Charge HR and using a treadmill

[Edbert]

Brand new Fitbit here, hoping that it can be used in conjunction with a treamill. In the past most HR monitors I've used have cycling/walking/running modes only and weight lifting and treadmill walking/running cannot really be monitored other than average heart rate etc.

Is there a way to use the charge HR with a treadmill so that activity will show up on my dashboard? I typically walke one hour at 3mph and 15% grade. I know the fitbit will not know that I use any "uphill" feature to increase the calorie burn, and I'm not overly concerned with the absolute accuracy of calories burned, most interested in the # of steps.

Any suggestions are welcome.

[JohnRi]

To accurately walk with the Charge HR or any tracker that is wrist based, you must keep your arm with the tracker moving.  If you put it on the hand rails, it will not read the steps correctly.

I have a exercise bike, and it cannot read the steps as my heart monitor is in the hands.

So the key is to keep the arm moving. 

[WendyB]

Smart track should be picking it up. But if its not then use the start button to begin and then push it in when done it should sync and show you what you did in that Hour.

Also steps will not be accurate as your stride is different on the treadmill than walking outside.

[SSullivan29]

I hold the handles when I walk on my treadmill so I put my fitbit around my ankle under my sock so that it counts each step as well as my heartbeat.  

[emili]

I use the treadmill a lot and the steps are a bit off. The slower you walk on the treadmill the more accurate the step count is. Running is way off- about half. I walk 4.3 and it is off by a about a quarter mile. If I drop down to 3.8 its within a few steps. you should be fine at your pace. I also never noticed if holding on is an issue, I don't when I use the treadmill. But I hold the stationary handles on the elliptical and it counts the steps (one step for every two up/downs). As far as calories burned during your walk, I would do what Wendy suggested and use the stop watch feature. It will show you how much you burned based on your HR for that hour of activity. Just so you can see its capturing your elevated HR regardless of number of steps.

[fitmissjen]

Welcome @Edbert

I am a regular treadmill used and find the HR monitor works fairly well (is usually on par with the heart rate monitor on the hand rails) with either running or walking.

If the activity dosnt show up on automatically (for some reason, sometimes it does, other times it dosnt, im not sure why), i just log it manually. It just means you have to keep track of your time/distance etc you can manually update the intensity if you feel you need to.

[USAF-Larry]

On rainy days, when I have to use the treadmill, I press and hold the button on the side of the Charge HR until it vibrates, to start the activity. Then I press the button again at the end of the exercise routine. It accurately records the number of steps, the heart rate, and the calories burned during the exercise. I walk with my arms swinging just as they would if I were walking outdoors.

[Marcy]

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@WendyB wrote:

Also steps will not be accurate as your stride is different on the treadmill than walking outside.

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I think you meant "distance" will not be accurate, correct?

[Marcy]

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@JohnRi wrote:

To accurately walk with the Charge HR or any tracker that is wrist based, you must keep your arm with the tracker moving.  If you put it on the hand rails, it will not read the steps correctly.

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I discovered this to be true while pushing a shopping cart. 🙂

[paso]

does this match the stats on your treadmill ?  i have a high end highly rated treadmill and use 1-2% incline to add "wind resistance" from outdoor walks.   any answers or info , suggestions appreciated.

[MindyinAZ]

I wear 2 heart rate monitors on the treadmill - my fit bit hr charge and a chest band. Between the 2 and the handles on the treadmill, my heart rate is nearly identical on all 3. I have to run to get my heart rate to 140, but I can elevate to 10 and walk at 2.5 and hit the same heart rate. I a not concerned about distance - I don't care about my stride or whether the treadmill or fitbit know how far I've gone. It monitors my heart rate and duration which impact calorie burn - that's why I work out. I have noticed that if I hold the side rails, not all the steps are counted. I think the fitbit wants arm swing to count the step. If I work the handles on an elliptical, all the "steps" seem to count.

[paso]

Thanks for your input. It's a shame we need to,use multiple devices to get readings. I have more confidence in how to determine my stats.

[MindyinAZ]

If I casually walk on the treadmill, I don't get "credit" for it as an activity until I hit my minimum time of 10 minutes that I set on my profile. When I got the fitbit it was set to 20 minutes before autodetect of an activity so I changed it. 

[paso]

Thanks I did that for all activities since I jump around from one item to
another. Keep stepping

[paso]

Thanks I've done that for all activities since I often jump around from one item to another. Keep stepping