Counting Steps FAD

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Replies

  • hotasfire36
    hotasfire36 Posts: 235 Member
    I strongly disagree. I got my fitbit last month and I get up often at work to get my 10,000 steps. I have also jumped on the treadmill at home to get my 10,000 steps. The fitbit is a motivating device. Plus it is not easy to get 10,000 steps in.
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,399 Member
    AlphaCajun wrote: »
    The successfulness of HIIT and Tabata style training disproves the "30 minute sustained cardio is the only way to fitness" malarky. A truly sedentary person eating at maintenance will begin to lose weight if they start walking 1000 steps a day at the same caloric intake... Because they're burning more calories.

    How does a Tabata, which is about, 14 mins, of high intensity exercise, disprove the 30 mins of moderate exercise? You should do a little research on what Tabatas actually proved and that was that you could train the aerobic energy system with anaerobic protocols. Also, most HIIT protocols are about 20 mins anyways and the McMaster study on weight loss was flawed btw.

    Also, HIIT is completely irrelevant to steps throughout the day, it's apples and BMW.

    Actually Tabata is only 4 minutes, and based on the protocol that Izumi Tabata established, virtually no one who does what they call Tabata is doing it. The protocol is more than intervals of 20 seconds work and 10 seconds rest repeated 8 times. It also has the work phase was done at 170% of VO2Max. That is not what most people think of when thinking Tabata.

    I'm familiar with the protocol and threw up to prove it but I'm adding in the warm up time and cool down. Tabata originally worked with elite speed skaters and they were on the floor too so I feel better lol. True Tabatas are no rest as well so high and low intensity they are so brutal but had surprising results in the aerobic system which everyone thought took 20 mins just to warm up previously. Lol I'll stick to less intense ar my age!

    The original protocol Tabata adopted did have the 10 second rest period between intervals. @rileysowner had the correct numbers for interval and rest time as well as intensity.

    I did true Tabata on my elliptical and didn't puke, and I'm no youngster. It was actually quite different to what I was expecting, but not quite as terrible as I thought it might be.

    I think the real problem with people wanting to do a specific protocol such as that is a lack of power measure. It's hard to find 170% of VO2max without it. And I suspect with some activities, you just couldn't do it.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    edited February 2016
    robertw486 wrote: »
    AlphaCajun wrote: »
    The successfulness of HIIT and Tabata style training disproves the "30 minute sustained cardio is the only way to fitness" malarky. A truly sedentary person eating at maintenance will begin to lose weight if they start walking 1000 steps a day at the same caloric intake... Because they're burning more calories.

    How does a Tabata, which is about, 14 mins, of high intensity exercise, disprove the 30 mins of moderate exercise? You should do a little research on what Tabatas actually proved and that was that you could train the aerobic energy system with anaerobic protocols. Also, most HIIT protocols are about 20 mins anyways and the McMaster study on weight loss was flawed btw.

    Also, HIIT is completely irrelevant to steps throughout the day, it's apples and BMW.

    Actually Tabata is only 4 minutes, and based on the protocol that Izumi Tabata established, virtually no one who does what they call Tabata is doing it. The protocol is more than intervals of 20 seconds work and 10 seconds rest repeated 8 times. It also has the work phase was done at 170% of VO2Max. That is not what most people think of when thinking Tabata.

    I'm familiar with the protocol and threw up to prove it but I'm adding in the warm up time and cool down. Tabata originally worked with elite speed skaters and they were on the floor too so I feel better lol. True Tabatas are no rest as well so high and low intensity they are so brutal but had surprising results in the aerobic system which everyone thought took 20 mins just to warm up previously. Lol I'll stick to less intense ar my age!

    The original protocol Tabata adopted did have the 10 second rest period between intervals. @rileysowner had the correct numbers for interval and rest time as well as intensity.

    I did true Tabata on my elliptical and didn't puke, and I'm no youngster. It was actually quite different to what I was expecting, but not quite as terrible as I thought it might be.

    I think the real problem with people wanting to do a specific protocol such as that is a lack of power measure. It's hard to find 170% of VO2max without it. And I suspect with some activities, you just couldn't do it.

    Probably does have to do with your intensity levels. When you burn through that amount of Glycogen that fast you tend to get sick. I've watched videos of the elite endurance athletes gasping on the floor so if you weren't then you weren't in the range because you aren't even close to their conditioning. Actually, that might be what kept you from pushing yourself so hard. And the videos also clearly showed no stop but lower intensity, which is a working rest period (Edit: although that video might have been in a later study, I can't remember the exact detail, I was involved in a study at the time that involved Tabatas for a friend who was doing his Masters at the time. No, I didn't finish the trial, after three sessions I just couldn't take the strain of the protocol and I had a 50 VO2 max).

