Garmin Connect
GoMom2016
Posts: 41 Member
Hey. I’m just trying to find some clarification on using my Vivosmart3 and Garmin Connect app....When I go lap swimming, I start a manual activity on my Vivosmart 3 under “other”. Today it recorded 130 calories burnt. When I go to Garmin Connect and change the activity to Lap Swimming, it changed my calories burnt to 422. Why does the calories burnt change so much when I change the activity? Do I trust the 130 or 422 calories burnt?
Also, Garmin Connect transfers the “other” activity and 130 calories to My Fitness Pal, but when I change the activity to Lap Swimming, it does not transfer the new calorie count to MFP. Is there any way to do this?
I can’t seem to find any information online about this. Thanks for any help.
Also, Garmin Connect transfers the “other” activity and 130 calories to My Fitness Pal, but when I change the activity to Lap Swimming, it does not transfer the new calorie count to MFP. Is there any way to do this?
I can’t seem to find any information online about this. Thanks for any help.
2
Replies
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I'm not sure about the first... I'm guessing Garmin is adjusting it's calorie estimate based on the activity it thinks you're doing. Whether or not that's a good thing is anyone's guess.
As for the latter, no. Garmin and MFP don't sync that intelligently. Once data is sent to MFP by garmin, that's it. You can't really re-sync it. Back when I had my accounts linked, I had a number of aerobics workouts. Thanks Garmin.2 -
Hey. I’m just trying to find some clarification on using my Vivosmart3 and Garmin Connect app....When I go lap swimming, I start a manual activity on my Vivosmart 3 under “other”. Today it recorded 130 calories burnt. When I go to Garmin Connect and change the activity to Lap Swimming, it changed my calories burnt to 422. Why does the calories burnt change so much when I change the activity? Do I trust the 130 or 422 calories burnt?...
I can't say for sure, but the most likely cause is that Garmin is using two different algorithms to calculate the calorie burns - maybe a generic steady-state cardio algorithm for "other" and a different one for a specific exercise like "lap swimming".
As far as which one to trust, you may get relevant advice if you specify how long you swam and/or for what distance, and probably which stroke you used - without that information, any estimate given will be nothing more than a wild, speculative guess.1 -
I’m a Garmin user and while I don’t swim much I have heard a few comments regarding swimming from friends who do triathlons.
The first is that to record HR when swimming you need the tri chest strap. Wrist based HR just isn’t that great in the water and Garmin will tell you the same.
Without knowing how long you were swimming for it’s hard to know which of those estimations is correct. As for Connect changing it, there are probably different algorithms for each activity so it’s probably just correcting for that and acknowledging that the wrist based HR is flawed in the water and going on the time you spent in the water.0 -
For comparison, I swam last Friday. I don't have a chest strap so I don't have HR data (my Fenix 3 turns off the HR for swimming). Did 700 M in 30 minutes and got ~200 calories for my effort. I'm also 210 lbs and a guy if that makes a difference.
Edit. Just looked and both GArmin Connect and MFP have me at 195 calories, so they are consistent. Not sure if it is just data coming across or if they use the same formulas for me.
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Hey. I’m just trying to find some clarification on using my Vivosmart3 and Garmin Connect app....When I go lap swimming, I start a manual activity on my Vivosmart 3 under “other”. Today it recorded 130 calories burnt. When I go to Garmin Connect and change the activity to Lap Swimming, it changed my calories burnt to 422. Why does the calories burnt change so much when I change the activity? Do I trust the 130 or 422 calories burnt?...
As far as which one to trust, you may get relevant advice if you specify how long you swam and/or for what distance, and probably which stroke you used - without that information, any estimate given will be nothing more than a wild, speculative guess.I’m a Garmin user and while I don’t swim much I have heard a few comments regarding swimming from friends who do triathlons.
Without knowing how long you were swimming for it’s hard to know which of those estimations is correct. As for Connect changing it, there are probably different algorithms for each activity so it’s probably just correcting for that and acknowledging that the wrist based HR is flawed in the water and going on the time you spent in the water.
