationary bike riding? Is it from small arm movements or are they added based on the cycling heart rate and time data?

Surely it's a very simple update/option to not count steps when I've specifically chosen cycling as the activity I'm doing? Just like you can for driving. 

[SilviaFitbit]

Thanks for getting back @chemieglennie! Fitbit trackers use a 3-axis accelerometer to understand your motions. An accelerometer is a device that turns movement (acceleration) into digital measurements (data) when attached to the body. By analyzing acceleration data, our trackers provide detailed information about frequency, duration, intensity, and patterns of movement to determine your steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, and sleep quality. The 3-axis implementation allows the accelerometer to measure your motion in any way that you move, making its activity measurements more precise than older, single-axis pedometers. You can learn more about it by checking How does my tracker count steps?. 

Also, you may want to check this article How accurate are Fitbit trackers?. 

Currently, cycling will still track steps while it's in this activity mode. You may want to post your idea in our Feature Suggestion board, because those are viewed by our engineers and developers. 

Hope this helps! 

[chemieglennie]

Thanks again for the reply. Experimented with my arm in different positions while in spinning mode and only got about 1000 steps in an hours cycling. I get a lot less when my hands are not holding the handlebars. Must be the slight rocking motion it picks up as steps. 

Still amazes me that selecting cycling or spinning doesn't stop the step counting when you're obviously not doing both at the same time. I've added a comment to the other suggestions board like you said. There are lots of other people already complaining about the same bug. Hopefully a fix will be sent soon. 

[Micelle_h]

This exact question has been raised for over 2 years in the community. There is already a suggestion board to deal with it that has over 111 likes.  Suggesting that this is a new point raised to FitBit's attention is disingenuous. 

[Rich_Laue]

Only 111 votes over two years, some suggestions are up to thousands in the same two years. The biggest drawback i see is that we also have a group that wants steps to be earned dirring cycling and spinning. 

How does Fitbit please the one group without getting the other group mad?

Currently the steps come from vibrations and fitbitbignorwd them when calculating the calories.

[Micelle_h]

There is a very simple programming solution to this - insert a toggle button for cycling exercise that asks " count steps" - yes / no.  People can set a preference if they want the steps counted or if they don't.  Keep the default as counting so that nothing changes for those who don't care and there is an easy one button, one time fix for those who do.  Both groups = happy.

[Rich_Laue]

Your feet are not walking, your tracker is on the arm and is monitoring arm movements.  What conversion factor do we use?

Of course it would be unfair in challenges to count the rotation of the legs.

[TXBrianW]

Brand new to this issue but have a similar concern...bought an indoor trainer for my road bike and have a training program that kicks my arse.  90 minutes, 160+ HR and 1,220 calories burned and a whopping 2,500 steps. Why can’t Fitbit use an algorithm to reverse engineer an equivalent step count from the calories it says I burned?  This week may be the hardest I’ve ever worked out yet I’ll be at the bottom of my Fitbit leader board. That’s not motivating.

[RFMc]

Stumbled on this looking for ways to get my Fitbit to convert cycling to steps. As someone with a disability, I’m rehabilitating from using a wheelchair a year ago and so every little activity I do counts. I have an average step count I can now hit and need to be careful to increase this very slowly but obviously throwing in cycling reduces the steps I’m able to hit, that’s why it would be good to have a conversion to help me better calculate what I’m able for in a day. Anyhow I agree that there should be something out there that offers people the option to toggle on or off calculating cycling as steps, that way everyone, regardless of individual fitness goals, is happy.

[MarkMM]

But cycling or spinning is not stepping? Steps are not done sitting down. I am a huge cyclist. I ride year around in the Midwest. Ride about daily outdoors and some indoors too. In my opinion, steps while cycling in a challenge is a huge cheating factor. How is it fair one can be walking around all day trying  to get steps in a challenge, while someone else is getting easy steps on a bike? I get a lot of the "fake" steps myself. 

First thing I learned when I got a Blaze 5 years ago was that steps weren't going to be accurate, as I was getting them cycling. 

