Charge 2 and spin/stationary bike

[Kamau]

I have no idea how to get the charge 2 to track this activity properly. The HR monitor counted 26 minutes of cardio + 14 minutes of fatburn, that's correct(at least it matched the HR numbers from my chest band). Somehow this counts as 0 active minutes and only 184 calories burned. A simple calculation puts the calories burned using the avg heartrate closer to 600 calories. 

I saw a few older posts concerning this but none of them seemed to have an answer. Is there a way to get the fitbit to calculate the calorie burn from this activity properly? Is there a way to enter the calorie burn manually for an excercise?

I got the fitbit with the goal of consolidating multiple apps and a logbook on the side into one app/peripheral. If it can't calculate cycling I'm going to cry.

[YojanaFitbit · Accepted solution]

Hello @Kamau, I hope you're enjoying the Forums! I'm glad that you've chosen Fitbit to improve your daily routines. When you're tracking "Spinning or Stationary bike" workouts your Charge 2 takes the movements of your body plus your HR (heart rate) information. So, it'll depend of the intensity of the workout that you will get more calories. Calories can not be modified before the activity only after you sync your Charge 2, so you can see the data in your Fitbit Account. 

It's best to use the option "Spinning" from your Multi-Sport option to have a better calories calculation. In case that you don't have it in your Charge 2 Settings. You can add that option in your Fitbit App, under "Account" > "Charge 2" > "Exercise Shortcuts".

If you prefer to manually log your calories burned for different activities for example after your spinning workouts, you can use the option "Workout" (for Fitbit Blaze and Surge), sync your activity and then go to the Fitbit App > "Track Exercise" tile > select "Workout" > edit on the pencil for (Android) / edit on the upper right arrow (iOS).

Note that while you are doing exercise on your stationary bike there is no motion of going forward that your Charge 2 can detect. Your tracker in the most basic form is a movement sensor and if the movement is reduce, in example: doing spinning; where your hands wont move in the same way when you walk it will have an impact, so the calories will be affected. If you believe that your calories burned per minute are not accurate, it's best to adjust your calories manually.

Hope this helps! 

[Kamau]

Thank you for the response. I did not realize you could edit the calories before finalizing the workout. Too bad there's not an option to go back and edit previous workouts. If there is I can't find it. 

On a side note, Is fitbit planning to improve the spinning excercise function? The HR/Pace calculation currently being used is way off. It's not a huge deal having to go into a different app to calculate calories then come back and manually enter them, but it would be nice to have it in one spot.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hope you're doing great @Kamau! Thanks for replying. Just to clarify the information in regards of your first statement, you do have the option to edit a "Workout" activity but only after finalizing and syncing the workout. This option is only available for this specific option in the Multi-Sport section. You will have the option to edit it only one time, after that there is no option to reedit it. With any other exercise you won't have the option edit. Or if you are manually logging activities you won't see the option edit, since you will be prompted to "delete" it, so you can reenter it. 

In regards of your request for a better HR and pace calculation for spinning exercises, I think your suggestion is an excellent idea and I would like to encourage you submit it as a suggested idea, where members of the Community can comment and vote for it so it can be implemented in a future update, this is the best way to make your voice heard. 

I'll be around in case you need anything else! 

[marlaco]

I'm following this thread; my Charge2 says the calories are very low, but today's for 30 minutes of spin was 52 calories. and the other day for an hour class, 205. That doesn't make sense when the same device is logging 155 calories for a 30 minute walk. 

[YojanaFitbit]

I've noticed you are new around @marlaco, so let me give you a warm welcome to our Community! 

Thanks for following this thread. About your question, your calories information depends on how your Charge 2 is getting your HR, since it will take the number of minutes, name of activity and heart rate; to calculate your calories. You might try to restart your Charge 2 a couple of  times and give a try again. 

Good luck with that and let me know if you have more questions! 

[SunsetRunner]

I have to be honest, I regret buying this Charge 2. I work out for 75 minutes on the stationary bike and it only register 25 minutes of activity!!!! Since it did that, I added that I did the stationary bike for 50 mins and of course it won't register as added exercise because it wants to sync...what is there to sync? Why is this so complicating!!!

[YojanaFitbit]

Hope you are doing great and enjoying some healthy activities @SunsetRunner. Welcome aboard! 

Sorry you feel that way about Fitbit Charge 2! How are you tracking your stationary bike activities? As I'd like to confirm if you're using the "Spinning" option from the Shortcuts in your Charge 2. For more information about adding spinning to your shortcuts check this information! I bet we can find a way for you to use this new tracker so you can enjoy it!

Please let me know if this helped! 

[SunsetRunner]

I am recording it under Log- Stationary bike, moderate effort....

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @SunsetRunner thanks for getting back and confirming how you're using your Charge 2! 

That's a really good option! But you can try this other way! For a faster option to enter your bike activities, first edit your Charge 2 shortcuts; take your phone and please access to the Fitbit App:

1. Tap on your Charge 2
2. Choose the option "Exercise Shortcuts"
3. Tap on "Edit" so you can add "Spinning" (click here to see the steps.)  

Once you've synced your Fitbit you can press the button until you get the option "Run", then tap on the display until you see the option "Spinning", start your record by pressing and holding the button down.

Remember that your Charge 2 will use the HR information to determine the effort you're doing while performing the activity. I hope you can give it a try, I think you'll like this option! 

Please keep me posted! 

[SunsetRunner]

Thanks, I will give it a try.

[YojanaFitbit]

You're welcome @SunsetRunner! I'm glad to see you trying different things! Keep up the motivations and if you need anything else please let me know! 

