Which Inspire activity could we consider as similar / close to "Dancing" ?

[LostEchoes]

Hello all !
I've jot got my Inspire HR and I'd like to add an activity shortcut to my device that would be close / kind of similar to Dancing.
Which one of the available ones would you choose ?
Thank you in advance.

[Julia_G]

Hi, @LostEchoes , the best thing to do in this case is to record your activity as “workout”. The “workout” activity is especially designed so that you can rename it later, after it has synced, to any activity you like.  If it is an activity already built into the database, like “dancing” then you can just rename it in the app.  Just click on your activity you have tracked (workout) and rename it to dancing.  In IOS it is 3 dots top right for edit.  In Android it is the pencil top right.

If it is a custom activity you will need first to create it on the web based platform.

If you need further help please let us know what platform / phone you use.  There is always someone here to help.

[LostEchoes]

Oh, I'm also wondering whether for my (Les Mills) Body Pump classes the best option would be "Workout" or "Weights" ?

Android phone / Samsung Galaxy S7 🙂

[LostEchoes]

@Julia_G  Thank you for the prompt reply.
The truth is that I intend to avoid renaming my activities, because ...too much hassle.
I'd like to choose the right one from the beginning and then leave it be as it is

I'm not sure how to create a custom activity on my own. Will I have to do this every time ?

Oh, and I'm trying to understand which are the activities that by default use the GPS.
🙂

[Julia_G]

@LostEchoes , I would suggest, once again, tracking it as a “workout” and then renaming it afterwards, once it has synced to your app.  In this case you might want to create a “custom” workout (Body pump class, Les Mils, or whatever name you like).

To create the name for the first time you need to use the web based platform.  There’s a link top right on every page when you are logged in to the Community.  On the web based platform choose Log —> Activity from the top menu.  Scroll to the very bottom and on the bottom right you will find a box that allows you to create a custom activity.

Once created, the activity should be available in the app.  For your next class, track it as a “workout” then once it has synced, choose the edit option and in the search box type whatever name you chose (Les Mills or whatever).  It should pop up and you can choose it.   As I said, you MUST create the custom activity on the web before you can rename in your app.

I hope this helps.  Just shout if you have any dofficulties or need more detailed instructions.

[LostEchoes]

@Julia_G 
Thank you, I will try what you said !

p.s. Is GPS used only for Walk, Run and Hike ? And in order for the maps to show up, do we have to start the activity from the mobile app or can we also start it from the band as long as we have the phone nearby to connect to its GPS chip?

[Julia_G]

Sorry, I saw your reply after I had answered your next question.

Honestly, renaming activities is totally easy and will really give you a better record, if you care about having that.  For instance if you want to know when you really had a workout as opposed to when you were dancing...

Just track as workout and sync.  Once it has synced to your app as workout, just click top right (pencil or three dots) choose edit, rename, and type in the box.  

Dance is built in, so no worries.  It will be there, and your “workout” will turn out to be “Dance”.  Same data, of course, it is only a label.  But you will know that day you had a dance practice.

If you want to track something that is not built into the database, like Les Mills Body Pump, then you will need one extra step - but you will only need to take that extra step ONCE - after you have created the custom workout in the web based programme it will be available to you in the app.

For example, I was interested in my resting heart rate, so I created a custom “activity” of “resting”.  Obviously I would not want this recorded as “workout” - it is quite the opposite!    

Nevertheless, when I wanted to record a period of “resting” - it could be meditating, or whatever - I start a “workout” activity on my Fitbit and then rename it later.  It really is very simple and does help give you good insights.  As I said, you only have to create the custom activity once.  After it is created you just have to type the first few letters in the search box...

I have recommended something similar for people having panic attacks - or any other such issues - or maybe you just want to record how often you meditate and see your heartrate for that.  Just create your custom workout in advance, then start a “workout” activity on your Fitbit. Once it syncs, rename it, and you will have a record.

It’s amazingly flexible if you want to take just a few minutes to customize it for YOU!

Hopefully this is clear, but let me know if not!  It really is super easy to rename an activity to anything you want, but the trick is to always start by tracking it as a generic “workout”

[Julia_G]

Nothing uses GPS by default.  You have to turn it on.  It is only available with certain activities: walk, run, hike, bike, golf. 

[Julia_G]

@LostEchoes  to start a GPS activity (walk, run, hike, bike, golf) you need to have that enabled (turned on) for that activity in your Inspire HR, then just start the activity.  It will attempt to connect to your phone and let you know when it is connected.  You should be able to start straightaway, and as long as it connects eventually, it will “back track” so you have a record from the start.

I have to say that my personal experience with “connected GPS” has never been good, but I have read that more recent Fitbits like Inspire HR and Versa / Versa 2 manage better so it may work reliably for you.  Let us know how it goes.

