The many steps on the Garmin Vivofit.

[birkdale10]

I received one of those Garmin wristbands to count my steps last Xmas, and it seems to be a little weird about being on a bike.

When I'm walking or running, all is well, seems to count the steps ok.

Last month, I drove my car from Dallas to Amarillo, stopped at a couple of rest stops, and ended up with about 450 steps at the end of the one way trip. Reasonable.

I went to the grocery store yesterday on the FJR, a 7 mile trip, and got 1457 steps along the way. Mostly highway, about 12 redlight that I might have slowed for or put a foot down. Just to make sure it's clear...I was not pushing the bike!

I've done some searches to see if anyone else with a pedometer gets credit for lots of walking when riding a bike, but no info. Does anyone else in the Forum have a Vivofit and has similar problems? Any solutions?

 

[HotRodZilla]

I think your pedo meter is messed up. That's a lot of pedos in one trip.

 

[Klubis]

Yes, my iPhone also gives me credit for a lot of steps that were "earned" while riding. Doesn't bother me. Now you peeps out there that are constantly spinning their company paid for pedometer that is linked to the cost of your health insurance, pay attention!

 

[Harald]

My fitbit did the same thing when I had it. There's a fair amount of shaking going on at your wrist when riding on the bike and all those fitness bands do is count those movements as steps. I never worried about it too much, because it shortchanged me when I was lifting weights because it would log very few steps but I was sure exerting myself and should get credit for that.

 

[BikerGeek99]

Same thing happened to Sooze when we went to NAFO this year. She has a FitBit and was credited with some shit-ton number of steps while on the bike.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Hey Geek, I bet if you wear that thing during sex, you can get like 2.5 extra steps logged.

 

[NMRoadRunner]

Huh? I've never even thought of spending money for something that would tell me how many steps I've made. Why do you care how many? Is it like "Likes" on ''Facial Book", a status thing? I would kick all your asses after an Elk Hunt here in Newer Mexico if that's the case. Never mind me, go take a long walk, it'll make you feel better!

 

[PJ4863]

I had a fit bit type of gizmo, and I always maxed out for the day after an hour on the bike. I chalked it up to the vibrations.

 

[Harald]

Huh? I've never even thought of spending money for something that would tell me how many steps I've made. Why do you care how many? Is it like "Likes" on ''Facial Book", a status thing? I would kick all your asses after an Elk Hunt here in Newer Mexico if that's the case. Never mind me, go take a long walk, it'll make you feel better!

I'm with you there on a waste of money, although in my defense my fitbit was paid for by my company. One interesting thing I learned from having it was how much actual sleep I get each night. It tracks how much time you are laying there verses actually sleeping. I found that since I ride my FJR virtually every day, I was so relaxed that I spent very little time tossing and turning and also fell asleep quickly.

 

[HotRodZilla]

^^^That's actually interesting info. On a serious note Harald, were you messing around, or was there a difference in your sleep between days you drove and days you rode? Just wondering really...

 

[Knifemaker]

Observer Effect. ????

It's been shown that those trying to lose weight using a device like the Fitbit, actually lost LESS weight than those that were not using such a device to "keep track" of their steps.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/21/fitness-trackers-may-not-aid-weight-loss-study-finds

 

[Harald]

HRZ wrote:

^^^That's actually interesting info. On a serious note Harald, were you messing around, or was there a difference in your sleep between days you drove and days you rode? Just wondering really...

I was just kidding because I seem to always sleep pretty good unless there's some chaos in my life. When I was worked up about something, it showed that I did much more tossing and turning at night. I didn't really need the fitbit to tell me that because I would still be tired in the morning after having plenty of horizontal time.