Inspire HR not tracking calorie burn properly

[SunsetRunner]

I received my Inspire HR earlier this week.  I took a Les Mills Sprint class this morning.  I put it in as cycling.  I know that this class claims to burn over 400 calories, and I peddled my butt off!  Somehow the exercise clicked off during my workout so it didn't track the whole thing.  I went back in and manually said that from 8:30 am to 9:00 I did spinning (more accurate, stationary).  This thing said I burned 83 calories in those 30 minutes.  I KNOW that's not right.  It also told me I have had zero active minutes!  What am I doing wrong?

[JohnnyRow]

When you manually log a workout, that overwrites all data recorded during that time, so the only info it has about the intensity is an estimate based on the parameters you used logging the workout.  Manually logging a workout is meant only for times when you were  not wearing the tracker.  Logging a workout for a time during which  you were wearing the tracker is not a good idea and usually leads to confusion.  If you delete the manually logged workout, the original data will come back.  Though it will not show your calories for the full time included in the workout summary, the would at least be included in daily total.

The best way to be sure to get full time recorded is to use the exercise app, starting and ending the workout from the tracker yourself.

How to use the exercise app is detailed in this link:

How do I track my workouts with my Fitbit device?

[SunsetRunner]

I did try to do it automatically.  It only recorded 83 or 89 calories burned and didn't even record the exercise properly when I hit start!  Why would that be?I did the manual logging after that happened.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @SunsetRunner It's great to see you participating in our Community! 

Thanks for the amazing explanation @JohnnyRow, you rock!

So glad to see that you're really into getting the next Fitness level with those workouts @SunsetRunner ! The calorie burn estimate that Fitbit provides takes into account your BMR, the activity recorded by your tracker or any activities you log manually.

Since your Fitbit Inspire takes basically all HR data recorded while doing your activities to give you an specific amount of calories burned, I'd suggest making sure to wear your tracker a little bit higher than usual to get an accurate heart rate reading. You might restart you device too and take a look of the information you get while doing your activities, since calories burned as you said are determine depending on the intensity of the class.  

If you prefer to manually log the activity you can do so, you will find this calculator from MFP really helpful. As a helpful tip, make sure you enter the correct start tima and end time to have the correct information on your activity. As we don't have this specific exercise to be used as an option, you consider placing your vote and comment to add this option: Add Les Mills Classes. The more votes and comments an idea has the more visibility and momentum it gains.

Hope this helps! 

[AM25]

Hi, 

I use my Fitbit Inspire Hr every day but like to see what it measures when I do crossfit and spinning. Unfortunately the results are very disapointing and false. For example I took a 25 min HIIT spinning class from Cycle Masters and choose the spinning excersize on my Fitbit Inspire Hr. The instructor tells you multiple times what his heart rate is so you can check yours. At the end of the class the instructor burned 380 calories and I only burned 115 cal. I know this can't be true. The same goes for my workouts with crossfit. People who use a Fitbit Charge or an Apple Watch have very simmilar results compared to mine. Is there something I can do to fix this? There shouldn't be a difference of more than 3 times of my burned calories. This device should be more accurate for it's price. Please help me solve this? 

[JohnnyRow]

@AM25  If I understand you correctly, you are saying the results from the Fitbit Charge, Fitbit Inspire HR, and the Apple Watch all give similar results.  But you are saying these are all grossly wrong because they are much lowers than the instructor's supposed calorie burn.

A few thoughts:

1) You don't say how the instructor calcualted their calorie burn.

2) Weight is a big factor in calorie burn.  I have no idea of the relative weights of you and the instructor.

3) A trained athlete can maintain a higher calorie burn rate than people at lesser fitness levels.  I would assume an exercise class instructor would be in good shape.

4) The Fitbit Charge does not measure heart rate so I would expect can only give a rough estimate of calories, at best, based on perceived exertion.

[AM25]

Hi, thanks for your reply. 

I meant that the fitbit charge and Apple watch measure simmilar results. The fitbit inspire is the device that's very different. I understand that weight and your health plays a part in the calorie burn but this difference is unbelievable.

My health is quite good, I do crossfit 3 times a week and 1 time a week spinning.

[SunsetRunner]

I'm not sure if your HR is new,  but I found out that the heart rate measuring function on mine had been turned off.  Once I turned it on and made sure it was recording my heart rate, it was more accurate.  Still less than my friend with the apple watch but much better than before.  i take an HIIT cycle class at the Y for 30 mins and now it registers about 270 calories for me.  Much better than 115-130.

[AM25]

Hi, 

Thanks for your message. I believe the heart rate is actually working very well. My fitbit is from april 2019. I emailed the store where I bought the fitbit and they said to reset it to factory settings and delete the app from my phone and download it again. Hopefully this will work.