I guess I should give some more information. I swan for 35 mins, 5 of those being a slower warm up and cool down. I swam a continuous steady medium-fast paced front crawl for 25 minutes. I’m 165lbs. I feel like 130 cala would be low.
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It’s a dilemma. I agree 130 seems low, I always thought that swimming was good as it works the whole body and it’s totally possible to burn 422 cals in 35 minutes which means that’s a plausible figure too.
I guess it’s up to you. The lower will mean you could potentially overachieve but the higher could mean the opposite.0 -
Hey. I’m just trying to find some clarification on using my Vivosmart3 and Garmin Connect app....When I go lap swimming, I start a manual activity on my Vivosmart 3 under “other”. Today it recorded 130 calories burnt. When I go to Garmin Connect and change the activity to Lap Swimming, it changed my calories burnt to 422. Why does the calories burnt change so much when I change the activity? Do I trust the 130 or 422 calories burnt?
Also, Garmin Connect transfers the “other” activity and 130 calories to My Fitness Pal, but when I change the activity to Lap Swimming, it does not transfer the new calorie count to MFP. Is there any way to do this?
I can’t seem to find any information online about this. Thanks for any help.
Does the same to me, calories are usually underestimated until I modify and they set on something believable.
I believe it's a general Garmin problem as I use a Fenix 2, Fenix 3 and a Forerunner 220, but the problem is the same with all of them.
The same problem is extended to my average pace at swimming, if I don't modify it's up to 5 secs lower than reality. Doesn't matter for the way I train but it's another thing that doesn't work so well.
And no, the caloric difference does not transfer to MFP. You can only calculate the difference (without saving) and create a manual activity with that, if you need them to count.0 -
I guess I should give some more information. I swan for 35 mins, 5 of those being a slower warm up and cool down. I swam a continuous steady medium-fast paced front crawl for 25 minutes. I’m 165lbs. I feel like 130 cala would be low.
Make your guess by effort...if we know that walking will burn ~300 calories per hour, and running will burn about 600 calories per hour, then you can make your triangulation from there. Did you feel that the effort was more akin to walking or running?
The answer is probably somewhere in between. 150 seems a tad low for medium fast pace though 400+ seems a bit high.0 -
No doubt, but the guesstimate is close enough to allow for triangulation of the swimming burn. The difference between the effort required to burn 300 calories an hour vs. the effort needed to burn double that (or more) should be pretty obvious if calibrated against burns for comparable activity.0 -
This seems like a profound flaw in the Garmin app/MFP connection. I was considering them, because the one I was looking at didn’t need to be charged & had the time & HR. But I want my new device to encourage/support me as I work on swimming more. The Fitbit Flex 2 has lap tracking and I’m leaning more that way now. I think daily HR might have been valuable but maybe this is more important to me.0
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This seems like a profound flaw in the Garmin app/MFP connection. I was considering them, because the one I was looking at didn’t need to be charged & had the time & HR. But I want my new device to encourage/support me as I work on swimming more. The Fitbit Flex 2 has lap tracking and I’m leaning more that way now. I think daily HR might have been valuable but maybe this is more important to me.
Personally I'd check out your options because I've had my "waterproof" Garmin watch replaced twice for water damage and it's not an uncommon problem, I love my watch but won't be putting it near a pool ever again.1 -
tinkerbellang83 wrote: »This seems like a profound flaw in the Garmin app/MFP connection. I was considering them, because the one I was looking at didn’t need to be charged & had the time & HR. But I want my new device to encourage/support me as I work on swimming more. The Fitbit Flex 2 has lap tracking and I’m leaning more that way now. I think daily HR might have been valuable but maybe this is more important to me.
Personally I'd check out your options because I've had my "waterproof" Garmin watch replaced twice for water damage and it's not an uncommon problem, I love my watch but won't be putting it near a pool ever again.
