Elliptical Steps Accuracy

[Shawnlh918]

The steps and distance recorded while using an elliptical are about half of what they actually are as reported by the elliptical, as well as compared to walking at the same speed & distance. I use the handle bars, and have also used the elliptical without the handle bars and mimicked a jogging motion. The steps recorded are always half of what they would be if I had just taken a walk. Very disappointing, and I don't know how to fix. Have tried using the elliptical as a Surge exercise choice, as well as just letting the Surge recognize it on its own.

[TarinFitbit]

Very welcome to the Community @Shawnlh918!  My advice for you in this case is to adjust your Stride Length to have an accurate distance and also you can Manually Log your elliptical activity, cause log an exercise will give you credit for a calorie-burning activity where you are not normally moving your arms, like elliptical.

Let me know how it goes! 

[JoelCarol · Accepted solution]

I've had the same experience with my elliptical. Actually, it won't count at all. I take it off my wrist and wear it attached to a fanny pack around my waist. It count each step this way. I know it's not getting my heart rate then but it's counting my steps.

[Shawnlh918]

Thanks, I'll try that!

[chris2121]

Step count on elliptical trainers is erratic.  Without adjusting stride length or indeed making any other changes sometimes it counts roughly all my steps sometimes a bit more than half.  That's just how it is.

[TarinFitbit]

Hey guys @chris2121 @Shawnlh918 and @JoelCarol thanks for those great tips!  

Guys, just remember that wrist based trackers are specifically designed for your wrist, if you move your body a lot and not your arms or vice versa, you may get a slight difference in activity. This is the reason why you get different readings each time you use the elliptical machine and in this case you may want to Manually Log an Exercise when you forget to wear your tracker or every time you are doing an activity like elliptical. This is going to give you credit for a calorie-burning activity that isn't completely measurable by your tracker (because you are not moving all the time your arms). So, replacing an automatically detected exercise by manually logging it instead may improve your totals.

Hope this helps, Enjoy your weekend! 

[Shawnlh918]

I'm not sure why the Surge has the elliptical exercise tracker option if it
doesn't work. I understand the body movement issue, and the fanny pack idea
works great!

[JoelCarol]

Actually, with my elliptical, a commercial Precor AMT 100i, I am always
moving my arms. But it's the specific motion of the arms (with ellipticals)
that fitbits don't pick up. So that is why you must move it to your waist
area, if you want to track steps while exercising. Or you can skip wearing it
and track manually, like you said. What's unusual (& disappointing) is that
I don't know why you have "elliptical" as an activity option when none of
the fitbits are able to track it? -Carol Zielinski

[chris2121]

It's unfair to say that it doesn't work at all. It does on some exercise machines, not others. Must I presume be something to do with the range of motion and that can presumably be fixed.

[TarinFitbit]

Hey @chris2121 @JoelCarol @Shawnlh918! Thanks for sharing all your updates and information guys. I was very interesting on this topic, so I test my tracker on my elliptical for 35 minutes  and it tracked all my steps, distance and also my active minutes. The only thing, is that I didn't log the activity, I was moving my arms like a normal walk or run and I make sure I had my tracker on the correct hand (Dominant - Non Dominant).

However, if you feel that your tracker is inaccurate, I recommend Contact Costumer Support, they have tools to further investigate your inquiry.  

Happy stepping ! 

[bpetillo]

I use an elliptical machine that includes poles for arm motion.  I find it under counts steps by 50%.  It's the exercise that is important but I hate to not reach by daily step goal after putting in the work.

[SantiR]

@bpetillo Welcome to the Fitbit Community! Have you tried to manually log the activity? (follow @GisselleM's steps) That is a great way to log that kind of activity.

Let me know how it goes! 

[JoelCarol]

If you put the fitbit by your waist (like in a fanny pack), it will count
correctly.