what is considered a 'very active minute'?

[Roseman]

I am just curious what causes fitbit to recognize a minute of activity as 'very active;' I keep thinking I am active and do not seem to get much credit.

[loveabull]

I think all of you are amazing being able to calculate this stuff!!!!! Breaking it down to kindergarten terms. An average walk is average intensity, walking up a hill that makes me break a sweat is a spike to high intensity. Work is zillions of steps but moderate intensity. Letting the dogs take me for their nightly walks...moving at THEIR speed...highest intensity of the day.

[jltrask]

I just wanted to note that sometimes when it doesn't appear that your information (VAMs or other info) have been updated when you sync, you may need to refresh the page.  

I

[JudenNaples]

Here is a little more input on Very Active Minutes.  I believe your arm has to be swinging in a consistent motion in step with your stride.  I doubt you will get credit for VAM on a Treadmill b/c you are likely holding the bar.  If you are on a treadmill, I suggest trying placing your Fit Bit on your ankle just as you must do when riding your bike.

One day I stopped early in my routine walk and bought a plastic bag full of groceries that I carried with my arm straight down. My VAM suffered as a result. Playing tennis for an hour and a half, I get 2 or 3 active minutes.  

Walking for an hour in stride, hands free, I get a VAM for almost every minute that I am walking.   

[Walker-Jo]

Active points need to be at least slightly subjective. I'm 76 year old woman, not an athlete, and my activity levels shouldn't be compared to a 30 year olds activity. For me a 30 minute, 1.5 mile walk Is active but usually only 3-5 of those minutes is counted as active. Rather than encouraging me I'm finding it so discouraging that I'm ready to toss my Flex.

[MatthewFitbit]

@Walker-Jo I'm sorry to hear that this statistic has discouraged you. Remember that an "Active Minute" is not at all subjective, since it is mathematically calculated using metabolic equivalents (METs). This is a representation of the amount of oxygen used by your body during physical activity, and lets us set a relative baseline that gives more meaning to the system's relativity. You can check this help article for more details on how these values were determined.

If this metric isn't the optimal one for setting your personal goals, it's probably best to use a different one- you might prefer steps per day or calories burned, which can be more tailored to your unique profile.

I hope that helps explain what you're seeing, and helps you figure out how best to use your Flex!

[VBran]

How does the fitbit flex measure the amount of O2 being used?

[MatthewFitbit]

@VBran To clarify my previous statment, Fitbit trackers do not measure your body's oxygen usage - METs are a representative measurement of how much oxygen your body is using. One MET is defined as 1 kcal/kg/hour, and is roughly equivalent to the energy cost of sitting quietly - in terms of oxygen usage, this is equivalent to 3.5 ml/kg/min. This measurement is used to provide general medical thresholds and guidelines to a population, and can be used to quantify the total amount of physical activity across different persons and types of activities.You can find more information on METs here.

[DelDave]

Thanks for the layman's interpretation.  I did 33 minutes on the treadmill yesterday at 3.0-3.2 and received 28 active minutes. Today I walked 45 min at the same rate and only got 2  active minutes.  Go figure. 

[Walker-Jo]

I'm finding that if I swing my arms rather strongly as I walk I get more
active minutes. Plus I think it strengthens my arms just a bit.

[Colinm39]

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@DelDave wrote:

Thanks for the layman's interpretation.  I did 33 minutes on the treadmill yesterday at 3.0-3.2 and received 28 active minutes. Today I walked 45 min at the same rate and only got 2  active minutes.  Go figure. 

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@DelDaveI have found the type of movement definitely affects VAM. My walking is the same as yours, I don't use a treadmill but others have posted what you have experienced. To confuse it more, I found by accident I could get 100% VAM using my exercise ball and bouncing at 95 bounces/minute. Others using mini trampolines say the same thing. The 3D Accelerometer has its issues with some types of movement and I would like our Moderators to comment @MatthewFitbit I had dual Fitbits, the One and the Ultra waist mounted for the exercise ball and they both gave 100% VAM. Some say the bouncing affect and the non forward movement can cause the VAM and you have it at 3mph, I need 4.2 mph for walking.

