Does the Fitbit track steps on a treadmill?

carmenrocs08

I thought about pulling out my treadmill and was wondering if I fitbit would track my steps on there. Sometimes its hard for me to get out and walk the neighborhood so I was wanting to start working out on my treadmill. Can I also track my exercise with my fitbit for the time I worked out if it doesnt count my steps? TIA

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Yes fitbit will track your steps on the treadmill. If you have a flex you need to make sure you're not holding onto the rails since it's based on arm movement.

NancyN795

The warning about holding onto the rails applies not only to the Flex, but also to the Charge, and to a lesser extent the Charge HR and Surge (the heart rate function can help counteract the problem).

Also, it isn't really arm "movement" that it is based on, it is acceleration. You don't have to swing your arms for a wrist based Fitbit to detect steps. Fitbit is trying to detect the particular acceleration signature that denotes a step from the total movement it detects. Holding onto something that doesn't move with respect to the ground (treadmill handrail, stroller handle, shopping cart) insulates your wrist from the impact of your steps.

I don't mean to be pedantic, but it is a common misconception that it is arm swings that are detected.

carmenrocs08 wrote: »

Can I also track my exercise with my fitbit for the time I worked out if it doesnt count my steps? TIA

Not really. Not at all with the Flex, One or Zip. The Charge HR and Surge are not as dependent on steps as the devices that don't have heart rate sensing, but they still need to see some steps or they'll conclude that the elevated heart rate wasn't due to exercise and not give an elevated calorie burn. For exercise that doesn't involve steps (swimming, cycling, weight lifting) you need to log it manually in either Fitbit or MFP.