Will using MobileRun while cycling skew my Cardio Fitness Level

[phatbitzr]

My android phone doesn't have the capability to do connected GPS with my Bla2e, so when I ride the bike, I turn on MobileRun (in addition to recording the activity from the Bla2e).  This allows the MobileRun session to be automatically exported to Strava as a run, where I would just re-classify it as a ride and see ride related stats instead of mile splits (If Strava allows us to reclassify a run into a ride, why can't fitbit allow that?)

The question I have is will the MobileRun run session be used to calculate my Cardio Fitness Level, since from the description of it, its says:

• Charge 2 and Blaze customers should use multisport mode with connected GPS; Ionic customers should use the Exercise app

The term "should" is used, instead of "have to", so I don't know if it is a requirement.  Not sure what would be the difference behind the scenes between connected GPS and MobileRun's GPS.

[AlejandraFitbit]

It's great to see you around @phatbitzr.

Thanks for the information provided. Regarding your inquiry, there are several ways to log your exercises. You can use SmartTrack, you can select the activity directly from the tracker, you can manually log the activity and as you have been doing, you can use MobileRun.

My recommendation here is trying with SmartTrack, since this feature will register you activity automatically.

I hope this helps, let me know the outcome. 

[phatbitzr]

I don't have GPS when using SmartTrack, thus it just logs HR, so even though I use it, I know that data will not be used for Cardio Fitness Level.

I just dug around and saw that it is not possible to use MobileRun to get a specific Cardio Fitness Level, due to Fitbit's product feature restriction on trackers w/o connected GPS (and somehow Blaze, even with that capability, cannot perform Cardio Fitness Level without it).

[Julia_G · Accepted solution]

Hi, @phatbitzr, to answer your question, as you have discovered, MobileRun will not calculate a specific cardio fitness score for you.

Even though the words are "should use" the fact is you "must use" GPS along with a run of at least 10 minutes on flat ground to get a specific cardio fitness score and to update it.

I think the basic difference is that the MobileRun program was created well before Fitbit added the cardio fitness score (and also before they developed "connected GPS" so it does not have the ability to calculate the information you want -- I don't suppose there is any qualitative difference in the information gathered -- it is just that the carry over of the information is not there).  

I hope this makes sense, and answers your original question.

[phatbitzr]

Its unfortunate that they don't update their legacy code base to take advantage of any of the new features, either because they only want to work on the latest and greatest or want you to upgrade to the newest trackers, I don't know.  But this simple integration in their back end would allow pretty much all their trackers w/HR monitoring to have such feature.