It would be interesting to see what pace your Fitbit detected for the treadmill.

[DelDave]

Thanks Walker-Jo. I'll give it a try. I tried attaching my Fit-Bit on my right shoe and ended up with over 20 ATM.
Colin 39 also had some interesting information on this subject. Check him out.

[fitRN]

Based on my observation, I believe the very active minutes are calculated by the rapidity of action..ie pace. I use a rebounder and have simulated the pace of a runner on it and that did the trick. Hope this helps.

[DelDave]

Thanks for the info fitRN. It some what confusing to me. One day I get 2VAM and the next 28. I don't seem to be working any harder on the 28 day. Cilin39 said he though they were coming out with something new in place of the current VAM.

[Sandy64]

I finally found what works for me to have the active mins count up. When walking I can't walk with my hands down to my sides. I have to swing them with my stride and have them more in front of me as I swing them. Like if you do the twist your arms/hands twist with you and go in front of your body. So be aware of your arm placement. I check my status frequently to make sure it's counting too. I dance a lot too and same thing-do the twist!! I have a flex.

[Colinm39]

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@DelDave wrote:
Thanks for the info fitRN. It some what confusing to me. One day I get 2VAM and the next 28. I don't seem to be working any harder on the 28 day. Cilin39 said he though they were coming out with something new in place of the current VAM.

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@DelDaveWe have heard nothing about rationalising the VAM or standardising the confusing since the moderator posted that information a few months ago but it is still about 4mph for me while walking...and then to only get a few VAM.

[DelDave]

Thanks Sandy,

I have been experimenting with wearing my Fitbit One on my shoe and had over fifty VAM in just under 4k steps. I attribute that large number to the rapidity of the one foot motion. Next week I am going to try placing two Fitbit Ones on different locations on my body and see what happens.
It will give direct read outs to coordinate the information. I'll post my results on the board.

[Colinm39]

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@DelDave wrote:
Thanks Sandy,

I have been experimenting with wearing my Fitbit One on my shoe and had over fifty VAM in just under 4k steps. I attribute that large number to the rapidity of the one foot motion. Next week I am going to try placing two Fitbit Ones on different locations on my body and see what happens.
It will give direct read outs to coordinate the information. I'll post my results on the board.

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@DelDaveI would like to see your dual testing because I need another Fitbitter to confirm my testing where the further from the torso you move the Fitbit the higher exagerated the calories are. I can generate VAM on an exercise ball and others the same thing on a mini trampoline. The Fitbit filtering is designed for torso mounting for the clip ons and wrist or pocket mounting for the wrist type.

Here is my testing using dual Fitbits last year

[DelDave]

Colin,

I'll keep you posted on the results of my testing.  Don't expect the results to be displayed as neatly as yours. 

Dave

[Colinm39]

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@DelDave wrote:

Colin,

I'll keep you posted on the results of my testing.  Don't expect the results to be displayed as neatly as yours. 

Dave

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@DelDaveThat was my ambitious attempt because there were many posts and at the time when the Dashboard changed from the original Dashboard and to the tiled Dashboard. Also the Fitbit baselines changed to mirror the CDC Guidelines. I was getting close to 100% VAM before the changes and now I struggle to get anywhere near that my BMR hadn't changed to affect the result.

I also ran some other tests and they were documented in a different way. here is the link

Lately I have noticed I'm getting some VAM for day to day walking, not planned which is odd. Maybe Fitbit has changed something. I purchased the Zip as well because others were opting out of competitive groups based on Active minutes if they did not have a Zip. For me the Zip gives nearly 3 times the VAM as my Ultra and One. I proved that and I notice in the Help topics Fitbit say that their trackers will give different VAM results.

Looking forward to your results and the retired engineer in me has me testing these things. Keeps my brain active.

Have a good day.

[DelDave]

Just received my (warranty) replacement Fitbit One in the mail.  Let the test begin.