New Active Zones Update

[DeniseD12]

Hey, 

Is anyone having problem’s with the new update? I’ve tracked my workouts for years now with my fitbit no problem but since they changed over to ‘the zones’ all my exercises are below zones - which is below cardio and fat burn. I understand that it may just be more accurate now but then last week I had 5 minutes below zones and now most of all my exercises are this! It’s just a huge jump from one week to another week and the only difference is the update. My partners is the same and just wondered if anyone else has found the new update a bit different?

Thanks 

Denise

Moderator edit: subject for clarity 

[MrMarv]

@DeniseD12 - 

If your device is either an Ionic or one of the Versa Family of devices, you have a ton of company since the last firmware update that rolled out over the last two weeks.

The Heart Rate Zone calculations have moved from the Traditional formula which are straight fixed percentages (50, 70 and 85%) of your Max Heart Rate which is defined as subtracting your age from 220. For me, as a 68 year old male, my Max Heart Rate is 152. Traditional zone values for me are shown in the first data row below.

BTW, there is another tweak to the "traditional" method for women where 88% of the female's age is subtracted from 206 to get their Max HR. So, for a 31-year old female, Max HR would drop from 189 (220 - 31) to 179 (206 - 27).

As I mentioned earlier, the new formula being used by many FitBit devices, including the Versa 2 as of the latest release, use a value called Heart Rate Reserve. Subtracting your resting heart rate from your max heart rate results in that reserve.

40% of the reserve is added to your resting heart rate to establish the beginning of the Fat Burn Zone.

60% of the reserve is added to your resting heart rate to establish the beginning of the Cardio Zone.

85% of the reserve is added to your resting heart rate to establish the beginning of the Peak Zone.

The new Heart Rate Reserve formula zones for me are shown in the second data row below.

Actually, my Max Heart Rate is 120 (80% of traditional max) because I take Beta Blockers that throttle down my heart rate even during exercise. This was just confirmed with my Cardiologist September 3rd during my semi-annual office visit after I asked him about what I read in the Harvard Medical School Harvard Health Letter from November of last year. My heart rate zones utilizing the Heart Rate Reserve formula and using my redefined Max Heart Rate is represented by the third data line below.

Good luck and welcome to the boards.

[GreySkyRain]

I am with you on this one. I used the “active minutes” in real time to make sure I walked enough before stopping. The new “active zone minutes” are not worth my time to use. Also had most in fat burn. Like the other commenter I have health issues and take meds that affect me ability to hit the new zones.  

 Yesterday’s walk was it.  I walked 66 minutes, climbed 18 “floors” in altitude and only achieved 26 active minutes.

I deleted the “active zones minutes” from my iOS goal dashboard.  I wish they allowed for the option for using it still in the app. 

Active minutes is still accessible via the Fitbit.com online dashboard after you are done.  I like the real-time in the moment measurement, especially on days where my work hours are excessive making it hard to get out and be active. It is silly that it is also not accessible from iOS since they still use it for tracing the number of days exercised. 

[Erikadodd]

I just updated my versa and I’m having the same issues. It shows on my work out that my heart rate was in cardio and peak for majority of the work out, but at the top it says my heart rate is below zones for the entire work out. So frustrating.

[MrMarv]

@GreySkyRain -

If by "the other commenter" you mean me, and "take meds" meaning Beta Blockers, may I strongly suggest you consider overriding your Max HR? I believe you will be getting better positive feedback from the app without diminishing the value of it.

Yes my start of fat burn zone is now 10 bpm higher than the traditional value but it sure isn't the 23 bpm higher without the Max HR override.

The zones shown in the last row of the chart I posted pretty much match what my cardiologist wants to see me hit. During my semi-annual visit on September 3rd, he said he was happy to see me hitting high 90s and low 100s in my treadmill sessions, saying that was the best range for me and to not go above 110 for any length of time. Well, 111 is the start of peak using the reduced Max HR.

If you decide to change your Max HR, you have to do it in the web dashboard "Settings" page, save the change and sync your device. One user had to log out and log back into his mobile app for the change to take.

Do not attempt the change within the mobile app, itself. That functionality is broken. You can view the change in the app and the new zone values once they take effect.

Good luck.