Inspire 3 wont track HR while rowing

[justwannarow]

While rowing my inspire 3 loses the ability to track heart rate accurately. It hovers around 70 - 80 the whole time. As soon as I stop rowing, I can look at the FB and watch as the heart rate climbs up to the appropriate 130 - 150. Checking graphs after and while rowing its not registering my HR properly at all, followed by the spike when I stop for a rest and the device starts tracking properly again. I don't get this doing any other kind of exercise.

[Julia_G]

Hi, @justwannarow , unfortunately the technique for rowing involves significant flexing of the wrist and means that it most instances, as you have noted, a heart rate cannot accurately be detected.

Some users have reported that they can get a pretty good pulse on their ankle and have worked out a way to attach their Fitbit there.  I am quite a small person so I can use the large wrist bands on my ankle, but if this isn’t possible for you, you may be able to attach an elastic band to the Fitbit band to extend it a bit so it will fit.  Might be worth a try if getting a heart rate while you are rowing is important to you.

[justwannarow]

It happens during weightlifting as well. Do fitbits just not work well when it comes to activities that have wrist movement? Tennis, rowing? Seems to work well during basketball.

[Julia_G]

@justwannarow wrist movement should be okay, so I think tennis would be fine.  But rowing absolutely involves wrist flexing which does interfere with HR tracking.  I have tested this myself.  I don’t personally have an issue with weight lifting.  However, the main issue with weight lifting is that typically it is not an aerobic exercise - i.e. heart rate is not necessarily raised, and therefore other users have reported that it doesn’t give a very accurate estimate of calories burned from that activity, because calorie burn is largely based on heart rate.