Strollers and Carts getting steps

[jannjord]

I push a cart around all day for my job. This is very frustrating when I do not get the steps that I deserve. I usually put my fitbit in my pocket but I have been interested in getting a hr monitoring one. If the blaze were to have a cart/stroller setting so that I would get my steps and my hr, I would be very interested in that.

[MikeF]

How do you see that mode working? If your wrist isn't moving with your steps because of the cart handle then there's really not a lot that the tracker can be programmed to do to compensate.

The best I can imagine is a hyper-sensitive mode that may or may not work with a cart but would probably be awful without one. We'll see if Fitbit come up with anything but I really don't think there's much they can do.

[jannjord]

I would say possibly a distance tracker that converts to steps or something for my pocket or ankle to track movement.

[racertempo]

Your wrist can stay in place and still get steps if it feel the vibrations from pushing something.  I get steps all the time pushing my lawnmower and my kids little push car on long walks.  The problems only show up on smooth surfaces like a grocery store or shopping mall.  

I do not forsee a setting that will correct this, and I think the request is a good one, but a very small percentage of people will use it.........which does not mean it is not a good idea.  Implementation would be very difficult, as mentioned, since your wrist has no movement at all.

[jannjord]

I feel that many people that run/walk with strollers would benefit from and appreciate a feature that accomodates their activities.

[Nocturnx]

Whenever I mow the lawn SmartTrack kicks in and starts recording it as an exercise (Outdoor Bike).  It gave me about 4000 steps in the hour I was mowing, thats probably pretty close.

[big9erfan]

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@Nocturnx wrote:

Whenever I mow the lawn SmartTrack kicks in and starts recording it as an exercise (Outdoor Bike).  It gave me about 4000 steps in the hour I was mowing, thats probably pretty close.

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You're getting more steps from the vibration of the mower than you're actually stepping.

[racertempo]

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@big9erfan wrote:

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@Nocturnx wrote:

Whenever I mow the lawn SmartTrack kicks in and starts recording it as an exercise (Outdoor Bike).  It gave me about 4000 steps in the hour I was mowing, thats probably pretty close.

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You're getting more steps from the vibration of the mower than you're actually stepping.

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No, it is accurate for me as well when mowing, often as an Outdoor bike or something else.  It is accurate because I often check after 2 passes to make sure it is working/recording, and to verify it is accurate.  The vibration of the mower is telling the sensor to count the step, it is indicating that you are not "getting a ride", which is what is often thought when pushing a shopping cart in a Walmart or Target, or a stroller in a mall.  In those cases the wrist is fixed but there is no vibration and it thinks you are getting a ride on something.  Pushing my kids Step2 cart on the asphalt counts steps as well.

[Rich_Laue]

Your Fitbit is on the arm and will be counting the up and down motions of the wrist. My question is it the feet or the lawn mower that is making your hands move up and down? Hint: Your hands is on the handlebar of the lawn mower.

[meanllama]

You can connect more than one Fitbit to your account. Use the Fitbit with the HR monitor and when pushing carts you can wear the ZIP or ONE. Or you can just use your phone as a pedometer (MobileTrack). https://blog.fitbit.com/sync-multiple-trackers-to-your-fitbit-account-with-multi-tracker-support/

[jannjord]

That would be a great idea if I already had a non-wrist fitbit. I do not want to have to buy two fitbits to get the data that I want. Although, it is extrememly useful that they have made that capability. I did not know that existed. Thank you.

[g-moo]

Thank you, meanllama, for this.   Have a Zip to use when I want to wear my dressy watch instead of the Blaze, but how smart to think to use it when going to a store where a cart will be pushed.  I can't believe I didn't think of that -- but that's why I read all the questions and answers, to take advantage of everyone else's great ideas. 

Thank you (and thanks to Fitbit for enabling the use of more than one tracker and adding steps together for the day -- definitely not available everywhere with every brand).

[racertempo]

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@Rich_Laue wrote:
Your Fitbit is on the arm and will be counting the up and down motions of the wrist. My question is it the feet or the lawn mower that is making your hands move up and down? Hint: Your hands is on the handlebar of the lawn mower.

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huh?  your hands are in the same position as a stroller or shopping cart that does not register when on a smooth floor, so how would the feet play in since they are identical in all cases?  Maybe that is your point, but I get steps for pushing a stroller on our greenway, but 0 steps for pushing a stroller in a mall.  The only difference is the smooth surface.

[AngelaMa]

Hello everyone! 🙂 @jannjord, @racertempo, @meanllama, @Rich_Laue and @meanllama! It's great to have you here. 🙂 Fitbit wrist-based trackers have been tested extensively against our clip-based devices like the Fitbit One and Fitbit Zip. That said, because wrist-based trackers are specifically designed for your wrist, if you move your body a lot and not your arms (or vice versa), you may get a slight difference in activity than you would see on your clip-based trackers. Additionally, since you’re more likely to wear your wrist-based tracker 24/7, you may count a few more steps. Also your tracker counts your steps when you are pushing a stroller or a shopping cart, but because your hands are not moving your step count may be lower than usual during this activity. Also as @racertempo mentioned if you are on a smooth surface your tracker might miss some steps. You can read more about the accuracy of your tracker here. 

Thanks for stopping by! 😉 

[Rich_Laue]

@AngelaMa you bring up the reason that I don't worry about missing or extra steps with the arm based unit.

I have the Fitbit One on a second account and the Arm based units on my main account. Both data being sent to google sheets. While I find some days they differ with one account being higher or lower than the other, over the week and month they are close. One month the total step counts where a whopping 83 steps different.

I also have noticed that the two accounts frequently change position on the leaderboard, some days with every sync.

There also have been times where my One will miss steps, like when walking on a plush carpet, are a heavily mossy field.

I understand the tracker is only able to monitor the movement of the part of the body that it is mounted on. I realize excess arm movements may give extra steps, I've noticed that if I tap my foot, the Fitbit One will also give extra steps.

The main reason arm based trackers have become so popular is because of their convenience.