Thank you, noted! I think they are off my list now. They were highly rated on Consumer Reports but I feel like I've heard too many negative cases now.0 -
tinkerbellang83 wrote: »This seems like a profound flaw in the Garmin app/MFP connection. I was considering them, because the one I was looking at didn’t need to be charged & had the time & HR. But I want my new device to encourage/support me as I work on swimming more. The Fitbit Flex 2 has lap tracking and I’m leaning more that way now. I think daily HR might have been valuable but maybe this is more important to me.
Personally I'd check out your options because I've had my "waterproof" Garmin watch replaced twice for water damage and it's not an uncommon problem, I love my watch but won't be putting it near a pool ever again.
Is this one of the Forerunner models?
My 310XT had water damage too. Turns out it was because the face plate molding is held on to body with the waterproof "putty" - and either sitting in hot car was bad idea (for electronics in general, very dumb on my part), or my original method of twisting it off the quick release bike holder and wrist holder was not done using the body, but the face plate.
My 2nd one I've had no issues for longer time confirming what I'm holding when I twist it off.2 -
I use the Garmin Fenix 5X. It has the swim function. I use it to track my long swims.
But I enter swims manually in MFP. The MFP swim calculator for leisurely/ moderate assumes 50yd/minute. So i enter 1 minute for each lap.
It calculates a lower number than Garmin. I prefer to go conservative.
I don't sync it with MFP.0 -
tinkerbellang83 wrote: »This seems like a profound flaw in the Garmin app/MFP connection. I was considering them, because the one I was looking at didn’t need to be charged & had the time & HR. But I want my new device to encourage/support me as I work on swimming more. The Fitbit Flex 2 has lap tracking and I’m leaning more that way now. I think daily HR might have been valuable but maybe this is more important to me.
Personally I'd check out your options because I've had my "waterproof" Garmin watch replaced twice for water damage and it's not an uncommon problem, I love my watch but won't be putting it near a pool ever again.
Is this one of the Forerunner models?
My 310XT had water damage too. Turns out it was because the face plate molding is held on to body with the waterproof "putty" - and either sitting in hot car was bad idea (for electronics in general, very dumb on my part), or my original method of twisting it off the quick release bike holder and wrist holder was not done using the body, but the face plate.
My 2nd one I've had no issues for longer time confirming what I'm holding when I twist it off.
No this was the Vivoactive HR, only swam once with the first one and the touch screen stopped responding, second time it wasn't even in water, I was just camping in the rain (it was under a waterproof jacket) and the whole screen stopped displaying/responding - tried drying it out in a bag of rice but no joy. Mine doesn't sit anywhere hot and I just wear it on my wrist, I take it off to charge when I'm in the shower or washing up.1 -
tinkerbellang83 wrote: »This seems like a profound flaw in the Garmin app/MFP connection. I was considering them, because the one I was looking at didn’t need to be charged & had the time & HR. But I want my new device to encourage/support me as I work on swimming more. The Fitbit Flex 2 has lap tracking and I’m leaning more that way now. I think daily HR might have been valuable but maybe this is more important to me.
Personally I'd check out your options because I've had my "waterproof" Garmin watch replaced twice for water damage and it's not an uncommon problem, I love my watch but won't be putting it near a pool ever again.
Thank you, noted! I think they are off my list now. They were highly rated on Consumer Reports but I feel like I've heard too many negative cases now.
I've had 5 Forerunners. I've only had one issue - a 405 that died after 5 years, it would freeze up occasionally.
I've never had water problems, and these things have seen some nasty sweat and nasty weather. My current 230 has seen sub zero blizzards, 100+ runs, thunderstorms, some disgusting spring runs in coastal Virginia, and hundreds of showers.0 -
scorpio516 wrote: »tinkerbellang83 wrote: »This seems like a profound flaw in the Garmin app/MFP connection. I was considering them, because the one I was looking at didn’t need to be charged & had the time & HR. But I want my new device to encourage/support me as I work on swimming more. The Fitbit Flex 2 has lap tracking and I’m leaning more that way now. I think daily HR might have been valuable but maybe this is more important to me.
Personally I'd check out your options because I've had my "waterproof" Garmin watch replaced twice for water damage and it's not an uncommon problem, I love my watch but won't be putting it near a pool ever again.
