does fitbit count the tread mill steps and the stationary bike

[jimodo37]

I'm wondering if Fitbit One measures activities on the tread mill and the stationary bike ?Thank you,Jim

[Heybales]

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@rcofdayton wrote:

Do not hold onto the rails.  It's the swinging of the arms that get counted.

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Incorrect - it's the impact of the steps that gets counted.

The wrist devices are merely trying to do that even though the arm is swinging. Or as some people walk I've seen - not swinging so much.

[Davexyz]

My Charge did not  register workouts on the treadmill or stationery bike, so I now wear it round my ankle while on these machines. That seems to work well and is fairly accurate.

[Heybales]

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@Davexyz wrote:

My Charge did not  register workouts on the treadmill or stationery bike, so I now wear it round my ankle while on these machines. That seems to work well and is fairly accurate.

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Fairly accurate for what?

Seeing likely half the steps that are actually taken? Unless running, then that leg is in the air when the other leg impacts, but walking?

For the bike, estimating calorie burn using walking/running formula for steps that aren't related to bike riding?

You'll get steps, and likely better if you got none before, but accurate for what probably needs to be defined.

[fapress]

If I spend 30 minutes on the treadmill and log that, isn't it double-counting my 30 minutes PLUS the steps I took on the treadmill?

[wildfern]

In order for it to record the steps I attach the tracker to my shoe--it works great for any exercise machine you move your legs on

[Heybales]

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@fapress wrote:

If I spend 30 minutes on the treadmill and log that, isn't it double-counting my 30 minutes PLUS the steps I took on the treadmill?

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No.

It replaces whatever Fitbit came up with, with whatever you entered. Steps being calculated from set stride length and distance you enter.

But why would you log the exact activity the device is great at measuring?

[Heybales]

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@wildfern wrote:

In order for it to record the steps I attach the tracker to my shoe--it works great for any exercise machine you move your legs on

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Works great for what?

Seeing only 1 step for 1 foot that goes down, totally missing the other foot going down?

Calculating calories based on steps that are only 1/2 what they would actually be in same time, which means slow pace?

No, actually, that's not a great idea unless you are just looking for any movement to give you "steps" that aren't really steps - but the calorie burn will be way off unless you just lucked out. In which case, do the lottery, probably the same odds since the formula use for calorie burn is based on walking and running, not other stuff you may get "steps" from.

Just saying.

[wildfern]

The reason I do put it on my ankle--If I do 15 miles on a bike for that hour there are absolutely no steps on the tracker.  Putting it on the ankle gives you a little credit for the movement. The foot is not hitting the floor but the body is in motion.  I think there are purists and there are people that modify what a step really is to fit their own personal goals.  I count a step as the body in motion.

[TandemWalker]

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@wildfern wrote:

The reason I do put it on my ankle--If I do 15 miles on a bike for that hour there are absolutely no steps on the tracker.  Putting it on the ankle gives you a little credit for the movement. The foot is not hitting the floor but the body is in motion.  I think there are purists and there are people that modify what a step really is to fit their own personal goals.  I count a step as the body in motion.

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What I cannot subscribe to is the idea that it's OK to record 'false' steps when you are in fact cycling.

Unless you subsequently log a manual cycling activity, steps alone recorded by your tracker will only give you a fraction of the caloric burn you deserve for your workout. In addition, false steps recorded while cycling will now throw a monkey wrench in your true step metrics and render them pretty much meaningless due to the mix of actual steps (routine daily steps, walk/jog workouts, etc.) and 'false' steps recorded while cycling.

    TW     

(If this tip solved the problem for you, please mark this post solved, as this will be helpful to other users experiencing similar issues.)

[smilerlisa]

Not surgeon steps but it showed the same calorie burn on fitbit charge HR as it did on the treadmill

[krazykaren]

I walked a mile on my treadmill my fit bit says .53 miles ???? what am I doing wrong?

[Heybales]

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@krazykaren wrote:

I walked a mile on my treadmill my fit bit says .53 miles ???? what am I doing wrong?

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Which Fitbit model, wrist versus hip obviously can make a difference?

And then where did you wear it, because even wrist models you can put in pocket?

If on wrist, did you hold on to bars, so the HRM sensors to see HR?

And have you calibrated the device for your average step length and manually input that in?

[Omak]

Any idea why the dashboard shows 0 steps for the time spent on the treadmill? It shows calories burned for that time period but says 0 steps.

[Heybales]

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@Omak wrote:

Any idea why the dashboard shows 0 steps for the time spent on the treadmill? It shows calories burned for that time period but says 0 steps.

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Did you import a workout for time period from another app that gave calorie burn based on say HR?

And then you death gripped the handrail with a Fitbit wrist model so it saw no impacts?

Or that other app imported steps because Fitbit shares step info with it, but it had 0 steps for some reason and overwrote that data too.

[ScottN]

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@kayor2523 wrote:

For the treadmill I enter the time, distance and calories manually that the treadmill puts out.

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This is also the method I use . But the latest firmware update no longer counts manually logged runs in your 7-day total. I am competitive, so this is definitely an issue for me.

Any suggestions from other treadmill users on how to rectify this?

[Heybales]

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@ScottN wrote:

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@kayor2523 wrote:

For the treadmill I enter the time, distance and calories manually that the treadmill puts out.

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This is also the method I use . But the latest firmware update no longer counts manually logged runs in your 7-day total. I am competitive, so this is definitely an issue for me.

Any suggestions from other treadmill users on how to rectify this?

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I'm surprised that steps from manually entered walking or running ever counted towards those totals - usually not supposed to.

But the way to get around it is create your own Workout called perhaps Treadmill.

Then you can enter the distance and calories - but since Fitbit doesn't know it's walking or running it won't re-calculate and replace the step count it saw.

Since original steps are kept then - they count towards those totals.

[ScottN]

Thanks, Haybales. Tried your approach this AM, but the fitbit black box equation adjusted the step total upon entry.

[Heybales]

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@ScottN wrote:
Thanks, Haybales. Tried your approach this AM, but the fitbit black box equation adjusted the step total upon entry.

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Strange, I just tested again, and it still works as expected.

Now - I am doing manual add from web account - not app, if that makes a difference.

And my custom workout was not tied to walking or running, because distance is even optional.

But you can see my past workouts what happens with the Activity record showing Fitbit's stats as is, and then my Workout record for manually entered distance and calories for same block of time.

https://www.fitbit.com/user/2FBZWW/activities/date/2015-12-03