Mowing the lawn or riding bike?

[milaub]

I've had my Versa a bit over a week and love it. But I've mowed my lawn a couple of times since then, and my Fitbit thinks I'm taking bike rides.

Not a big deal, but it would be nice if it could recognize a regular activity like mowing the lawn as being different from riding bike.

[SunsetRunner]

Hmmmm, I mowed two lawns and my unit counted steps. However, I carry it in my pocket for protection while I do yard work and other chores. 

[so8sk]

I have had multiple fitbits, and each one has done this to me.  This is not a Versa-specific issue.  My surge, blaze, and ionic all recorded mowing the lawn as "outdoor bike."  I don't know why that is or how to fix it.

[luv2wlk]

It did the same thing to my spouse.   At lease I know that it has happened to other users.   I was curious to how it choose outdoor bike    lol

[SunsetRunner]

It's the luck of the draw, if you will.  🙂 You have to remember, when these devices detect a rhythmic movement, it's going to register steps or possibly an exercise.  These devices are not that smart.  It doesn't know if you're mowing a lawn or riding a bike or walking. If you don't want to get unearned steps, don't wear it when you're mowing the lawn. And don't put it in your pocket either.

I have a desk job and when I am stuffing envelopes with checks, my Fitbit detects that rhythmic motion and it will tally up steps. I take my Fitbit off when I'm doing this function so I don't get unearned steps.

[milaub]

To clarify, I'm mowing with a push mower, so I'm definitely taking steps. The problem is the opposite - it is NOT registering steps because it thinks I'm on my bike. I'm sure I could move the Fitbit to my pocket, and it could register the steps, however I'd forfeit the heart rate data, which I don't want to do.

It seems with connected gps, it should be smart enough to recognize that I'm not moving fast enough to be riding bike.

I realize it's never going to be perfect, but in this case, it seems like it could be tracked more accurately.

[Sammy_Smooth]

It did the same thing to me!  I was able to change the name of the workout in the app to Mowing Lawn, but I still found it very strange.

[Creeka]

I sure want credit for mowing my lawn. It's worth about 6000 plus steps!

[0hwell]

Holding on to the handle of a lawn mower dampens the small jolt on your wrist that normally occurs when you take steps, same thing can happen pushing a grocery cart. The closest programmed algorithm to the motion and acceleration that occurs is most likely outdoor bike. 

[shakeandbake72]

My charge 2 normally logs 6 flights of stairs per hour of work on my zero turn mower. So far my versa won’t even update so I don’t know if it will be problematic as well or not.

[wtchambers]

Could you use the Exercise Shortcut Walk when you mow the lawn?

[Creeka]

I just leave it in step mode to count the steps. I realize that maybe it's not counting some calories burned due to the weight of the lawn mower I am pushing, but I'm not overly concerned about that.




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[DSRGW]

These things use an accelerometer which is able to detects changes in motion in 3 dimensions (i.e. acceleration and deceleration and its derivatives) and then uses a classification engine to look at accelerometer data to identify activities. 

That is why fitbit users get biking from mowing the lawn - holding bike handle bars while pedaling and holding the handle on a push mower while walking both produce similar movement patterns. Activity classification doesn't incorporate GPS, so it doesn't know you are walking around in circles in your front yard. 

Fitbit may be able to fix this problem by training the AI in their classification engine on more 'mowing the lawn' data. There is also the possibility that the movement patterns are so similar that even a well trained AI won't get it right often enough. In that case, Fitbit probably just made the decision to call everything biking because it is the more common exercise activity.

[TheGrouch]

I'm getting Outdoor Bike activities from my riding lawnmower.  Even had a couple entries while riding a friend's Buell on the Blue Ridge Parkway weekend.  I've since disabled most of the auto-start exercise options.

[Creeka]

Thanks,

Lawn mowing is probably as good exercise wise if one is using a non - propelled push mower.

[SunsetRunner]

My Charge 2 does the same.  To fix it I went into the desktop app, clicked on the icon showing how many days of exercise I have had this week and then on the "Outdoor Bike" that was really walking behind a push mower.  Next click on the pencil/edit, this will bring up the details of the exercise.  Click on "Outdoor Bike" now you can search for "Mowing lawn" as an exercise.  Click the green check to save.

Note: I tried to change it first through the online dashboard, but it does not seem to work there.  I do not have the app on a mobile device to test how it works there.  This was through the desktop app, I was given credit for my steps within the exercise.  The step count seems about right for the area I mowed.  However, I do not see that my daily total changed, so I am not sure if it counted steps despite thinking it was biking or does not add steps for changed exercise.

[5ggggg]

On my Charge2 this happens one out of ten times. On the Versa it happens 6 out of ten times as it is way too sensitive to bumps in various situations.

@milaub: You can add this here, as many of us proofed this flaw... 

[SMKEEN]

I have that issue when I am on my lawn mower. It thinks I am riding a bike.

[5ggggg]

Sorry my link above did not work. I just corrected it !

[Ult1mat3X]

If you get a walk behind, get self-propelled and make sure it's rwd. Fwd sucks, because with the handlebar weight the traction in the front really isn't that great. A two stroke is much lighter but unless you have hills or banks to mow that doesn't really matter. I currently have a Honda for trim work, it has a caster release feature that allows the front wheels to pivot independently. It's really bizarre until you get used to it but it makes turning around a snap; no lifting the front wheels.

That said, I've had riders ever since I was a homeowner and have no desire to 'keep fit' in 90 degress plus humidity. Eff that. Most new riding mowers are CRAP, they are all made by MTD and are disposable. Older riders are much better, even cheaper models like Simplicity. The downsides are how beat up most are by now, fussy belt drives that can be a PITA and some of them are geared way too slow. I replaced my '71 Simplicity with a more modern hydrostatic one and I shaved 15 minutes off my cutting time. When I bought the Simplicity I couldn't justify having a walk behind when my garage kept classic rider only cost $250. Way different story if you're only buying new.