    Either way, last time I did HIIT I was using a 20/10 8 cycle protocol with active rest and it wasn't nearly as bad since I wasn't going to 170%. I don't see how I could sustain that for more than 8 seconds (atp depletion rate) at my age.

    ETA ellipticals aren't the best for these protocols. The initial tests were on bikes and the tension was also adjusted IIRC. Wind sprints, bike or rope is probably the only way to really do them full out. Also, I agreed the working time was right, the 14 mins I gave add 5 mins in both sides for warm up and cool down.
  • koinflipper
    koinflipper Posts: 45 Member
    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).

    So I went on AMAZON to see all the NEGATIVE REVIEWS specifically for the FitBit Charge HR. Here are some quotes for just the first 50 page of 300 pages of one star reviews.

    STEPS FROM HAND MOTIONS

    1. I bought this device for my wife in December. Since then, we have determined that it does not count steps, it counts hand movements. A guy sitting at a bar doing 12 oz. curls would probably register a fairly hard workout wearing this device.

    2. I am a crocheter and if you don't take the devise off before you crochet, it counts every stitch as a step

    3. I was ironing one night and looked at the Fitbit before I started and I had some 8,000 steps. An hour later after wearing the fitbit on my left arm and ironing with my right arm I had over 10,000 steps!!!.

    4. Can walk 20 steps or more when cleaning my teeth.

    5. The thing counts my "steps" as I drive. I turn the wheel, I get a few steps. I drive all day for work, so the "steps" add up quickly even though I have yet to get off of my butt. I can also reach above my head and back down, and I get a step or two added to my count.

    6. When my husband claps his hands and his step count goes up.

    8. The Fitbit I received from Amazon logged steps whenever I waved my hand around.

    9. Adds 2k to 5k extra steps when I am not walking but doing the wash, folding laundry, or painting. I learned to remove the Fitbit when I am doing housework.

    10. Today, I sat at my desk looking at my iPhone while waving my hand and the step count just kept going up until I stopped waving my hand!!! Smh.

    11. I watched it add 100 steps just while sitting at my desk for the first hour of work

    13. This is HORRIBLE if your going to push a stroller at all. It will not count your steps AT ALL while pushing.

    14. Unless your arms swing like a monkey when you walk, forget about it reading movement as a step. The first night I had it I spend 45 minutes grocery shopping and had a grand total of zero steps for my effort since I was pushing the cart.

    STEPS WHILE RIDING

    1. I drive a compact car on city streets, and it continuously counts these as "steps".

    2. Counts steps while riding golf cart

    3. The next day I got 2 flights of stairs on an elevator, then 3 more on the way home in my car.

    COUNTING NON-EXISTENT STAIRS

    4. Apparently I have climbed 150 flights of stairs today. I have not. I have maybe climbed 15 flights.

    5. Live in a bungalow yet climb 10 sets of stairs on average each day

    19 . The step counter credits me while sitting and reading. I am credited for walking flights of stairs when stairs are not in sight.

    19. I put it on and by the time i walked down stairs it said i did 900 steps.

    20. It does not count floors/stairs properly. It’s pretty good when you can climb a flight a stairs without leaving your chair.

    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

    23. At the end of the day, it said I had climbed 17 floors when I really didn't climb a single one!

    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.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    So, just for the record, we are changing the objection with step counting now?
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    How about your wall of text, lots of calories burnt there. What do you do for exercise?
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    edited February 2016
    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.

    Wow, you're getting really agitated about how other people live their lives.

    I just got an extra 1000 false positives on my VivoSmart during a 1hr, 30km, road session. When I was pushing a shopping trolley around the supermarket last night my Vivosmart will have undercounted because my hand wouldn't be moving enough to register the steps.

    A number of people in thread have made observations about these things being tools and they have to be used with a degree of thought.

    I'm still not seeing your point. If they help people get up and move around then that's fine.

    Who are you to tell them they shouldn't?

  • koinflipper
    koinflipper Posts: 45 Member
    This is one guys review on AMAZON that sums it all up nicely:

    "If the Charge HR were a person, he would be a pathological liar. Everything about it is inaccurate. Gesturing is registered as steps. Taking the elevator at work is registered as walking up stairs. Somehow we even register steps while sleeping. At dinner the other night, my Fitbit Charge HR vibrated in celebration of my having reached 10,000 steps. However, I'd been sitting in the restaurant for about an hour when that happened. And the heart rate? I'd probably get more accurate readings if I pulled numbers out of a hat."

    And there is currently a class action lawsuit about the HRM on the Fitbit Charge HR: http://fortune.com/2016/01/06/fitbit-heart-rate-accuracy-lawsuit/
  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,338 Member
    Cherimoose 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.

