How can I get my fitbit to register steps or revolutions using a Spin Bike or stationery bike?

[Cande]

My fitbit registers "steps" when I walk, run, hike, even Hula Hoop. But I'm surprised it doesn't register activity or steps when I use my Spin / Spinning Bike, even when placed on my waistband. Does anyone else Spin? Do you have a way to get it to register? (my husband sjust got me the spinning bike for my birthday!)

Thanks!

[Dominique · Accepted solution]

Your bike is stationary and you produce no impact on the floor. It would therefore make sense your Fitbit doesn't register steps. You may try to put it around your ankle or inside your sock (depending on the model). However, you may want to manually enter your biking as an activity.

[Wombat]

G'day

As Dom suggests you could enter the spin bike as an activity, that would give calorie burn but no 'steps'.

On the bike I click my One to the outside of my shoe (cleats). There's enough movement there to register although it doesn't give me a true reading. For a hour spin session, I get about 4,000 'step' which is a few less than if I walked for that hour, but usinga HRM at the same time, I get some 'steps' and a pretty massive calorie burn.

Try it and see how it goes

[juliegui54]

I have a similar problem with the treadmill and cross trainer and have taken to logging, when I remember 😄

[Goldiefoxx]

That's a great suggestion!!

[crefaljo]

Good one.  Will try it tomorrow!!

[Colinm39]

Be aware of these issues. This simple test was performed with a Fitbit One sock mounted with the timer.  Calories will be exagerated and your steps inaccurate.

You will get steps (cadence) but inaccurate. I just did a cycle of 50 revolutions per leg (counted to 100) for 1 minute and got 58 steps on the Fitbit One, therefore = 116 spm, so you can't just double your cadence and call them steps. Also the 9 calories/minute were 30% above my minumum required for VAM. So the velocity and speed has the same affect as wearing a Fitbit on the ankle and walking.

I can generate 7 cals/minute if I walk at 135 steps/minute or 4.2+ mph.

Here is a link to a more comprensive test that I performed... Fitbit Stationay Bike

[slysam]

Some wear theFitbit (I think a One) clipped to a sock during Spin. One of my fitbit friends does this but she said she also logs the activity as she found the calorie burn exaggerated worn this way. I think that may be because the One is designed to be worn on the torso and all fitbit's track motion side to side, forward and back and up and down. The up and down when clipped to a sock must be pretty dramatic especialluy if it is assumed to be worn on the torso--it is probably crediting like you are jumping around for the whole ride/session. But I guess you would get a "step" per rotation (is that the right word?) so just in terms of movement tracking that is fine. If you do this, I guess I would log the activity by the distance covered in that time even though Spinning is a little more complicated (the resistance would be a big factor). I know most cardio machines are said to overestimate calorie burn, I must say the Spin bikes in my gym give a much lower estimate than my heart rate monitor (this is the only machine where I've seen this happen). Maybe it is because I don't cycle in real life so my muscles are not conditioned to spinning, or maybe it is something odd about the estimate from the machine. I don't remember the brand of machine it was.

[abeerends]

When biking, I put my fitbit (ultra) in the key pocket that is near the hem of my shorts.  It is a similar motion to having the fitbit on your sock, but not as huge of a circle.  

This counts one step per revolution for that leg.  It counts nothing for the revolutions of the other leg.  In that way, it is kind of like it is only counting half the 'steps', but yet is still counting every full revolution of the pedals.  Given that I perceive one pedaling step to be less effort than one running step, I find this to be a fair mechanism for capturing biking.

An interesting side effect is that I get huge floor climbing numbers when biking hills outside.  🙂

[abeerends]

When biking, I put my fitbit (ultra) in the key pocket that is near the hem of my shorts.  It is a similar motion to having the fitbit on your sock, but not as huge of a circle.  

This counts one step per revolution for that leg.  It counts nothing for the revolutions of the other leg.  In that way, it is kind of like it is only counting half the 'steps', but yet is still counting every full revolution of the pedals.  Given that I perceive one pedaling step to be less effort than one running step, I find this to be a fair mechanism for capturing biking.

An interesting side effect is that I get huge floor climbing numbers when biking hills outside.  🙂

[Annbeck]

I attached my Fitbit Force to my spin shoes for Spin class today and it registered an accurate number of "steps." It makes a lot more sense to attach it there, since my wrists are fairly stationery the entire class. I fed one of my shoe's velcro straps through the closed wrist band. This is how I plan to do it from now on.

[Colinm39]

@AnnbeckDo you get the two "steps" when you have one revolution for each leg, , or just the one wher the Fitbit is attached, if so how do you compensate for your steps.?

I ask tha,t because the clip on Fitbits only record one step for the rotations of both legs.

[abeerends]

It is one one step for one rotation of both legs, but I think that seems fair.  One pedal rotation is not the same effort as one walking or running step!  I think it is a good compromise.  Otherwise, your calorie burn would also be through the roof.

[GerriD]

I have heard the fitbit tracks swimming is that true? I have never used it for biking, but that is disappointing it does not track spinning. It makes sense I guess because your foot is not hitting anything.

So what about swimming?

[Dominique]

---

@GerriD wrote:

I have heard the fitbit tracks swimming is that true? I have never used it for biking, but that is disappointing it does not track spinning. It makes sense I guess because your foot is not hitting anything.

So what about swimming?

---

Assuming your Fitbit is one of the waterproof models and you wear it while in the water, it will detect your hands' movements. However, it will have no idea about the water resistance, which means it will grant you similar calories as if you were doing similar movements with your hands on the ground. This means the only benefit is it will deem you active when swimming, whereas if you left it in the locker, it would deem you sedentary during that time.

You would therefore want to log your swimming, as explained here:

https://help.fitbit.com/customer/portal/articles/413311-how-do-i-log-or-record-an-activity-

Also see the following link explaining why activities that are not step-based should be logged:

https://help.fitbit.com/customer/portal/articles/1020095-what-are-%22very-active-minutes%22-

[JudithF]

please don't wear it swimming! The instructions clearly say that it is water and sweat resistant but not waterproof. You need to log your swimming in the app.

[GerriD]

Thanks for the info


Sent from my iPhone

[vela_via]

Why can't Fitbit convert your RPM to steps when you enter biking into the activity log? 

[Mary]

It probably could but they've never aimed to convert anything that isn't steps into steps.  Their focus is for users to watch their calorie burn for their total activity level metric, I assume, not their steps, when they do significant non-step exercise.  

[vela_via]

I think Fitbit's goal with steps is to just get you moving.  10,000 steps a day is a rough equivalent to the Surgeon General’s recommendation to accumulate 30 minutes of activity most days of the week.  I bike to work, but for awhile I was walking to get more steps.  I had no problem reaching my goal when I walked but I want to bike because it increases my heartrate more.  I feel like I'm getting penalized for biking.