Please take a moment to visit our Discussions board where you will find other members sharing their experiences and tips. This is a really good way to stay motivated towards your goals. In case that you haven't do so, check it out! You might be interested in these topics: Saturday Humor or What is the most interesting place that you have walked run?

Happy stepping! Or in your case happy biking! 

[eltoo]

I have found that when worn on the wrist, the Charge 2 does not count any steps when spinning or cycling.  It seems not to detect the rotary cycling movement of the legs as a step.

I've contacted customer service and they've confirmed that this is a design limitation with FB.

I've experimented with strapping the Charge 2 onto my ankle.  This solves the step problem as it now counts each circular rotation as a step, but when worn on the ankle my Charge 2 struggles with consistently measuring my HR.    

Curiously, I've found that when the C/2 is worn on the wrist and I exercise on an elliptical machine, the C/2 seems to have no trouble detecting the leg motion as a step - even though ellipticals move in a roughly circular motion as well.  I have found that this is true even when my arms are held motionless (i.e., when I am not using the elliptical handles and hold my arms still).  Perhaps this difference is due to the fact that one's body is generally moving more on an elliptical compared to being more stationary on a bike?  Just a hypothesis.

So my experience is that for cycling - whether spinning or outdoor cycling - the Charge 2 can consistently measure HR (if worn on the wrist) or steps (if worn on the ankle) - but neither location can measure both HR and steps consistently.

If anyone has had a different experience I'd love to hear it. 

[SunsetRunner]

Thanks 😉....really too bad the the technology is so limited!

Thanks Stacy S

[Rich_Laue]

Since when does a person walk when they are sitting on a bike? Why would someone want steps during a n9ne walking time?

[eltoo]

Yes, of course it's right that when one is cycling one isn't literally taking steps.  But FB uses "steps" loosely as a rough proxy for physical activity, and then counts and tracks steps to enable the user to track, measure and compare physical activity over time.

So I was merely observing that it was unfortunate FB seems to treat different exercises differently without any apparent logic.

For example, if someone used the elliptical machine on M, W and F, and cycled or spinned on Tu, Thur, and Sat, the FB (worn on the wrist) track the elliptical sessions by treating each forward and back movement of the leg as a "step", whereas FB is unable to count each cycling rotation as a step and thus shows those sessions as zero "steps". 

Of course, the motion on the elliptical and a spin cycle are not truly a "steps" in the conventional sense, since you're not moving forward in space.  But my point was that differentiates the two in a way that isn't intuitively obvious, and users should just be aware of it.

By the way, I also noted that when it comes to cycling it doesn't matter whether you are using a stationary bike or actually riding a real bicycle and moving through space - FB (worn on the wrist) treats either as if you are not moving and no "steps" (i.e., physical activity) is shown.

By the way, I think everyone also recognizes that FB counts "steps" even with activity that isn't very physical - e.g., moving your arm to brush your teeth will show up as "steps".  We all realize that there is some unavoidable inaccuracy in this type of technology, and not all steps are equal.  I was merely observing that the current FB technology seems to have trouble accounting for an entire category of exercise which many people engage in - cycling.  

[Rich_Laue]

An arm based tracker is designed to count steps by looking at arm motions,  on a bike there are no arm motions. 

As for steps on an elliptical machine, that would depend on what the arms are doing, not the legs 

As for comparison between types of exercises fitbit uses calories burnt, not steps.

For a step count to be accurate on a bicycle, fitbit would not be looking at the feet, but would determine the equivalent steps needed to burn the same calories  A person on a bicycle in a higher gear will burn more calories, but pedal less, than a person using a lower gear. This means leg movements are not a good comparison. 

[eltoo]

I noted that on an elliptical, with your arms totally stationary and holding the console (and not the moving arms), the FB still counts each leg motion as a step.  I just tried that again and verified it.  So it is NOT apparently dependent on arm motion. (In fact, if you walk with your arms held totally still, the FB still counts steps.)   

To your point about bike gearing, which I agree with - note that an elliptical as well typically has a variable resistance setting, and whether it's set high or low of course affects the amount of work being done with each "step".  The FB cannot distinguish different resistance settings; it nonetheless counts each movement as a "step" and disregards that potential inaccuracy.  So in that respect an elliptical and a bike are not different. 

It just seems unfortunate to me that the FB is not designed to pick up the cycling movement at all - stationary or real bicycle.  If they could adjust the software to treat cycling like being on an elliptical, that would solve the issue.  .    

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @Rich_Laue and @SunsetRunner thanks a lot for jumping in! Hey @eltoo, I'm glad to see you here in the Forums, thanks for joining us. 

@eltoo Thanks for sharing you findings, as it was mentioned before Fitbit devices use a 3-axis accelerometer to understand your motions.

Fitbit devices use a 3-axis accelerometer to understand your motions. This implementation allows the accelerometer to measure your motion in any way that you move, making its activity measurements more precise than older, single-axis pedometers. Fitbit devices have a finely tuned algorithm for step counting. The algorithm is designed to look for motion patterns that are most indicative of people walking. The algorithm determines whether a motion's size is large enough by setting a threshold. If the motion and its subsequent acceleration measurement meet the threshold, the motion will be counted as a step. If the threshold is not met, the motion won’t be counted as a step.

Other factors can create enough acceleration to meet our threshold and cause some over counting of steps, such as riding on a bumpy road. Equally, it's possible for the algorithm to undercount (not meet the required acceleration threshold).  

Remember that while you're either biking or working out in your elliptical your HR will increase depending on the intensity of the workouts to calculate you calories burned, but if you want to get steps with your Fitbit basically you will have to do based step activities. 

Happy to solve any other input! Please let me know if you need help with your Fitbit! 

[Cookspencer]

Forget about "spinning". Just go to "workout" under activities and start your activity timer there. I use it in spin class everyday