Counting Steps FAD
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There's difference to being PHYSICALLY ACTIVE and PHYSICALLY FIT. Steps are fine for keeping up physical activity. If one wants to get more physically fit, they train in exercises and activities that improve it.koinflipper wrote: »I am a big disbeliever in the idea that counting steps taken under any circumstances during the day are actually has any meaning to becoming physically fit. My physiology classes in graduate school taught me that to contribute towards fitness, there must be sustained physical activity for at least 30 minutes at cardio training level.
A friend proudly showed me his fitbit today saying he had 10,000+ steps for the day. How many of those steps were from his office down the short hall to get cup of coffee and back to his office chair (drinks at least 10 cups of coffee a day) ? Do those steps matter in the overall fitness? What about meandering around WalMart avoiding cart collisions and frequent stops to select item and put in cart? Do those steps contribute anything? How about multiple trips from family room to kitchen to get snacks to watch TV? He finally admitted that only half of those steps were during his morning run.
Is it the hypothesis that to get in 10,000 steps per day, you had to have been pretty active during the day? If I walked slowly all day to get 10k steps, is that equivalent to random steps taken throughout the day of any duration and any pace?
Step-Counting gadgets have become big business. Can anyone point me to a single peer-reviewed scientific article that indicates that step counting is a proven method to improve fitness? I doubt it. It is just a FAD that may lull many into the illusion that they are getting physically fit merely because they logged a certain number of steps each day. Is 10k steps the "daily recommended" amount for physical fitness? What happened to cardio exercise as the gold standard?
I think the problem here is that you're confusing ACTIVE with FIT.
And how can it be a fad if it actually encourages people to increase their activity with hardly any additional cost?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Personally I have a Fitbit for one reason...................to see if I've been ACTIVE enough in a day.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition 0 -
Just popping in to leave this study...
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2108876
OP if you don't like it, then don't use one. I've had mine for almost four years now and I like it. My main reason for purchasing it was to motivate me to remain active during the day, not just during the one hour I spend at the gym.
The inaccurate step counts that you and the Amazon reviewers are complaining about could easily be explained by user error and not understanding how the device works.0 -
Personally I have a Fitbit for one reason...................to see if I've been ACTIVE enough in a day.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Exactly. Even if, as claimed here, Fitbit grossly overestimates steps (the margin is much lower than OP is led to believe) it would still be a valid tool to gauge activity. Even if we go for broke and assume that half these steps are false positives, seeing 5000 one day and 15000 the next still indicates an increase in activity.0 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »Personally I have a Fitbit for one reason...................to see if I've been ACTIVE enough in a day.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Exactly. Even if, as claimed here, Fitbit grossly overestimates steps (the margin is much lower than OP is led to believe) it would still be a valid tool to gauge activity. Even if we go for broke and assume that half these steps are false positives, seeing 5000 one day and 15000 the next still indicates an increase in activity.
exactly. If it's inaccurate in a fairly regular way, then it's doing its job as far as I'm concerned.
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Dude, you're just whining now. Find ANY tracker (HRM, Bodybugg, etc.) and they will ALL have faults on accuracy of reading calorie burns. Same with any cardio machine in the gym because the body and how one trains has so many variables. Unless you're hooked up to a direct/indirect calorimetry device at all times, we're just speaking of estimates.koinflipper wrote: »I said "300 pages" of negative reviews and I only browsed first 50 pages. I believe those that involve inaccurate "step counts" due to hand motions are true because I found that out by doing laundry and blow drying my hair.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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OP, your anger on this subject is really odd.
As ninerbuff and many others have noted, there is a difference between being active and being fit. Step counting helps you to be more active. Why you are so focused on the idea that people think step counting makes you fit is also odd.
When I got my Fitbit Flex, I wore it for two days along with an old fashioned pedometer clipped to a belt loop. The total difference after two days was less than 100 steps, so not an issue for me, I don't need it to be perfect, just to give me an idea of how I'm doing.
Most people I've known who were getting weird info from their trackers had set them up incorrectly as far as their stride, wearing it on their dominant arm and not changing the settings, etc.