    As you might have learned in your physiology classes, the lymphatic system is stimulated by movement, but since the effects only last a few minutes, frequent movement is essential for proper health. That's where 10,000 steps scattered throughout the day trumps 30 minutes of cardio. "Cardio" is a recent invention intended to counteract the sedentary lifestyle of the industrial age. Prior to that, people kept in shape mostly by doing low-intensity activities like walking. :+1:

    Actually, they would keep in shape mostly by doing physical labour, both at work and at home, and participating in sports depending on age and circumstances. Prior to the 80's people tended to get their exercise in sports like tennis, running, hockey, football etc and not necessarily in an organized league or club. People didn't watch much TV until the 80's so they actually did activities to occupy their time otherwise and now they tend to sit around a lot more.

    I think you're right on the money with this post...and I blame Full House and the Cosby show....before that, no one binge watched tv....

    Cosby was great but I couldn't stand Full House, does that make me a bad person? ;) As for the 70's, M*A*S*H* was the best show ever, but I only had 13 cable channels but 1 was UHF, so it was out; 13 was community TV and was mostly just text bulletins, 9 and 10 where the same since 10 was the local an it washed out the cable, and 5 was French. Yeah, we didn't want to watch that much TV because there wasn't much good on. Oh wait there still isn't! :lol:

    Very little worth wasting hours in front of the tv these days! When I was really young, we had an antenna....meaning I would sit at the tv with dad at the couch, and I would slowly turn the dial as we hit the channels...so if you found something Dad liked, it stayed on that channel most of the day. Hehe, I guess I just dated myself! I'm willing to bet very few people under 40 would even know what I'm talking about!
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    edited February 2016
    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. B)
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    I don't have a FitBit so I don't know about issues with specific models. My Garmin that I use for swimming, biking and running also counts steps. I haven't had an issue with getting high step counts. I do check on occasion to see if it is counting while I am driving, it doesn't. It doesn't count stairs so no worries there. I am sure it picks up the occasional movement that isn't steps but there are also times when I am walking when it doesn't get counted because I am carrying something. I figure it evens out.
    Is it exact right down to the step - nope. But I don't care. It does show an overall trend. I have higher steps on the days that I am more active and fewer on the days I am not active. I haven't seen any numbers to suggest excessive overestimating on the device's part. I am nowhere near 10,000 steps on an inactive day, accidental step count or not.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    edited February 2016
    This is one guys review on AMAZON that sums it all up nicely:

    "If the Charge HR were a person, he would be a pathological liar. Everything about it is inaccurate. Gesturing is registered as steps. Taking the elevator at work is registered as walking up stairs. Somehow we even register steps while sleeping. At dinner the other night, my Fitbit Charge HR vibrated in celebration of my having reached 10,000 steps. However, I'd been sitting in the restaurant for about an hour when that happened. And the heart rate? I'd probably get more accurate readings if I pulled numbers out of a hat."

    And there is currently a class action lawsuit about the HRM on the Fitbit Charge HR: http://fortune.com/2016/01/06/fitbit-heart-rate-accuracy-lawsuit/

    You sure do a lot of bitching and complaining. I think Fitbit is awesome and they have wonderful customer service. Not sure who you are trying to convince. Yourself?
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    I think the final solution for you, koinflipper, is to NOT buy one. Problem solved.

    Exactly.

    /thread.
  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,338 Member
    edited February 2016
    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).

    So I went on AMAZON to see all the NEGATIVE REVIEWS specifically for the FitBit Charge HR. Here are some quotes for just the first 50 page of 300 pages of one star reviews.

    STEPS FROM HAND MOTIONS

    1. I bought this device for my wife in December. Since then, we have determined that it does not count steps, it counts hand movements. A guy sitting at a bar doing 12 oz. curls would probably register a fairly hard workout wearing this device.

    2. I am a crocheter and if you don't take the devise off before you crochet, it counts every stitch as a step

    3. I was ironing one night and looked at the Fitbit before I started and I had some 8,000 steps. An hour later after wearing the fitbit on my left arm and ironing with my right arm I had over 10,000 steps!!!.

    4. Can walk 20 steps or more when cleaning my teeth.

    5. The thing counts my "steps" as I drive. I turn the wheel, I get a few steps. I drive all day for work, so the "steps" add up quickly even though I have yet to get off of my butt. I can also reach above my head and back down, and I get a step or two added to my count.

    6. When my husband claps his hands and his step count goes up.

    8. The Fitbit I received from Amazon logged steps whenever I waved my hand around.

    9. Adds 2k to 5k extra steps when I am not walking but doing the wash, folding laundry, or painting. I learned to remove the Fitbit when I am doing housework.

    10. Today, I sat at my desk looking at my iPhone while waving my hand and the step count just kept going up until I stopped waving my hand!!! Smh.

    11. I watched it add 100 steps just while sitting at my desk for the first hour of work

    13. This is HORRIBLE if your going to push a stroller at all. It will not count your steps AT ALL while pushing.

    14. Unless your arms swing like a monkey when you walk, forget about it reading movement as a step. The first night I had it I spend 45 minutes grocery shopping and had a grand total of zero steps for my effort since I was pushing the cart.

