Add carried weight option to hiking/walk/run

[Mouch]

To me, the biggest difference between walking and hiking, is the weight I carry...
On a walk, I usually don't take a lot with me. But on a hike I always carry a bigger backpack (sometimes camping equipment) or my Kid in a carrier.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @Mouch, and thanks for taking the time to share this suggestion about adding carried weight option to "Hiking" on the exercise list. We rely on feedback like yours to help us develop products and features that we know our community wants to see. If this suggestion receives votes from other customers and gains popularity, it will be shared internally with various teams at Fitbit. To learn more about how Fitbit decides which suggestions get developed, visit our FAQs.

Watch this space for status updates. In the meantime, try visiting Health & Wellness to talk with other members about all things health and fitness.

[dennusd]

Splendid idea! I love to hike and do some ‘rucking’ regularly (Basically walking at a fast pace with 5-10 kg of weight with you for extra effort)

[Rich_Laue]

Won't the increased heart rate detect the increased calorie burn?

[Rsfreitas]

Was going to ask the same.. the heart rate should do the trick, I'd think.

[Mouch]

@Rich_Laue yes and no...

I mean yes the hear rate would be increased due to the added weight.

This would probably even be the case with a slightly lower pace too.

So the app would probably count the calories correctly but without the weight information, it would also assume I'm in a worst shape than usual. Or how else explain the higher heart rate combined with lower pace?

The more information provided to the app, the more accurate the fitness estimation 

[Innerninja]

I just joined and this is the first thing that I noticed that I cannot do inside of the application. I feel limited by not having this feature, such that I do not feel it completely fits my exercise routine.

[Rich_Laue]

Does this mean that the user will also want to tell fitbit how much weight they have added while weight lifting. 

Or how about wind speed while bike riding, incline level while hiking? 

[Mouch]

@Rich_Laue not sure where you're trying to go with this?!

If you don't want to enter additional details for an exercise. Nobody will force you to. That doesn't mean some users wouldn't like to.

Tracking my hiking progress as the weight I carry is getting heavier to me is of interest to me, so yeah I'd like to track it in fitbit.

I don't track my food intake though because I find it too cumbersome and calories counting is not my priority.

Doesn't mean the feature isn't useful for many other people.

Now to get to your examples...

Tracking weight increases in weight lifting exercises is far from stupid. Other fitness app already offer this so that right now people have to use an additional app next to fitbit to track exact data. Wouldn't it be nicer to have it all consolidated?

But again only if the user wants to... If someone prefers to only record heart rate and duration, that's fine too.

Wind speed is obviously an idiotic example, but inclination while hiking is something that is actually already tracked using altimeter and GPS, so... 

[ksampsell]

I agree 100%. The more weight you carry on your body, either in fat or in a pack, the more calories you burn. Plus, wearing boots adds 5-10% to exertion. I hike as my primary mode of exercise. Just like running, hiking is calculated as being a different stress on the body and heart than walking on the body. It would be an easy tool to write into the code. I would use this everyday. If one’s weight makes a difference to heart health and fitness calculations, then the weight one chooses to carry means something as well. To leave this off is nonsensical. 

[Rich_Laue]

Telling fitbit what type of shoes your wearing, or how much weight is being carried, would only be for the users benefit. 

Fitbit calculates calories based on the heart rate. The extra weight on the back, or type of shoes will increase the load on the body, which increases the heart rate. 

If the user simply wants to record details about the exercise, then this could be done in a note section, which has already been suggested. 

Where am I going @Mouch? If a user wants to add details of an exercise. they would want to do it through a notes section. I whole think this suggestion would be ideal. 

Add notes to Activities

My point above is that adding weight to a backpack, or adding weight to free weights, as for as fitbit is concearned, there is no different. Weight is weight and causes the persons heart rate to increase. 

[Mouch]

@Rich_Laue if you are only interested in calories and heart rate, then you are right...
But what about strength and endurance?

Notes are indeed a solution to add some textual details to a workout, but no analysis based on it would ever be possible.
That would be a good solutions for info like the type of shoes you are wearing for instance. Those info are very user specific and unique.

Weight on the other hand is something generic and common to all users that is also subject to progression in many workouts (Hiking, Weight Lifting, ...). It has a direct impact on a person's fitness (strength and endurance) that are not really covered by only the heartrate.
This is something that is better tracked explicitly.

So the question here is rather, is fitbit interested in becoming THE fitness tracking app or is it more of a health app that will just track heartrate and calories?

[ksampsell]

@Rich_Laue I track calories. That’s important to me. This is a tool. I want the tool to do a specific job that is accomplished easily with a bit of math. Why is that a problem for you? Why even bother having a Fitbit at all if your numbers don’t seem to matter to you? Why bother having a entry for weight, or age, or food, or water, or even the ability to specify which type of exercise if the only variable that matters is heartbeat? Why even bother counting steps at all? Why don’t you just buy a heart monitor and stop arguing with us? Who are you to tell me what I want on my expensive toy isn’t sensible?