I have a moisturizer I love that I have used for years, and the Amazon reviews mostly say it is either too oily, too drying, or gave someone hives.0 -
I've been using one for years to help guide me toward the correct caloric intake. I set MFP to sedentary and allow it to add activity based on my steps - which is a basic tool to gauge how active I am on a given day.
Do I think it makes me fit? No. I work out for that.
Does it help me gauge activity so that I can be reasonably sure that I am eating at a slight caloric deficit? Yes.
Does it help me to know when I have been far too inactive on a given day? Yes.
Does it motivate me to keep moving? Take the stairs? Walk from the back of the parking lot? Walk to the farthest restroom? Absolutely. What does that amount to? Increased activity. But I certainly don't fool myself into thinking that this makes me more fit. It's a tool and it works for me.0 -
I had a Jawbone Up3 briefly, and it gave me 'odd' results from arm movements. I didn't get angry, I didn't decide that my circumstances meant it wouldn't be more accurate for someone else, I didn't even leave a bad Amazon review ;-)
I simply bought a tracker that clips onto my clothing (Withings Ox, which comes with a wrist strap and a clothing clip).0 -
OP, your anger on this subject is really odd.
As ninerbuff and many others have noted, there is a difference between being active and being fit. Step counting helps you to be more active. Why you are so focused on the idea that people think step counting makes you fit is also odd.
When I got my Fitbit Flex, I wore it for two days along with an old fashioned pedometer clipped to a belt loop. The total difference after two days was less than 100 steps, so not an issue for me, I don't need it to be perfect, just to give me an idea of how I'm doing.
Most people I've known who were getting weird info from their trackers had set them up incorrectly as far as their stride, wearing it on their dominant arm and not changing the settings, etc.
I have a moisturizer I love that I have used for years, and the Amazon reviews mostly say it is either too oily, too drying, or gave someone hives.
Great post.0 -
I set my goal to walk 80 miles in February, tracked with runkeeper. That takes about 10k steps per day 5 days per week. While I don't count my steps, I make sure to take walks each day. Walking more than you would have to hit a goal works.
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ForecasterJason wrote: »
One day about two months ago, it was way off though. I woke up out of bed and had 1 floor climbed, and IIRC when I checked my dashboard it said it was around 5:30AM. I'm 99.99% positive I didn't go downstairs and come back up, or go up into my attic and come back down in my sleep. Then I was out shopping later in the day and literally watched my floors climbed increase as I was walking on level floor.thankyou4thevenom wrote: »ForecasterJason wrote: »
FWIW, not all Fitbit devices are based on hand movements. I have the One and most of the time it's in my pocket, so it's picking up motion from my hips/legs. I can tell you that there are times when I'm moving my hands and it does not register any steps from that.koinflipper wrote: »Your Fitbits are not counting your steps at all. They are counting your HAND MOTIONS.
21. Yesterday I walked 2 miles (according to my SHealth) on this thing it was 7 flights of stairs, over 10,000 steps!
22. Records THOUSANDS of extra steps in a day, and DOZENS of extra flights
COUNTING STEPS IN BED OR IN SLEEP
1. Counted steps when I was in bed
2. I've woken up and it's said I've walked over 100 steps while asleep
3. Shows hundreds of steps as I was a sleep
4. FitBit says I've walked 95 steps before even getting out of bed in the morning. I don't sleepwalk.
5. it had me walking over 10,000 steps on a day I was home sick in bed
6. The first morning I wore it, I checked it before even leaving the bed. It said I had taken 14 steps already, burned over 1,000 calories, and walked over 1 mile. All before even getting out of bed.
7. I was sick this past Monday and stayed in bed all day and it logged 2,000 steps.
As for extra floors climbed, I've had this problem before and mostly resolved it by resetting the device.
My device usually does count extra steps while I'm in bed, but I "make up for it" by just walking the extra 25-100 steps without the device. That's not a major deal IMO.