[LostEchoes]

@Julia_G Thank you for your feedback and help. Much appreciated.
I guess I'm overexcited with my new toy and I have to give it some time and read the manual, too.
I have the GPS enabled (ON) within the web interface settings so tomorrow I will test my first WALK activity with Inspire HR and see how it goes.

I will also try the "workout" + rename procedure you described in a few days that I will have my Body Pump class.

Thank you again !

[Julia_G]

@LostEchoes , toys are such fun, aren’t they?  And Fitbit has been my favourite toy for a long time!

Please do let us know if you need any extra help in getting your toy to be just right for you. The Fitbit Community is a great resource, so use it!

[LostEchoes]

Hi again @Julia_G 
So today I tried what you said.
I went into the web dashboard and created a custom activity called "Les Mills BodyPump"

After a few hours (I made sure the app was in sync with the band, etc) I went to my gym and had a BodyPump session. I logged it on my Inspire HR as a "Workout" activity. 
All seemed fine and the activity showed up as "Workout" fine in the Fitbit app.

However, when I went into the mobile app and tried to edit it so that I would choose the activity title "Les Mills Body Pump" I had previously created as a custom activity, I would not find it as such. I even tried by typing "L...." or just "Bod...", but it never came up. I also tried on the web dashboard. No luck, there, too.





So I gave up. But why didn't it work as it was supposed to ?

I went back to the web dashboard. My only choice was to click on that blue "Create custom activity" link and I created a new custom called just "BodyPump". So I saved it as that.

So something seems not be working the right way here, right ?
After all this, I went and did another test.
I thought that maybe I had to log a custom activity at least once and then it would be saved in the database and it would show up.
So I tried to edit an older activity of mine (a walk one) and still the "BodyPump" name does not come up no matter which letters I type. I did notice, though, that ready / existent activity types such as "dance" do show up.
So it seems that my custom activities' names do not show up at all. 

Any feedback on why this is happening?
Thanks

[Julia_G · Accepted solution]

1Hi, @LostEchoes , I am not sure I am completely understanding the issues, and it would be helpful if you could let me know what phone you are using.

Basically once you have created the custom activity in your web based program you don’t need to go back there to log the activity, and I think that may be where the confusion is arising.

Once it is created in the web based log, you can access it in your app.

However, please note that you can edit only once, so if you have already tried this, you won’t be able to repeat the experiment.

I know this sounds frustrating, but once you get it, I promise it works and then it is really easy.  I am guessing your Les Mills Workout is there in your custom activiites, but for whatever reason there was a hiccup...

So my advice would be (if you want to get this working for you just as you like) to go back to your web based program and create a custom workout of ‘resting’.  (This ‘workout’ really can be useful if you want to check your resting heartrate).

Make sure everything has synced.

Then start a ‘workout’ on your Fitbit using the exercise shortcuts.  Do absolutely nothing for at least two minutes, then stop your ‘workout’ and sync.

Once it has synced (and here it would be helpful to know which phone you are using) go to your workout and choose ‘categorize exercise’ .  Start typing ‘resting’ in the box.  It should come up.  Choose and save.

Does that work?  If so Les Mills should work in the same way.

[LostEchoes]

@Julia_G 
I was just typing an update when you posted your reply 🙂

- What I was stating above, was that while I had previously created the "BodyPump" custom activity on the web dashboard, when the time came to assign it to a "workout" exercise within the app, it would not come up as a choice for me. No matter if I entered the letters "b", "bo" or whatever.

- My phone is the Samsung Galaxy S7 - everything works fine, I have no issues with my Inspire HR (sync is OK, etc)

- The update I was going to post is that, after I did assign the "BodyPump" title to my "workout" activity, via the procedure I described on my previous post, and some time passed, I now find an improvement. So, now when I go in the mobile app to edit a earlier activity of mine (it seems that previous WALK activities can also be edited) I can actually see on the list the title "BodyPump" as a choice.
Mind you, it still does NOT show if I start typing the first few letters. I actually have to press the backspace key, delete everything from that title field and this will bring me the whole list of the stored activity titles. I have to scroll down and choose BodyPump.
So it now partially works.
I just wish it also worked with me typing the first letters. 
But it's ok, I am happy.

[Julia_G]

@LostEchoes , that sounds like progress!  You really should be able to typethe first few letters of your activity to come up, but as you have noticed, it sometimes it does take a little while for everything to sync through, so that changes in your web based platform are available in your app.  Maybe if you first clear the search box and begin fresh it should work.

Anyway, it sounds like your issue is now solved.  Good job!

You now have an ability to track all your exercises exactly as you would like them to appear in your personal app record.  And it really is pretty simple, once you have created the custom activity.

I note what you said about being able to edit a walk and other exercises.  Several people have suggested that this is now possible.  Initially only ‘workout’ was editable so it may be that Fitbit is now allowing other exercises to be editable too.  I need to check that!

Good luck, and please post again with any other issues.  

[LostEchoes]

@Julia_G 
Thank you for your feedback.
I will update this topic if anything new (good or bad) comes up on this matter.