Thank you, noted! I think they are off my list now. They were highly rated on Consumer Reports but I feel like I've heard too many negative cases now.
I've had 5 Forerunners. I've only had one issue - a 405 that died after 5 years, it would freeze up occasionally.
I've never had water problems, and these things have seen some nasty sweat and nasty weather. My current 230 has seen sub zero blizzards, 100+ runs, thunderstorms, some disgusting spring runs in coastal Virginia, and hundreds of showers.
Thank you - I think swimming might be a little harsher on the device than regular above water heavy use because instead of just being rained on it’s being pushed through water - possibly hitting the lane guard - etc. The poster above had multiple devices die from swimming specifically. The Garmin ones that actually track swimming are quite expensive ($300 ballpark) and I’d rather not risk chucking that much into the pool 😐1 -
i've taken my vivosmarts into lake michigan without issue. if it is still under warranty Garmin has great customer service.1
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A little perspective might be good here...
Garmin, fitbit, etc produce and sell zillions of devices. If there was a wide-spread problem or overarching quality control issue, you'd/we'd know about it. Chances are far better that your problematic experience was a one-off experience. If Garmin says it's safe for swimming use, it's probably safe for swimming use.
Now, balance all that out with the idea that you get what you pay for, and many entry level trackers are, IMO, disposable devices.2 -
i've taken my vivosmarts into lake michigan without issue. if it is still under warranty Garmin has great customer service.A little perspective might be good here...
Garmin, fitbit, etc produce and sell zillions of devices. If there was a wide-spread problem or overarching quality control issue, you'd/we'd know about it. Chances are far better that your problematic experience was a one-off experience. If Garmin says it's safe for swimming use, it's probably safe for swimming use.
Now, balance all that out with the idea that you get what you pay for, and many entry level trackers are, IMO, disposable devices.
I've worn my 935 every day for a full year. It's on my wrist 24/7 unless it's being charged. I've swam with it (pool and open water), jumped off boats into the lake, drenched it in sweat (and rain), showered with it, thrashed around in the lake/pool playing water football, submerged it in hot tubs, etc. The aftermarket glass screen protector I put on it has a crack running all the way across it and small chips around the edges, because I don't baby my watch. Haven't had a single problem with it.
I read about occasional failure issues with Garmins. I seem to read about a lot more failure issues with Fitbits (not to mention the perpetual MFP syncing issues with Fitbits, while Garmin's syncing seems to be a lot more reliable). None of them are perfect and every one of them will have an occasional lemon come off the assembly line.2 -
i've taken my vivosmarts into lake michigan without issue. if it is still under warranty Garmin has great customer service.A little perspective might be good here...
Garmin, fitbit, etc produce and sell zillions of devices. If there was a wide-spread problem or overarching quality control issue, you'd/we'd know about it. Chances are far better that your problematic experience was a one-off experience. If Garmin says it's safe for swimming use, it's probably safe for swimming use.
Now, balance all that out with the idea that you get what you pay for, and many entry level trackers are, IMO, disposable devices.
I've worn my 935 every day for a full year. It's on my wrist 24/7 unless it's being charged. I've swam with it (pool and open water), jumped off boats into the lake, drenched it in sweat (and rain), showered with it, thrashed around in the lake/pool playing water football, submerged it in hot tubs, etc. The aftermarket glass screen protector I put on it has a crack running all the way across it and small chips around the edges, because I don't baby my watch. Haven't had a single problem with it.
And similar with a 735XT. The glass screen protector is a bit chipped, but it's survived running, swimming, cycling (including a couple of "offs"), and generally living on my wrist.
My previous Forerunner survived a battered life as well.1 -
MeanderingMammal wrote: »i've taken my vivosmarts into lake michigan without issue. if it is still under warranty Garmin has great customer service.A little perspective might be good here...
Garmin, fitbit, etc produce and sell zillions of devices. If there was a wide-spread problem or overarching quality control issue, you'd/we'd know about it. Chances are far better that your problematic experience was a one-off experience. If Garmin says it's safe for swimming use, it's probably safe for swimming use.
