Charge 2 Treadmill Accuracy

[USAF-Larry]

Today was a blustery cold day, with wind chills hanging around 10 to 12 degrees, and snow flurries kept blowing through, so I decided to walk on the treadmill indoors instead of my regular walk. Due to boredom, I only walked 5 miles instead of my regular 7 miles, but it was a good workout with upping the speed and incline peridoically. I set the Charge 2 Exercise Mode to Treadmill to track the exercise. I am somewhat surprised by the accuracy of the Charge 2 compared to the readings on the treadmill panel. The treadmill showed that I had walked 5.02 miles, and burned 980 calories.  The Charge 2 showed that I had walked 4.97 miles and burned 1,106 calories. I am not sure about the calories reported, since the treadmill does not have a capability to enter the height, weight, age, or sex, so those numbers are "averages" based on treadmill speed & incline. The Fitbit's calorie count is probably more accruate. But the steps & distance of my Charge 2 tracker were spot on. There was a difference of only 0.05 mile. This accuracy is probably due to the amount of time I spent calculating my stride length when I first got my Fitbit, and the fact that the treadmill has a constant speed & movement. 

[DavideFitbit]

Thanks for sharing this @USAF-Larry, I usually log the treadmill activity manually, but I was testing this just last Friday and I did notice the accuracy of the Charge 2 when performing this activity. I try of course not to hold on to the rails to have the best accuracy level, I know the tracker has better results on the treadmill when walking at least 2 mph. 

Thanks again for taking the time to share this information. Happy stepping!  

[Furzy]

I have been experiencing horrible accuracy when running on treadmill with my charge 2!! Just today, treadmill said 5.10 miles, charge 2 said about 4.12 miles. Calories were off by about 70-80 also. This the third time this week with about the same result. I set my treadmill at 8 mph and I don't ever hold onto the rails, so I'm not sure what the deal is. I have been looking at tracker for about 6 months and I decided on the fitbit charge 2 after reading tons of reviews and youtube, unfortunately I'm not super impressed. I don't really do much outdoor running so treadmill running needs to be more accurate with mileage. I don't mind the calories part, because the treadmill doesn't account for my height and weight, I just want the mileage to work!! 

Any thoughts?

[USAF-Larry]

You need to adjust your running stride length, @Furzy.   Start a good run on the treadmill, and at the .50 mile point on the treadmill display start counting every time your right foot hits the tread. Keep counting your right foot until the .60 mile mark on the treadmill display.  Multiply the number of times your right foot hit the treadmill by 2.  Divide the number of steps by 1/10th mile to get your running stride length, so if you counted 780 times your foot struck the track you would have:

5280/10 = 528'  (1/10th mile)

780 x 2 = 1560 steps

1560 / 528 = 2.95' (running stride length)

Set that number in your app profile and re-sync your tracker.

[Furzy]

Thanks, Larry. I'll give that a shot tomorrow! 

[Punish16]

Larry, I followed your steps to calculate stride length but my steps are way less than the 1560 you use in your example. I set my treadmill at 5.5 speed (a 10:54 mile pace on my treadmill). I count my right foot hitting the track 83 times in a tenth of a mile. I checked that a couple times and it's consistent at that speed. So as you can see I am only coming up with a 166 total steps taken then deciding that by 528 gives me 0.314 feet traveled which cannot be correct. 

[Rich_Laue]

One tenth of a mile (5280 feet) is 528 feet. The equation then is 528÷166
=3.1807228916 or each step is 3.2 feet or 3 feet 2.2 inches. Which could be right.

If you want online help.

[Vanessa_98]

Hi I was wondering how you put the charge 2 into treadmill mode?

[agraham0627]

I used to have a Fitbit One (until it accidently went down the toilet) that I kept on my waistband when I ran or walked on the treadmill.  I now have a Charge 2 and it does not give me the same amt of steps and is way off on the number of miles.  I walk for 45 minutes at a 4.5 or 4.6 mph pace.  The treadmill tells me that is 3.4 or 3.5 miles.  The Charge 2 tells me I did 1.8 miles and gave me about 4000 steps when I used to get around 7000 on the One.  Any thoughts?

[USAF-Larry]

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@Vanessa_98 wrote:

Hi I was wondering how you put the charge 2 into treadmill mode?

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@Vanessa_98, first make sure it is included in the Fitbit app Device Settings, Exercise Shortcuts - if it isn't, add it, and sync the tracker.  Then on the Charge 2 Tracker continue pressing the side button until the first Exercise Mode, such a Walk or Run, is displayed - as soon as the exercise mode is displayed, tap the screen to scroll through the options. When Treadmill is displayed, press & hold the side button to start the exercise.

[Furzy]

Unfortunately I never got the darn thing to be close to accurate. I tried multiple times, heck... even  tying my shoes added about 50 steps,  let alone the treadmill being almost 2 miles off.  I returned it and got the Apple Watch Series 1.  Target was running a special for $70 off… So It really wasn't that expensive.  Right out of the box it's been extremely accurate for me!!  Usually only being about 0.01-0.10 off  of what the treadmill said.  I'm very happy with the Apple Watch. I don't have ill will toward fitbit,  just didn't work for me. 

[Ajain1978]

Hi

How to record trademill and cycling workout in Gym. Today I had covered 3 kms with 350 calories but charge2 not updated it.

[Rich_Laue]

I would use the treadmill mode and the spin mode on the tracker itself, neither use the connected GPS so you don't need to be near the phone. 

http://help.fitbit.com/?q=Multisport

[drume]

I have experienced the same issue, but I did find a solution. While logging treadmill is definitely inaccurate, logging elliptical is not. But instead of swinging your hands by your side, have them at waist height and punch forward as you stride (like you would if you were jogging). This is also great for rebounder/mini-trampoline. I have found both the calories and steps to be extremely accurate, I'm unsure about distance. Using the treadmill or rebounder like this will auto detect after 15 minutes, you can then re-categorise the activity when you're finished. I have not had the charge 2 long enough to see if it will start detecting them correctly yet.

[Gabby111]

I had same problem and had Fitbit send me a new Charge2. Sadly, the same problem of inaccurate reporting of steps persists when I am on the treadmill. I think it is ludicrous that Fitbit expects the users to make all these adjustments so this expensive device will do what it is supposed to do. This is my first Fitbit product and will likely be my last. 

[hcrana]

Adjust your stride length.

[Susamck]

Hello Larry, I'm trying to figure pout my stride length while waking on the treadmill using your formula but it's not working out. Can you take a look to see what I'm doing wrong? 

113 right steps in 1/10 of a mile. 

226

226/528=.428

But the steps are entered in inches...

.428/12=.035669

I'm sure I'm missing something, I blame it on not enough sleep. 😴

[USAF-Larry]

@Susamck, my calculation is:

5280'/10 = 528'

528'/226 steps = 2.34' = 2' 4" Stride Length

[Susamck]

Thank you Larry, I was using the formula you provided some time ago that had steps divided by 528. not the other way around.

5280/10 = 528'  (1/10th mile)

780 x 2 = 1560 steps

1560 / 528 = 2.95' (running stride length)

Set that number in your app profile and re-sync your tracker.

[Janefondablack]

Thanks Larry (although still a bit confused), I may b able 2 figure it out... I did a 3 mile speed interval with increasing speed starting @ 3.5 (walk) 6.5 (run); 2nd mile @4.0 & 7.0; 3rd mile 4.5 & 7.5 yet my Charge 2 tracker only registered 1.91 miles... Please advise (if possible) because I need my time's to be correct because I'm currently training for a 5k... Thanks