Does the time input on exercise matter ?

snapem

When inputting my exercise if I’m in a rush it’s an added thing slowing me down to add the start time for each exercise.
Does it actually matter? Ie is MFP sophisticated enough to work out that that is the steps done at 5.34 am that it can see on my iPhone steps and only discount those ?

I saw a comment from someone that it did matter but I’m not convinced because the adjustments for steps calories seems fairly rough and if I do an exercise later in the day that it won’t have noticed many steps (ie if it’s high exertion but not that many steps) , it still cancels out a big chunk of steps calories from earlier in the day

Could I be saving time by only inputting the calories for my active exercise and not my start time if it makes no difference?
I know that won’t seem like it takes long but when you’re rushing to fit in a run before work, it really does matter!

durden

If you have an activity/step tracker linked and are also logging manual exercises, then yes, it does matter if you input the correct time or not. For best results, you will want to be as accurate as possible.

snapem

@durden thanks 😊

heybales

You are using iPhone as step device?
If your workout is being logged on the iPhone already, that would sync over to MFP and there would be no need to create a workout on MFP.

The fact it asks for a Start and (hopefully) Duration time (should be both, and both matter), doesn't sound like the account link most have with the Apple Health account currently.

If you really have them linked that way, Apple should have the workout too and sync it over.
If you aren't starting a workout on Apple device (probably easier to do), then use that and just wait for the exercise to show up in MFP.

snapem

heybales wrote: »

You are using iPhone as step device?
If your workout is being logged on the iPhone already, that would sync over to MFP and there would be no need to create a workout on MFP.

The fact it asks for a Start and (hopefully) Duration time (should be both, and both matter), doesn't sound like the account link most have with the Apple Health account currently.

If you really have them linked that way, Apple should have the workout too and sync it over.
If you aren't starting a workout on Apple device (probably easier to do), then use that and just wait for the exercise to show up in MFP.

My iPhone “Heath” links to it automatically; but I add my purposeful exercise separately (which then cancels out some of the steps).
Steps on iPhone health to MFP doesn’t see to equate to the same calories than if I add it manually as a run in MFP (maybe because it’s running) although I’ve been entering mine as my own activity based on my Garmin hr monitor watch (not linked to MFP) because I didn’t feel the MFP options for walk or run allowed for the variation in what a run or walk might look like and thus the calories used (eg I burn way less calories running 15 km on road and flattish; than I would on a difficult hilly trail run )

heybales

When MFP is using a device as merely a step source and that's all (Apple is special in this case because it'll still send workouts over) - it has no idea if a workout has some, all, or none of the steps that cause you to go above your selected activity level calorie burn.

So to prevent possible double-counting, it subtracts the calories from any extra it roughly calculated.

But in those cases - manually logging a workout does not contain a Start & Duration time entry.

I'm kinda wondering if your account link is partial and messed up - MFP thinks it's linked and asks for info for a linked account.
But then it's treating the device directly as a step source.

Those are 2 different modes.
1 - When linked, Apple sends a figure for daily burn (it's the wrong figure but it's sent) and workout info, and a step figure MFP just reports.
2 - When not linked but selected as step-source, MFP gets a steps figure and that's it.
MFP does rest of the very rough math as to how many of those steps are part of the activity level selected, how many are extra and how many calories with them, what known exercise subtracts from those calories.