[Rich_Laue]

@ksampsell if fitbit uses the height, weight, gender, age, etc to calculate the BMR. 

Then uses BMR, activity, and heart rate to calculate the daily caloric burn. 

Adding weight to the body will cause an increase in the heart rate, the increase in heart rate will be reflected in fitbit's increase in the recording of the calories burnt. 

As mentioned above, the extra calories burn by the additional weight will change from person to person, measuring the load on the heart(engine) will have a more accurate account. 

My thought is telling fitbit the weight of a pack on the back would be no different then telling fitbit the weight of the barbell being lifted. In either case, the user has told fitbit the exercise that they are doing. 

Am I arguing, or but like you, simply presenting my thoughts. 

[ksampsell]

You continue to argue that only one data point matters.Why do bother with a Fitbit at all? Steps are only a reflection of heartbeat, in your logic. I’m surprised Fitbit allows you on this page arguing that their product is useless as anything but a heart monitor.

[Rich_Laue]

Your the only one arguing, I simply was adding my thoughts. 

This area is where users are able to voice their opinions to the developer, it never was designed to be a conversation between users. 

I had not realized that heart rate was a function of steps, I thought that it was a function of work output. 

Also the original post doesn't say much towards why they want note the added weight. 

[ksampsell]

So, I’m going to say it again. I would like to be able to add the weight of my pack to the calculations. The app is a math tool. I’d like it to do the math for me. I really don’t know why you feel it’s your place to say I shouldn’t or to play the role of the developer and even comment on my idea. I’ve complained about you to Fitbit. It’s not your place to even have an opinion about what I want. Please stop commenting on what I want from my tracker.

[Rich_Laue]

So it sounds like you are saying that I cannot comment on my thoughts on this subject? 

I never said what. Oh can or can not, I simply was adding my thoughts. 

To many of the suggestions only have positive comments, then when the suggestion gets implemented, the community in general is upset at the unwanted change. 

[ksampsell]

Again, your opinion and the opinion of others who use Fitbit have no bearing on what I want. Your opinion on what I want is irrelevant. I don’t care if people fear change. It’s not your place to say so. You are not the company. You are not a developer. I come here to talk to developers. Yours is just unwanted male commentary on what I want or need in this world. Stop trying to impose your will on me. My voice is just as important as yours and is absolutely authoritative on WHAT I WANT. You are a bully. I won’t be bullied or mansplained. Get a life, dude, and stop trying to dominate the Fitbit community with your stupid rules.

[Rich_Laue]

But who was addressing you, I simply, as you voiced your opinion, I voiced my. Comments on this board are addressed to fitbit, not fitbit users. 

[mckillio]

I've wanted this feature for years. Not sure what Rich is on about but he's hurting the quality of this thread. 

[Rich_Laue]

@mckillio I'm glad that you properly tagged me, so that I can accidentally see it. 

My thought for now is that more weight adds a load and increases the heart rate, which increases calories. 

[Casen_]

I go on jogs/runs with extra weight in my backpack, but there is currently no way to track that extra weight.

Having the ability to choose an extra weight to track the correct calories would be nice.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @Casen_, thanks for taking the time to share this suggestion about adding a ´Carried weight´ option on walking and running activities. I've moved it into a similar request. You can learn more about how Fitbit decides what suggestions get released in our FAQs. Click on the thumbs-up to show your support.

Thank you again for your participation in the Feature Suggestions Forums.

[EileenLHeureux]

This is extremely important to those who do long, section, or through hikes. The weight in a pack being added in will change both hearts rate and calories burned. Those who do these activities know very well,  that in correctly understanding how many calories you burn, it will help you to judge what you need eat and/ or to eat enough to replace those calories. 

If the calorie assessment by fit bit is not accurately set with the additional pack weight, the user could have possible serious health issues as a result.

[cb.tv]

I've read all the nonsense on here with some amusement.  This should not be treated as a feature request but as a bug.  I can't comment on calories burned and whether the heart rate will compensate, I don't care.  What I have witnessed with my own experience is after a 90 minute ruck run with 20kg on my back at a pace that would have been on a par with a serving Royal Marine doing a combat fitness test, my VO2 Max estimate went down by two points, when if anything it should have gone up slightly or at least stayed the same.  So as another user commented it will underestimate your overall fitness level.  What they did not mention is a metric that reflects that.  So there it is: VO2 Max.  Until this is corrected that will be wrong.  So, in the meantime, what tool do I use to track my ruck runs and not get my stats wrong?  I now have a very expensive toy, and not sure I will bother to get the Pixel Watch 2 at this rate, but find something more professional.