Now, balance all that out with the idea that you get what you pay for, and many entry level trackers are, IMO, disposable devices.
I've worn my 935 every day for a full year. It's on my wrist 24/7 unless it's being charged. I've swam with it (pool and open water), jumped off boats into the lake, drenched it in sweat (and rain), showered with it, thrashed around in the lake/pool playing water football, submerged it in hot tubs, etc. The aftermarket glass screen protector I put on it has a crack running all the way across it and small chips around the edges, because I don't baby my watch. Haven't had a single problem with it.
And similar with a 735XT. The glass screen protector is a bit chipped, but it's survived running, swimming, cycling (including a couple of "offs"), and generally living on my wrist.
My previous Forerunner survived a battered life as well.
Yep, 2 forerunners that took lots of abuse and were still running strong and resold when upgraded. On my 3rd Garmin, Fenix 5S, 24/7, not babied and it's never had an issue.0 -
scorpio516 wrote: »tinkerbellang83 wrote: »This seems like a profound flaw in the Garmin app/MFP connection. I was considering them, because the one I was looking at didn’t need to be charged & had the time & HR. But I want my new device to encourage/support me as I work on swimming more. The Fitbit Flex 2 has lap tracking and I’m leaning more that way now. I think daily HR might have been valuable but maybe this is more important to me.
Personally I'd check out your options because I've had my "waterproof" Garmin watch replaced twice for water damage and it's not an uncommon problem, I love my watch but won't be putting it near a pool ever again.
Thank you, noted! I think they are off my list now. They were highly rated on Consumer Reports but I feel like I've heard too many negative cases now.
I've had 5 Forerunners. I've only had one issue - a 405 that died after 5 years, it would freeze up occasionally.
I've never had water problems, and these things have seen some nasty sweat and nasty weather. My current 230 has seen sub zero blizzards, 100+ runs, thunderstorms, some disgusting spring runs in coastal Virginia, and hundreds of showers.
Thank you - I think swimming might be a little harsher on the device than regular above water heavy use because instead of just being rained on it’s being pushed through water - possibly hitting the lane guard - etc. The poster above had multiple devices die from swimming specifically. The Garmin ones that actually track swimming are quite expensive ($300 ballpark) and I’d rather not risk chucking that much into the pool 😐
It definitely is. The constant in and out of the water, the force of the strokes, everything is much worse for swimming than occasional weather.
It is worth noting the 2xx and 6xx Forerunners are running watches. The 7xx and 9xx are triathlon watches and designed for swimming.
If you want something that will ALWAYS keep water out, look at the Descent. It's a Fenix 5 built for diving. And $1000
But my wife's VA1 works great for swimming.0 -
MeanderingMammal wrote: »i've taken my vivosmarts into lake michigan without issue. if it is still under warranty Garmin has great customer service.A little perspective might be good here...
Garmin, fitbit, etc produce and sell zillions of devices. If there was a wide-spread problem or overarching quality control issue, you'd/we'd know about it. Chances are far better that your problematic experience was a one-off experience. If Garmin says it's safe for swimming use, it's probably safe for swimming use.
Now, balance all that out with the idea that you get what you pay for, and many entry level trackers are, IMO, disposable devices.
I've worn my 935 every day for a full year. It's on my wrist 24/7 unless it's being charged. I've swam with it (pool and open water), jumped off boats into the lake, drenched it in sweat (and rain), showered with it, thrashed around in the lake/pool playing water football, submerged it in hot tubs, etc. The aftermarket glass screen protector I put on it has a crack running all the way across it and small chips around the edges, because I don't baby my watch. Haven't had a single problem with it.
And similar with a 735XT. The glass screen protector is a bit chipped, but it's survived running, swimming, cycling (including a couple of "offs"), and generally living on my wrist.
My previous Forerunner survived a battered life as well.
Yep, 2 forerunners that took lots of abuse and were still running strong and resold when upgraded. On my 3rd Garmin, Fenix 5S, 24/7, not babied and it's never had an issue.