The Fitbit uses an althermeter (sp?) to measure your floors. So if you go up in a lift it'll register floors but not steps. Unless you're in a very shaky lift or walking on the spot no steps will be counted.ForecasterJason wrote: »
One day about two months ago, it was way off though. I woke up out of bed and had 1 floor climbed, and IIRC when I checked my dashboard it said it was around 5:30AM. I'm 99.99% positive I didn't go downstairs and come back up, or go up into my attic and come back down in my sleep. Then I was out shopping later in the day and literally watched my floors climbed increase as I was walking on level floor.thankyou4thevenom wrote: »ForecasterJason wrote: »
FWIW, not all Fitbit devices are based on hand movements. I have the One and most of the time it's in my pocket, so it's picking up motion from my hips/legs. I can tell you that there are times when I'm moving my hands and it does not register any steps from that.koinflipper wrote: »Your Fitbits are not counting your steps at all. They are counting your HAND MOTIONS.
21. Yesterday I walked 2 miles (according to my SHealth) on this thing it was 7 flights of stairs, over 10,000 steps!
22. Records THOUSANDS of extra steps in a day, and DOZENS of extra flights
COUNTING STEPS IN BED OR IN SLEEP
1. Counted steps when I was in bed
2. I've woken up and it's said I've walked over 100 steps while asleep
3. Shows hundreds of steps as I was a sleep
4. FitBit says I've walked 95 steps before even getting out of bed in the morning. I don't sleepwalk.
5. it had me walking over 10,000 steps on a day I was home sick in bed
6. The first morning I wore it, I checked it before even leaving the bed. It said I had taken 14 steps already, burned over 1,000 calories, and walked over 1 mile. All before even getting out of bed.
7. I was sick this past Monday and stayed in bed all day and it logged 2,000 steps.
As for extra floors climbed, I've had this problem before and mostly resolved it by resetting the device.
My device usually does count extra steps while I'm in bed, but I "make up for it" by just walking the extra 25-100 steps without the device. That's not a major deal IMO.
The Fitbit uses an althermeter (sp?) to measure your floors. So if you go up in a lift it'll register floors but not steps. Unless you're in a very shaky lift or walking on the spot no steps will be counted.
Fitbit recently released a statement covering that. An althermimeter (again sp?) uses the change in air pressure. So the recent storms and hurricanes both the USA and UK have been having have affected them. So yes while you're sleeping there was a big change in air pressure and that caused floors to register. It doesn't affect your calorie burn.
Also that could be the reason for the added floors while shopping.0 -
That makes sense, although I don't understand why that wouldn't affect everyone in the affected areas. I was with family members who also have the One and their floor count was normal that day.thankyou4thevenom wrote: »ForecasterJason wrote: »
One day about two months ago, it was way off though. I woke up out of bed and had 1 floor climbed, and IIRC when I checked my dashboard it said it was around 5:30AM. I'm 99.99% positive I didn't go downstairs and come back up, or go up into my attic and come back down in my sleep. Then I was out shopping later in the day and literally watched my floors climbed increase as I was walking on level floor.thankyou4thevenom wrote: »ForecasterJason wrote: »
FWIW, not all Fitbit devices are based on hand movements. I have the One and most of the time it's in my pocket, so it's picking up motion from my hips/legs. I can tell you that there are times when I'm moving my hands and it does not register any steps from that.koinflipper wrote: »Your Fitbits are not counting your steps at all. They are counting your HAND MOTIONS.
21. Yesterday I walked 2 miles (according to my SHealth) on this thing it was 7 flights of stairs, over 10,000 steps!
22. Records THOUSANDS of extra steps in a day, and DOZENS of extra flights
COUNTING STEPS IN BED OR IN SLEEP
1. Counted steps when I was in bed
2. I've woken up and it's said I've walked over 100 steps while asleep
3. Shows hundreds of steps as I was a sleep
4. FitBit says I've walked 95 steps before even getting out of bed in the morning. I don't sleepwalk.
5. it had me walking over 10,000 steps on a day I was home sick in bed
6. The first morning I wore it, I checked it before even leaving the bed. It said I had taken 14 steps already, burned over 1,000 calories, and walked over 1 mile. All before even getting out of bed.
7. I was sick this past Monday and stayed in bed all day and it logged 2,000 steps.
As for extra floors climbed, I've had this problem before and mostly resolved it by resetting the device.
My device usually does count extra steps while I'm in bed, but I "make up for it" by just walking the extra 25-100 steps without the device. That's not a major deal IMO.