How about this. I can ride indoors barely pedaling while playing solitaire on a computer. Actually getting no meaningful exercise at all. But it'd be fair if I was getting steps in a challenge?

[Rich_Laue]

Another goal may be chosen. Maybe calories? 

[RFMc]

I think steps in a challenge is a different debate. This is more about Fitbit offering the feature for people who want it. If you don't want to use it that's okay.  I think mostly it's that for many people it would be helpful to have the option to convert time and effort spent cycling into steps. And if you were to ride indoors barely pedaling then your heart rate would remain quite low so you would hope that whatever system Fitbit develops would take that into account.

The majority of people who own Fitbits do so for their own personal goals rather than for sharing publicly. I know many people who use it as a great rehabilitation tool too and hence why it would be nice that the system would give a figure of perhaps your baseline steps (what you can enter for challenges) and cycling converted to steps for those who wish to use this feature.

There are numerous watches and tools out there for people big into sports. I used to be a long distance runner myself in what seems like a lifetime ago but as someone now with a disability there's literally nothing on the market for us and the option to opt-in for cycling steps would be a great help. Even Fitbit won't track exercises under 10 minutes and when you're rehabilitating or living with illness or disability (or elderly - it comes to us all) you may have to break your daily walk into several 5-minute chunks some days. It's one small additional feature that might piss someone off in a step challenges but for many others it's a  tool to help them build their bodies back up 

[TXBrianW]

I agree, if you're in a step challenge and "cheating" that's not my point...I work in one of the largest office buildings in the country...it's larger than the Pentagon.  I can get 10k steps a day just walking from meeting to meeting, never breaking a sweat.  But killing myself at 160+ HR for 90 minutes and only getting "credit" for 2,500 steps...I guess the point is the fitbit, for those of us who do things besides walking and running, equates steps with daily activity.  Hey, I just swam the English Channel, but ooh, you're a slacker today because you only got 4,000 steps in.  I don't understand why Fitbit can't have an algorithm that says X exercise at Y heart rate for Z duration is approximately the same as ABC steps.  I'm only competing with myself, but it's not super motivating when my Fitbit cheers me on with fireworks for bumming around the office all day but cycling up the hardest route in Zwift on an Alp that mirrors one of the hardest climbs in the Tour de France the next day gets me a "ho, hum" and 8,000 steps from my Fitbit.

[MarkMM]

It's a different activity. My main goals are calories and activity. If you did the hardest climbs on the Tour de France, your calories and activity, especially zone minutes, would reflect that. I do it all the time. Minimum 24000 calories a week and 2000 active zone minutes goal. So what if steps are behind? That doesn't make me feel like a sloth. But it's pretty easy to get minimum 10000 steps anyway. I don't feel "shorted" if lifting weights and biking don't give me step credit. 

[MarkMM]

@RFMc what do you mean even fitbit won't count an under 10 minute workout? Start a workout manually and you should have no problem. 

[MarkMM]

Good luck with your needs. I don't agree with it, but I'm just another community member like yous. Most I've seen on here complaining about biking steps were concerned about challenge steps. Even to the point where they tried trackers on their ankles for more steps while cycling. Many think they are just owed step credit on a bicycle.

[RFMc]

Yeah I only recently upgraded to the Versa and figured this out. But when your daily activity is broken up into many multiples of under 10 minutes it's hard to remember all the time and frustrating that you get these reports from Fitbit telling you that you didn't exercise all week 🙈 I guess because of residual fitness I'm rarely able to do an activity that gives me the wonderful puffed out feeling of a fast run or a HIIT session and the watch keeps reminding me I'm unable to even enter a Fat burning zone. Unless of course I'm having a tough day and then apparently I burn more calories doing half the activities, which I can't work out. 

What you're saying about people going to extreme lengths to clock up steps on challenges is absolutely crazy and I don't agree with it at all. They're only lying to themselves though and unless some sort of prize is at stake for the most steps leave them to it as people like that will always find a way to cheat.

If Fitbit do find a way to change cycling to steps I would rather it's displayed as a separate element and not added to total step count if that makes sense. It might take me another year but eventually I'll hit those 10k steps and I want them to be nothing but steps 💪🏻