Interesting! Yes I’m seeing more Fitbit-not-syncing threads popping up lately.
I wonder if it’s the price point. The Forerunner line is like... a $600+ device. Do companies really make $100-$300 devices with the idea that they are disposable??0 -
MeanderingMammal wrote: »i've taken my vivosmarts into lake michigan without issue. if it is still under warranty Garmin has great customer service.A little perspective might be good here...
Garmin, fitbit, etc produce and sell zillions of devices. If there was a wide-spread problem or overarching quality control issue, you'd/we'd know about it. Chances are far better that your problematic experience was a one-off experience. If Garmin says it's safe for swimming use, it's probably safe for swimming use.
Now, balance all that out with the idea that you get what you pay for, and many entry level trackers are, IMO, disposable devices.
I've worn my 935 every day for a full year. It's on my wrist 24/7 unless it's being charged. I've swam with it (pool and open water), jumped off boats into the lake, drenched it in sweat (and rain), showered with it, thrashed around in the lake/pool playing water football, submerged it in hot tubs, etc. The aftermarket glass screen protector I put on it has a crack running all the way across it and small chips around the edges, because I don't baby my watch. Haven't had a single problem with it.
And similar with a 735XT. The glass screen protector is a bit chipped, but it's survived running, swimming, cycling (including a couple of "offs"), and generally living on my wrist.
My previous Forerunner survived a battered life as well.
Yep, 2 forerunners that took lots of abuse and were still running strong and resold when upgraded. On my 3rd Garmin, Fenix 5S, 24/7, not babied and it's never had an issue.
I think part of the issue is that it's not a like-for-like comparison. Garmin have been in the high end market for years, but FitBit really opened up the low end market with cheap cr@p. Garmin are competing in that space now by producing stuff that's not as cr@p. The build quality is undoubtedly better but they're not in the same league as the grown up devices.1 -
Not sure if this applies but for virtual rides, indoor cycling, I had to change it to an activity that matches up to MFP (cycling) using Garmin Connect (normally via web interface but app also works), then use my phone app to force it to sync. In the phone Garmin app, I bring up MFP app from Health Stats/Calories In/Out. It takes a few tries before it will sync and push the activity to MFP. This includes modifying activity stats after upload to Garmin. I was testing two other indoor cycling apps, Road Grand Tours and VirtuGO, that did not fully capture my full ride stats in the tcx/fit output.0
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A little perspective might be good here...
Garmin, fitbit, etc produce and sell zillions of devices. If there was a wide-spread problem or overarching quality control issue, you'd/we'd know about it. Chances are far better that your problematic experience was a one-off experience. If Garmin says it's safe for swimming use, it's probably safe for swimming use.
Now, balance all that out with the idea that you get what you pay for, and many entry level trackers are, IMO, disposable devices.
It isn't a one off, there's a lot of information about it on Garmin specific groups, it also was not an entry level tracker (c£250 when bought new). Garmin replaced it out of warranty because it's a known problem.1 -
tinkerbellang83 wrote: »A little perspective might be good here...
Garmin, fitbit, etc produce and sell zillions of devices. If there was a wide-spread problem or overarching quality control issue, you'd/we'd know about it. Chances are far better that your problematic experience was a one-off experience. If Garmin says it's safe for swimming use, it's probably safe for swimming use.
Now, balance all that out with the idea that you get what you pay for, and many entry level trackers are, IMO, disposable devices.
It isn't a one off, there's a lot of information about it on Garmin specific groups, it also was not an entry level tracker (c£250 when bought new). Garmin replaced it out of warranty because it's a known problem.
I'm not familiar with the Vivoactive series, but I can tell you that the multisport Garmin devices, (920,735,935, Fenix, etc) are BY FAR the most popular devices worn by participants in swim events. I know at least 20 athletes who swim regularly with their devices and I have never heard anyone complain about water issues.
With that said, I also understand your point about cost. The models I mentioned may not make sense for a significant number of consumers based on price point, size of device, etc.
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