The Fitbit uses an althermeter (sp?) to measure your floors. So if you go up in a lift it'll register floors but not steps. Unless you're in a very shaky lift or walking on the spot no steps will be counted.ForecasterJason wrote: »
One day about two months ago, it was way off though. I woke up out of bed and had 1 floor climbed, and IIRC when I checked my dashboard it said it was around 5:30AM. I'm 99.99% positive I didn't go downstairs and come back up, or go up into my attic and come back down in my sleep. Then I was out shopping later in the day and literally watched my floors climbed increase as I was walking on level floor.thankyou4thevenom wrote: »ForecasterJason wrote: »
FWIW, not all Fitbit devices are based on hand movements. I have the One and most of the time it's in my pocket, so it's picking up motion from my hips/legs. I can tell you that there are times when I'm moving my hands and it does not register any steps from that.koinflipper wrote: »Your Fitbits are not counting your steps at all. They are counting your HAND MOTIONS.
21. Yesterday I walked 2 miles (according to my SHealth) on this thing it was 7 flights of stairs, over 10,000 steps!
22. Records THOUSANDS of extra steps in a day, and DOZENS of extra flights
COUNTING STEPS IN BED OR IN SLEEP
1. Counted steps when I was in bed
2. I've woken up and it's said I've walked over 100 steps while asleep
3. Shows hundreds of steps as I was a sleep
4. FitBit says I've walked 95 steps before even getting out of bed in the morning. I don't sleepwalk.
5. it had me walking over 10,000 steps on a day I was home sick in bed
6. The first morning I wore it, I checked it before even leaving the bed. It said I had taken 14 steps already, burned over 1,000 calories, and walked over 1 mile. All before even getting out of bed.
7. I was sick this past Monday and stayed in bed all day and it logged 2,000 steps.
As for extra floors climbed, I've had this problem before and mostly resolved it by resetting the device.
My device usually does count extra steps while I'm in bed, but I "make up for it" by just walking the extra 25-100 steps without the device. That's not a major deal IMO.
The Fitbit uses an althermeter (sp?) to measure your floors. So if you go up in a lift it'll register floors but not steps. Unless you're in a very shaky lift or walking on the spot no steps will be counted.
Fitbit recently released a statement covering that. An althermimeter (again sp?) uses the change in air pressure. So the recent storms and hurricanes both the USA and UK have been having have affected them. So yes while you're sleeping there was a big change in air pressure and that caused floors to register. It doesn't affect your calorie burn.
Also that could be the reason for the added floors while shopping.
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koinflipper wrote: »Your Fitbits are not counting your steps at all. They are counting your HAND MOTIONS. I borrowed my friend's for 2 days just to see. First day I had over 12,000 steps and all I did was four loads of laundry (clothes in washer, then moved to dryer, removed from dryer, then fold) and took the dog out 10 steps from my front door about six times. The next morning I already had 8,000 steps by noon. I was given credit for 2,839 steps for BLOW DRYING MY HAIR.
I don't see why ANYONE would have a problem logging 10,000 steps with this device just going about normal daily activities (especially involving hands).
I don't have a Fitbit. My pedometer is not worn on my arm. I have looked at my pedometer and it matches up to my steps not hand motions. I have to walk quite a bit to get 10,000+ steps... until my feet and legs hurt some days. Fitbit is not the only device out there to count steps. Don't get one if you don't think it is a good product.0 -
koinflipper wrote: »I said "300 pages" of negative reviews and I only browsed first 50 pages. I believe those that involve inaccurate "step counts" due to hand motions are true because I found that out by doing laundry and blow drying my hair.
I thought you didn't have one? How can you have found out anything first hand if you didn't own one?0 -
I would like to take this opportunity to complain about people going to the gym. What a fad and a waste of money. Spend big dollars for a membership when you could just run around outside for free or pick up and put down heavy boxes or rocks or grab a shovel and dig a hole or climb some trees or engage in some good old fashion sport.0
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Wheelhouse15 wrote: »koinflipper wrote: »I said "300 pages" of negative reviews and I only browsed first 50 pages. I believe those that involve inaccurate "step counts" due to hand motions are true because I found that out by doing laundry and blow drying my hair.
