Rowing on Charge 5

[allanFB]

2022. Rowing machines are still hard to find because people buy them for home: 24/7. Need Fitbit app to track rowing workouts. Fitbit users have been requesting this since 2017 - probably earlier than that.

[DavideFitbit · Accepted solution]

Hi, welcome to the Community forums, @allanFB.   

Thank you for sharing this inquiry about the Charge 5. 

As you mentioned earlier, unfortunately this workout hasn't been added yet to the list exercises that can be tracked with the exercise app or tracked automatically. I recommend that you vote for this idea (Rowing/Stationary Rowing Machine Exercise Shortcut) posted in the Feature Suggestion board of the Community, since this section is regularly monitored by the team of developers and it helps them to continue to track popularity and demand over time. 

In the meantime, some users use the standard "Workout" or "Outdoor Workout" activity to record their data. Thanks again for sharing your feedback about this; the team of developers continues to work to improve the quality of products and services. 

Have a great day. 

[azwxguy]

As with the Charge 3, my Charge 5 allows me to track my rowing in a Workout and then I edit the exercise later and change it to Rowing Machine. It would be nice if Charge 5 would recognize the unique motion and start a rowing exercise automatically. They have my vote.

[DavideFitbit]

@azwxguy Thank you for sharing your experience with this! As you mentioned earlier, in the meantime you can certainly track rowing in a Workout and then edit the exercise later as Rowing Machine. 

Have a great day. 

[CarolineY]

You already have heard from over 2k people that they want this option. Please explain the delay. I had the option on my charge 3. Thinking about returning my charge 5

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That sounds like Fitbit is being lazy. You ask us to step our game. Time is way past due for you to do the same!

[DavideFitbit]

Welcome to the Community forums, @CarolineY. 

Thank you for sharing your feedback and comments about this feature on the Charge 5. 

Unfortunately not all ideas can be implemented and soon as we'd like to, even if they have a lot of votes from other Community members. The team of developers is constantly reviewing these features, but there it's not possible to provide a specific time frame to see them implemented. 

Thanks again for all the feedback you've provided. 

See you around. 

[joirwin]

Your competitors, such as Samsung, have rowing as an option and even sense it automatically. Why not address this issue, being as your community want it?

[DavideFitbit]

@joirwin Thank you for sharing your feedback about this. 

Unfortunately it's not possible to provide any specific time frame to see a feature implemented on the device, but voting for these features is always helpful for the team and this section is constantly monitored by the team of developers. 

Thanks again for sharing all your comments. 

[jnolt]

How do I find "workout" and "outdoor workout" on my Charge 5, please?  I am trying to find something to work with my new rowing machine also.  Thanks!

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, welcome to the Community forums, @jnolt.  

Thank you for your inquiry regarding the workout options you mentioned earlier for the Charge 5. 

These workout options you mentioned are indeed available as shortcuts for the Charge 5. To add them to your device, you can follow the steps listed here. Keep in mind that you can only have 6 activities at the same time, so if you already have 6, you'll need to remove one in order to add a new shortcut. 

[jnolt]

Davide, thank you for responding. If I tap my profile picture which takes
me to a page with "Settings", and tap "Activit & Wellness", the list of
"Auto-recognized exercises" shows walk, run, outdoor bike, elliptical,
sport, aerobic workout, and swim. If I follow the instructions you sent I
find the same exercises that are currently on my Charge 5 - bike, run,
treadmill, weights, interval workout, spinning - which tells me I set this
up when I received the device. I do not find an "EDIT" button here. (?!)
Also, where is the Fitbit.com dashboard?
So far I have been trying the exercises I have set up on my Charge 5 to see
what might work with my rowing machine. "Running" is a no. "Weights"
appears to work! I use "Bike", "Treadmill", and "Spinning" for those actual
exercises so won't mess with those. Thank you, John

[DavideFitbit]

@jnolt Thanks for your reply with all of these details. 

The activities you mentioned correspond to the activities that are tracked automatically by your device using the SmartTrack feature. To see the exercises shortcuts mentioned earlier, after tapping on your profile picture, tap on your Charge 5 on the list of devices that paired to your account (this is at the top of the settings page you mentioned), then you'll see an option that says "Exercise shortcuts". 

[jnolt]

Thank you, Davide! So these shortcuts are what I put on my Charge 5
originally. I am trying different exercises to see what might possibly
work with rowing. Run is a no. Weights appeared to work the first time I
used it but certainly not the second. I'd probably try "Elliptical" next.
This is available on the app in "Settings", under "Activity & Wellness",
and "Exercise" as an "Auto-recognized exercise". It is not on my Charge
5. I'm trying to figure out how to move things among the two areas of the
app and the actual Charge 5 without deleting any exercises permanently
(which may or may not be possible). Thank you again!! @jnolt

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Actually I tried "weights" a third time before trying "elliptical" and it
appeared to work pretty well as it did the first time. Maybe something was
just off the second time but we'll see and will advise. Thanks!

[DavideFitbit]

@jnolt No problem! 

Keep in mind that you can remove and re-add exercise shortcuts as many times as you want. For activities in which steps are not the best indicator, you can use the option "Workout" as well. I hoe the exercises you've chosen are helpful as well.