Zone minutes

[RoseH58]

Help! I am getting very angry with my zone minutes on my Fitbit. One day they seem to record ok but the next day despite walking for an hour & a half I don’t get any zone minutes at all. I’ve done resets & I’ve uninstalled & reinstalled as advised by customer services but I don’t get anything at all. I am on heart medication & I asked if this would affect my zone minutes but was told it is unlikely. How can it work one day but not the next? It is making me so cross when I try hard to do the recommended amount. Please advise!!

[vee]

Verify that it is tracking your heart rate. If it is, how high is your heart rate getting? (That is frustrating but good going on the long walk!) 

[RoseH58]

Thank you for your reply. Yes it is tracking my heart rate but as I’m on medication to keep the rhythm under control I wondered if the zone minutes are affected by that. What I don’t understand is why is tracks zone minutes one day but not the next! It is very frustrating for me.

[SunsetRunner]

Hello @RoseH58 

I’m certainly not a doctor but I think that your heart medication shouldn’t effect your Active Zone Mins. You earn Active Zone Minutes for time spent in the fat burn, cardio, or peak heart-rate zones. To help you maximize your time, you earn 2 Active Zone Minutes for each minute you’re in the cardio or peak zones. Heart-rate zones are personalized based on your fitness level and age. Look here to see more about Active Zone Mins: https://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/1379.htm

My suspicion is that it’s most likely the way your wearing your tracker when your out exercising/walking. Maybe one day your tracker sits a certain way on your wrist but the next day it’s slightly different or looser. Look here to see how to wear it on your wrist when your trying to grab those great active zone mins: https://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/1565.htm (look under “How do I improve the accuracy of my heart rate reading”)…..also….Fantastic job on walking for an hour and a half! 

😃hopefully this answered your question. Keep me posted

[TommyIzzo]

@RoseH58 Have you noticed what your heart rate shows while walking? My guess is "below zone". There is a known issue with exercise heart rate on the Sense and Versa 3. If you search the forum, you should find plenty or reading. 

[RoseH58]

I will certainly look into the information you’ve given me & am very grateful. I do try to wear the tracker in the same place each day but sometimes when I can feel my heart thumping the heart rate isn’t showing it. 
Thank you for the encouragement - due to health issues I find it painful & tiring to walk but determination sets in & I just try my best. I just am disappointed that the Fitbit lets me down. 

[RoseH58]

Yes the heart rate on the tracker doesn’t show as high as I think it should. One day I can walk slowly & I get zone minutes. The next day I may walk slightly faster & I don’t get any at all. It just doesn’t make sense!

[TommyIzzo]

@RoseH58 Here's an example thread. Versa 3 and Sense have a different heart rate technology than the other models. Some have posted inconsistent results, like you have. 

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Sense/Heart-rate-inaccurate-on-Fitbit-Sense/m-p/5029213#M39300 

The thread is 29 pages long, but the link will get you to Fitbits final response. 

[SunsetRunner]

And there is of course the very long thread about the issue here in the Versa 3 group:

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Versa-3/Versa-3-heart-rate-accuracy-concern-during-exercise/m-p/5144...

In a nutshell, HR monitoring on these devices is flawed and very unrelaible with no fix in sight.  

[RoseH58]

Thank you for your help. I will have a good look at the thread you have sent

[RoseH58]

Thank you. It seems like I have lots of reading to do but I would like to try & resolve it. Thank you for your help 

[RoseH58]

After writing on this forum a few days ago about my Fitbit versa 3 not recording my zone minutes accurately, I contacted customer support for the 3rd time. That in itself was not successful at the time but  after a few days I had a copy of the chat transcript emailed to me along with advice of how to fix it (as I am on heart medication my heartbeat is slower than the average which zone minutes work on). The email told me I could adjust the level of the heart rate zone & explained how to do it. To my amazement this has worked & now I am getting more zone minutes than I’ve ever had! I just wanted to thank those of you who responded & say don’t give up. I’m not sure why I wasn’t told how to adjust the heart rate zone in the first place as it would have saved me a lot of hassle. Anyway all is good now 😊

[LZeeW · Accepted solution]

@RoseH58   I am merging this post with your other thread, as it is a continuation of that topic.  I wish I had come across your other posts before you spent so much time chatting with Support.  I would have saved you that time.

My background is human physiology.  The correct answer for you and others like you is to set a Custom Max Heart Rate.  The path is: tap on your profile picture > Activity & Wellness > Heart Settings > Heart Rate Zones > Custom Max Heart Rate > toggle it to On.  It takes some trial and error to adjust the zones.  Zone minutes calculations use your resting heart rate as part of the equation, so it isn't exactly intuitive where to start.

I also want to acknowledge that the comments from other users about wrist placement and heart rate accuracy are valid and should not be dismissed.  Heart medication is the game changer in this case.

A few years ago the CDC and WHO changed their activity recommendations.  They recommend 150 min/wk of moderate activity or 75 minutes/wk of vigorous activity or a combination of the two.  This is how the CDC defines moderate activity.  "Moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity means you’re working hard enough to raise your heart rate and break a sweat. One way to tell if it’s a moderate-intensity aerobic activity is that you’ll be able to talk, but not sing the words to your favorite song."  CDC article   Users who adjust their maximum heart rate should aim for a new fat burn zone that fits this description.  Please don't short change yourself.

[RoseH58]

My goodness I also wish you’d seen my post last week but I’m grateful for all the information & advice you’ve given. Until I received the email yesterday I had no idea I could change the heart rate zones. Obviously I need to be careful as I’m on medication but when I was trying so hard & getting 0 minutes it was very frustrating. Thank you again for your help. 

[RoseH58]

On a customer advisor chat many weeks ago I did ask if my heart medication could be affecting my zone minutes & the reply was “I wouldn’t think so”. Strangely I did used to get some but just recently they seemed to stop registering even if I had been walking non stop for 40 minutes. Some days they’d work & some they wouldn’t. Never mind they’re working now & that’s what matters. 

[Montana1952]

My Versa 4 is doing the same thing.  I work out to 20 minute Zumba and it hardly registers 5 zone minutes.  I'm bouncing lightly on my fitball, and it is racking up zone minutes.  My heartrate isn't even high.  Go figure???!!!