I thought you didn't have one? How can you have found out anything first hand if you didn't own one?
Apparently she borrowed one. She's an expert.0 -
queenliz99 wrote: »Wheelhouse15 wrote: »koinflipper wrote: »I said "300 pages" of negative reviews and I only browsed first 50 pages. I believe those that involve inaccurate "step counts" due to hand motions are true because I found that out by doing laundry and blow drying my hair.
I thought you didn't have one? How can you have found out anything first hand if you didn't own one?
Apparently she borrowed one. She's an expert.
Oh, I missed that part. I just wonder why the air of moral superiority since she obviously doesn't like it. Maybe if she actually asked for opinions rather than pronounced judgement she would have been off to a much better start and it would have been a much different thread. I guess some people don't understand that approach is a huge factor.0 -
IKRWheelhouse15 wrote: »queenliz99 wrote: »Wheelhouse15 wrote: »koinflipper wrote: »I said "300 pages" of negative reviews and I only browsed first 50 pages. I believe those that involve inaccurate "step counts" due to hand motions are true because I found that out by doing laundry and blow drying my hair.
I thought you didn't have one? How can you have found out anything first hand if you didn't own one?
Apparently she borrowed one. She's an expert.
Oh, I missed that part. I just wonder why the air of moral superiority since she obviously doesn't like it. Maybe if she actually asked rather than pronounced judgement she would have been off to a much better start and it would have been a much different thread.
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OP I don't have a Fitbit, I have a phone which tracks my steps when I keep it in my pocket or against my chest (in my bra), so it doesn't count my hand movements, and I don't think my boobs are making enough movement to give me that false of a reading.
Oh and I got my first 10,000 steps just in my morning workout today, since I know to you it doesn't count if it's not a real workout.
Is this satisfactory enough for you?? Please accept me!!
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OP, did a FitBit kill your parents? So much energy spent hating something no one is forcing you to have0
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You go, OP, you take down those evil fitbits and save the world.0
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »I think the final solution for you, koinflipper, is to NOT buy one. Problem solved.
ps: I stayed in bed a day last week and did not chalk up thousands of points. I guess we're doing different things when staying in bed for a day.
Lol
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Why are you rote repreating what you heard in grad school, instead of continuing to learn? The research shows that 10k steps is equivalent to other workouts. I hope no one believes they are becoming a prime athlete with ideal conditioning, but 10k steps takes an awfully long time if you are just wandering.0
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My cellulite free & muscular legs walked 106,144 steps this week. They're sitting
on the couch now. Still snickering.
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@koinflipper I have a fitbit zip, so don't have to worry about errant hand movements...
Having a fitbit has definitely not made me fitter, but it has made more active. It is a great motivator for me. I went from walking 2000-3000 steps a day which is probably only a few kms to 20,000 plus which equals around 16kms. Surely this has to have a positive impact, going from a sloth like existense to walking for the better part of every single day??0 -
I have a fitbit and a phone which has a pedometer. Phone is worn on my chest or in my pocket, not my arm. fitbit and phone are usually within a margin of 2% of each other (yes I am checking that) after my walk to work.
My husband is training for a half marathon next week (training 3-4x a week) and he is having trouble matching my stepcount on a weekly basis. We love having our little stepcount competition with me walking a lot (1.5 hours generally a day) and him running the distance and needing more time to recuperate.
Is the fitbit our holy grail to fitness? No way, we did without for years but it is so much fun! It confirms we are on the right track, it keeps us going It is, like anything, just one of many indicators on our fitness journey that we have. After all if they journey is no fun then it is not as easy to keep up the good work.0 -
Ok I did a bunch of crocheting last night and I did not get any extra steps for it. I also did some stuff around the house (dishes, laundry, etc) and did not get extra steps for any of that. If anything it missed small steps here and there.
I earned every one of the 21,525 steps I got in yesterday.0 -
koinflipper wrote: »I said "300 pages" of negative reviews and I only browsed first 50 pages. I believe those that involve inaccurate "step counts" due to hand motions are true because I found that out by doing laundry and blow drying my hair.
You do a lot of blow drying during the day?
The search for perfection has you not seeing the forest for the trees.0
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