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Walking inside/marching tracking

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Hi! I've decided to start walking in place in my house, like power walk or just marching to get my heartbeat up. (I've read that it can have same effect as walking outdoors and the circumstances right now don't help me getting outdoors.) What's the best way to track this kind of exercise? Walking? Workout? Is there a way it can count steps if I stay in place? 

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I would use Walking.  The steps will count just fine if you swing your arms also just as you would on a normal walk.

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I would use Walking.  The steps will count just fine if you swing your arms also just as you would on a normal walk.

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Yes I move my arms. I'll try and let you know. Thanks!
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So. For 8:17 minutes it counted 850 metres and 1150 steps. I'm not sure the step count sounds ok but the distance and pace seem fine, I walked as if on an elliptical machine. Certainly felt as walking outdoors minus the view!

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But why doesn't it count as active minutes?

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Hey there @irinial, thanks for getting back! Smiley Very Happy If you're having discrepancy with your step count, first make sure the wrist placement settings are correct. Next, double check that you entered your height correctly. Since we use height to estimate your walking and running stride lengths, you may want to measure and manually adjust these values if your legs are longer or shorter than average.

Sometimes, when you start walking you may notice that your steps may not update on your device right away. After about 10-15 continuous steps, you'll notice the steps catch up and start updating in real-time with each step you take.

To get more information about this, check the article: How accurate are Fitbit devices?

 

Also, I was wondering if you're comparing your Charge 2 and the Treadmill machine? As what I understood, you're. Let me also say, that the calorie burn on your Charge 2 will be a lot more accurate than the treadmill. The Treadmill uses an "average" calorie burn based on the speed, incline, and time.  The Charge 2 uses your profile information for age, height, weight, and sex, plus the heart rate during exercise to calculate calorie burn.

 

You mentioned that you're not holding onto the treadmill side rails. However, keep in  mind that the tracker cannot detect your number of steps since your arm is not moving.  If you walk with a normal arm swing on the treadmill, it should count the proper number of steps and calories. 

 

Also, remember that if you are using the Treadmill exercise mode on the Charge 2 it will use the Walking Stride Length and not the Running Stride Length for calculating distance from the number of steps.  This will cause the distance to be off substantially. So, if you are running on the treadmill, it is better to use the Run exercise mode, assuming you have correctly set up the stride lengths for Walk and Run.  But, it is important that your arms swing freely in order for the Charge 2 to count steps, and not held next to the body.

 

Keep in mind that what is provided in the article: What are active minutes is the key to earn your minutes. 

 

The algorithms detect subtle differences in exertion that may explain why two seemingly identical activities result in different active minute totals. For example if you took a brisk walk along the same route two days in a row, differences in your speed and exertion levels (e.g. out of breath vs not out of breath, etc) will cause different active minute totals for the two activities. 

Because our trackers primarily track movement through the use of an accelerometer, they more accurately detect active minutes for step-based activities (brisk walking, running) than non-step based activities or activities that require more than steps (yoga, tennis). Trackers like the Charge 2, with a heart rate monitor detect active minutes most accurately, since heart rate data allows us to better estimate caloric burn and, in turn, exercise intensity. 

 

Also; note that if you're manually logging activities, your Charge 2 uses a standard MET score and your (optional for custom activities) calorie burn to calculate active minutes. Said that, high calorie burn activities will give you active minutes. Therefore, since custom activities don't include a MET score associated, you'll only get active minutes for those activities if you also log a high calorie burn. 

 

If you are working out in a max, and not getting active minutes, as you know, the intensity is necessary to get the active minutes. If you are not getting them, I suggest you to restart your Charge 2 once again. Then use it for a few days and let me know the results. Woman Wink

 

Hope this helps, let @SunsetRunner or me know if you need further assistance! 

Maria | Community Moderator, Fitbit


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Hi and thanks for all the info. I'm not using a treadmill, I just walk in place swinging my arms! It may sound funny but today I found that it's a good way to get some exercise in, even as a warm-up before my workout. But it doesn't show as active minutes. It counted as my daily workout though. Was it because it was less than 10 minutes?

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I'm glad to hear you found it a good way to get some exercises @irinial! Answering your question, minutes are only awarded after 10 minutes of continuous moderate-to-intense activity. Have you taken a look at the article: What are active minutes?

 

Ping me out if you need more help! 

Maria | Community Moderator, Fitbit


Was my post helpful? Give it a thumbs up to show your appreciation! Of course, if this was the answer you were looking for, don't forget to make it the Best Answer! Als...

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active minutes?

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