Multi-Sport Tracking - How do you record yours?

[SunsetRunner]

Hello everyone, very first topic from me here!

I've recently upgraded to the Fitbit Charge 2, and a new feature for me is the Multi-Sport tracker. I do a range of activities and classes on a weekly basis, and I'm looking to find the best sport to track them as. At the minute I have decided on this:

- Zumba I have been logging as "Workout"

- Insanity classes I log as "Bootcamp"

- Body Pump classes I log as "Weights"

- Kettlersize classes I'm unsure whether to log as "Workout" or "Weights"

- Yoga tracked as its own setting.

- Running and walking of course tracked in their own settings.

- Treadmill and other activities that have their own setting tracked obviously so.

Do these sound like the correct settings to track on? Also, how do they differ? I've been looking for information on this but failing to find so - How does "Workout" track differently to "Bootcamp" for example?

Something I'm also wondering, when tracking weights in the gym, do you track each different activity separately, or muscle group separately? Or do you just track the entire session and leave it running continuously for your whole workout?

But rather than only discussing my questions, please post below the activities you perform and how you track them. It'd be interesting to see and compare how people actually use these features for the activities they do!

Thanks xo

[Dominique]

I try to keep it simple: for instance, all of my weight lifting sessions go into "Weights" and everything "weird"/unusual goes under "Workout". I didn't even know about " Bootcamp" <lol>. In the end, I believe your Fitbit is pretty good at figuring out the intensity of what you're doing, regardless of how you labeled the activity.

[GershonSurge]

@SunsetRunner,

I have a Surge and a Charge 2. I mostly do jogging, weight lifting, housework and yard chores. Generally, I don't use Fitbit's GPS as I use the Nike Running app to track speed and splits.

I've backed off on jogging the last month as I started long weight lifting routines. That is temporary.

For the sake of counting calories, I found the exercise selected doesn't make much difference. When I jog, I select run. When I lift weights, I select weights. For everything else, I use workout. Any calorie difference from reality is slight except for a consistant 10 to 15% overcounting of the daily calories burned.

Many of us focus on calories burned a day instead of steps. This works better for weight control.

In case you haven't discovered this, the wrist devices won't log steps when pushing a shopping cart, or doing activities like the elliptical that aren't steps. I put my devices in my pocket when I shop, and it records the steps.

Hope this helps,

Gershon

[SunsetRunner]

I've had more of a play around with it now and found that the activity you select doesn't seem to make much a difference - It's just for categorising and keeping organised it seems!

However I've found that anything tracked as "Workout" can have its name changed in the activity record in the app later on, to something more specific or a customisation. Although when you select another, Weights or Bootcamp for example, you cannot change the name.

I've been logging both Kettlercise and Body Pump classes as "weights", however looking back I cannot distinguish one over the other in the records. Maybe I'll go back to categorising those as "Workout" so I can customise them as their own names. I'll reserve the "Weights" activity for when I do free weights myself in the gym.

I find it a little cheeky that they advertise the Multi-Sport tracking if it doesn't actually seem to track anything differently? I'm concerned over my upgrading now, but I guess it's too late!

[A_Lurker]

I admit I use only 4 at the moment.  Weights (free weights), Elliptical, Workout, Walking.  I tend to do a couple of different types of workouts.  Weights will start with a short warm-up and then just weights.  Most of my workouts I just log as workout as I'll use a combination of elliptical, rowing machine, treadmill, etc.

As a rule I track my weight workouts with weight lifted.

 - back squat with 70 lbs x 3 sets x 12 reps = 2520 lbs

I have used a paid site to do this, but I think I'll likely end up going back to a spreadsheet.  I tend to print out a sheet to work from so there's no reason I couldn't build formulas into it and enter the data after.  I would have been nice if I'd done this before as I would have my old workouts.

[AgeingStrongly]

I’ve noticed one blip on the app when assigning activities.  Sometimes* I give it a half hour of walking the dog. The app gives me 60 calories.  I change that Walk to Sport and it gives me 116 calories. We always walk briskly as we’re on private lanes with nobody else but us.  I tend to feel the Sport assignment gave me a little more accuracy or matching to the walking than the Walk.  It makes me think that they may have a formula or so many calories to minute burn rate. Or at least for walking.  When it auto recognizes Walk (as opposed to me going into the app to recognize and assign) it says I burn different calories rates and it’s not the standard two per minute. 

and so sorry about the one paragraph and any autofill that happened.  👍