Charge HR-mileage question

skinny4me2be

I am on my 2nd week of using my Charge HR. I left my stride amounts in my account when I switched from my Fitbit One to the Charge HR. I've tested it out on the treadmill walking 1mile-gives me 1 mile....now when I use my Phone and Use the RunKeeper app/GPS, it tells me I went two miles--but my fitbit says 1.6...is that because my stride is probably off? I have it set for my normal stride and today when I walked I was going at a pretty good clip....just wondering if anyone else had any thoughts or suggestions........thanks!

NancyN795

If a normal walking pace on the treadmill is correct, but an outside walk at an faster pace is significantly off, then maybe it is your running stride that is the problem. I don't have easy access to a treadmill so I've just been tweaking stride length gradually. I think I've got it pretty accurate for walking, at the moment, at least on our typical walks, but I'm having trouble with the running stride length. For a long time, we didn't do any running, so I just set my running stride to my walking stride and that seemed to work, but now we've added a little jogging to the mix. I can't run for any real distance at this point in time, but we've started adding in 30-60 second stretches of running (during the downhill portion of our walk) and that throws it off. I think it doesn't help that as I improve in my walking and/or running ability, I think my stride length also changes. So, I just keep tweaking the stride length.

heybales

The GPS part saying 2 miles isn't necessarily trustworthy either.

Accuracy can and will bounce around 3 meters if you have great GPS reception - which isn't always the case either, and enough bouncing around can add up, especially if many corners are involved.
So it depends on the algorithms to smooth that jagged nature of a route. I'm betting the app doesn't do that.

My Garmin does while its tracking and logging for correction to some extent, and then I have another application I upload the data into that also takes a swipe at it, and usually knocks the distance down a tad more.

Might try this to confirm some route that was on path or sidewalks or streets to see which was really closer.
http://www.mappedometer.com/

skinny4me2be

So do you think I need to add faster paced step count in the Run Stride?

@Heybales. I used the MappedMeter.com you advised off. That had shown my route just slightly less than 2 miles. So thinking maybe its my stride I have to adjust--but would I put that under the running one if I'm walking fast? Would it think I'm running ????

heybales

skinny4me2be wrote: »

So do you think I need to add faster paced step count in the Run Stride?

@Heybales. I used the MappedMeter.com you advised off. That had shown my route just slightly less than 2 miles. So thinking maybe its my stride I have to adjust--but would I put that under the running one if I'm walking fast? Would it think I'm running ????

It should not, unless the nature of your fast walking is close to slow jogging, like great body rise and fall.
There is a difference in the motion and free fall and impact between walking and jogging, it can usually tell easily, just as you would likely feel it easily.

But think of this. The Fitbit can only dynamically adjust your stride by so much, starting with your weight and the set stride length and the expected impact of that - compared to the impact it sees with each step.

If you removed the workout steps and distance from the days stats - which has more steps/distance?
The day without the exercise, or the exercise?

If you got a a stride length nailed exactly for this fast walking, and that's a whole 5% of your daily total - then rest of your steps/distance/calorie burn is going to be badly inflated, since it's probably not adjusting down far enough for daily steps.
Just as you see it not adjusting up enough for fast walking steps to be correct for distance.

Your stride length really should be set at mid-range between normal serious non-exercise pace, and exercise pace.
That should take care of slower grocery store shuffle steps too.
It wouldn't be as accurate for the extreme either direction, but for the vast majority of steps within the range it can adjust well for - it's got it covered.
Just picture your good old bell curve. Where in that do you want the stride length to be accurate?