Heart rate reading not correct for vigorous training

[joseppi]

I am having a lot of trouble getting correct heart rate readings while doing vigorus sets, primarily rowing, stair step machine or eliptical. Every once in a while will get correct readings up to 135 BPM, have never gotten correct readings over that. Tried rearranging position of watch, tighten loosen, etc. Is this an inherent problem with the device?

[Julia_G]

Hi, @joseppi, it is notoriously difficult to get consistently accurate readings from a wrist worn device (not just Fitbit) when using a rowing machine, or any activity that involves frequent flexing of the wrist (including weight lifting).  I have heard mixed reports from elliptical -- I think it probably depends on your personal style on the machine.

The best advice when doing vigorous exercise is to wear the tracker higher on your wrist (3 fingers above the wrist bone) and a little tighter (maybe a notch or two) than for daily wear.

Welcome to the Community!

[YojanaFitbit]

Nice to see you in the Forums @joseppi! Thank you @Julia_G for the tip, you're always helpful! It's great to know that you're that active @joseppi, if you want to go higher than your  Fat Burn Zone or Peak Zone while doing activities take in count the time and intensity of your workouts. The Peak zone, which means that your heart rate is greater than 85% of maximum, is consider high-intensity exercise zone. This peak zone is for short intense sessions that improve performance and speed while Cardio Zone is when you're pushing yourself but not straining.

  Peak Zone

  Cardio Zone

Have you tried any other activity such as running or walking to see if you're getting higher reading form other activities?

I'll be around! 

[Aclobos]

@Yoganafitbit, hello Yogana I have the same issue. I use a stationary bicycle at the gym. I have a very low heart rate, my heart rate at rest according to my blaze is 46-54. When I ride the stationary bike the status information from the bike shows my heart rate at 99-131, for some reason it takes my blaze about 10-15 minutes to register the same reading from the stationary bike. I have tried moving my blaze at different locations on my wrist, it makes no difference. I do notice if I have the blaze strap to tight it will not register correctly. Anyhow I usually ride for 40 + minutes and burn between 600-650 calories. My blaze will only register me burning 400-525. Its always off by 175-200 calories. I think having a low heart rate is one reason my blaze will never register a high burn rate for me. The only thing I can try to verify the difference is to borrow a chest strap to check my heart rate.  I can say that I'm happy with the blaze it is a motivator for me to get moving. To bad there was not a way to calibrate the blaze for your heart rate.

[joseppi]

Tha                               Thanks for the comments folks. Guess I'll have to go back to the chest strap. I am assuming the fitbit will not read from a chest strap.

[Aclobos]

@joseppi, no such luck with Fitbit products. Say which chest strap have you been using? Does it have a good database to track your status and print monthly records. I'm thinking about going to a chest strap to track my cardio workout and to compare how the blaze is registering my daily activity. Looking for something that works right out of the box that you don't have to keep adjusting to track your stats. Also something that dose not cost an arm and a leg.

[YojanaFitbit]

It's great to see that you've visited the Fitbit Community! 

@Aclobos Getting a higher Heart Rate reading while doing stationary bike will depend on intensity of the workout, your Blaze tracks information in the same way that Fitbit Surge so check this tips to improve HR accuracy on your Blaze. Calories burned are calculated using your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), your HR information and the workout activity name. Have you tried any other activity? 

@joseppi As @Aclobos mentioned  above there is no option to connect Fitbit with a chest strap, but you can try to improve your HR reading by following the tips in this post too. Testing your Fitbit with different workout will give you a hint of what is happening in your case also. 

Thank you for jumping in @Aclobos. About the option you were looking for, though we've found that PurePulse provides better overall heart rate tracking than cardio machines or chest straps since it tracks your heart rate day and night, wrist placement during certain vigorous exercise is important to take in count different factors. Heart rate reading varies depending on the  movement, temperature, humidity, stress level, physical body position, caffeine intake, and medication. Review the information on optimal wear closely and make sure you following the tips in this link.

I'll be looking forward to your new comments! 

[Aclobos]

@YojanaFitbit, thanks. I have tried all of the tips for placement of wearing the blaze on my wrist. The only reason why I question the accuracy of the heart rate and calories burned is because the equipment I use at the gym gives me a different readings from my blaze. I don't know how accurate my heart rate and calories burned are for taking my walks but I have got my distance and steps calibrated. So I feel ok knowing my distance and steps are correct but it's only correct when I use my walking shortcut. That's another story. So have you struggled with any inaccuracies with your Fitbit product and if so how do you deal with it and which tracker are you using. Anyhow thanks for your suggestions.

[joseppi]

Aclobos, I use the garmin strap and their wrist band, the data is excellent. I have been excercizing based on heart rate for around 6 years on their system. I like the fitbit for everthing except for the vigorous training. Afraid I don't remember cost of garmin system.

[joseppi]

                                     Yojana, I will continue to try your suggestions. Someone on a previous post mentioned wrist bands which I will try next. I will let you know how it turns out.

[YojanaFitbit]

Good morning guys! Thank you for the clarification @Aclobos, I'm glad to know that your Blaze is showing accurate readings for your walks. In my experience when I try to compare my Fitbit with machines on the gym, not always get the same information regarding HR, for example spinning, whenever I hold the bars to see my heart rate, it shows a lower number than my Surge. But when I use any other machine sometimes is higher and some others is the same. I think that since your Fitbit is with you throughout the day and PurePulse LED lights detect blood volume changes using finely tuned algorithms to measure heart rate automatically and continuously it won't give the same result than other monitor. Fitbit trackers also uses your settings information so I think that's definitely a plus.  

@joseppi Thank you for the heads up, hopefully you will get better results. And yes, please come back to tell your experience, it's always nice to know more about our Fitbitters!  

I'll see you around!