    STEPS WHILE RIDING

    1. I drive a compact car on city streets, and it continuously counts these as "steps".

    2. Counts steps while riding golf cart

    3. The next day I got 2 flights of stairs on an elevator, then 3 more on the way home in my car.

    COUNTING NON-EXISTENT STAIRS

    4. Apparently I have climbed 150 flights of stairs today. I have not. I have maybe climbed 15 flights.

    5. Live in a bungalow yet climb 10 sets of stairs on average each day

    19 . The step counter credits me while sitting and reading. I am credited for walking flights of stairs when stairs are not in sight.

    19. I put it on and by the time i walked down stairs it said i did 900 steps.

    20. It does not count floors/stairs properly. It’s pretty good when you can climb a flight a stairs without leaving your chair.

    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

    23. At the end of the day, it said I had climbed 17 floors when I really didn't climb a single one!

    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.

    Sorry....I don't believe most of these. Because of my own experiences. I highly doubt ANYONE got those types of steps out of laying in bed all day, ever. Nice try tho. Since January, I've only gotten above 10000 steps 4 times. Yesterday I managed over 12000 for the first time, and believe me, I put effort into getting every one of those steps, as I work from home and my home is quite small. If I didn't have the Fitbit to remind me of how little I was moving, I'd still be averaging 5000 a day, max. Someone said it earlier, if you are so against it, don't get one. Trying one on for two days is a joke, a slap in our faces. How about doing a couple of months sincerely, tracking, and then showing us if you notice any difference in your own health?
  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
    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.
    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.

    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.

  • thankyou4thevenom
    thankyou4thevenom Posts: 1,581 Member
    edited February 2016
    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.
    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.

    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.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    @koinflipper
    So you've changed your point of disagreement with stepcounting and still haven't answered simple questions about what you do for "fitness". It seems when your first point was undermined with logic, you changed to a totally new rant.
  • Shells918
    Shells918 Posts: 1,070 Member
    My Fitbit HR charge shows 0 steps when I wake up. It doesn't count my hand movements as steps. Days I've been home in bed it only shows 500 or so steps. It's helped me be much more cognizant of my activity level and even my sleep. I love it.

    It's the same as any other reviews like trip advisor or Yelp. The complainers are always super loud and screamy.
  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
    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.
    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.

    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.
    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.

  • Bill_Sky
    Bill_Sky Posts: 2 Member
    So what's your metric for being physically fit, a sub 3 hour marathon or 10,000 steps a day? Runners use miles per day, less fit people use step per day. If they help increase your fitness level why not use it? So what if it's a fad, some fads are good.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    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.
    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.

    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.
    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.

    One day it was off? Maybe it was lint. When mine gets wonky, I clean mine and all is right with the world.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    Amazon buyers will complain about anything. All popular products have these negative reviews. A pedometer is a tool that has been used for a long while now. Some people find them useful, so what? I have no idea why it grinds your gears that the goals some people have and the tools they utilize to achieve them happen to be different from yours.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    edited February 2016
    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).

    So I went on AMAZON to see all the NEGATIVE REVIEWS specifically for the FitBit Charge HR. Here are some quotes for just the first 50 page of 300 pages of one star reviews.

    STEPS FROM HAND MOTIONS

    1. I bought this device for my wife in December. Since then, we have determined that it does not count steps, it counts hand movements. A guy sitting at a bar doing 12 oz. curls would probably register a fairly hard workout wearing this device.

    2. I am a crocheter and if you don't take the devise off before you crochet, it counts every stitch as a step

    3. I was ironing one night and looked at the Fitbit before I started and I had some 8,000 steps. An hour later after wearing the fitbit on my left arm and ironing with my right arm I had over 10,000 steps!!!.

    4. Can walk 20 steps or more when cleaning my teeth.

    5. The thing counts my "steps" as I drive. I turn the wheel, I get a few steps. I drive all day for work, so the "steps" add up quickly even though I have yet to get off of my butt. I can also reach above my head and back down, and I get a step or two added to my count.

    6. When my husband claps his hands and his step count goes up.

    8. The Fitbit I received from Amazon logged steps whenever I waved my hand around.

    9. Adds 2k to 5k extra steps when I am not walking but doing the wash, folding laundry, or painting. I learned to remove the Fitbit when I am doing housework.

    10. Today, I sat at my desk looking at my iPhone while waving my hand and the step count just kept going up until I stopped waving my hand!!! Smh.

    11. I watched it add 100 steps just while sitting at my desk for the first hour of work

    13. This is HORRIBLE if your going to push a stroller at all. It will not count your steps AT ALL while pushing.

    14. Unless your arms swing like a monkey when you walk, forget about it reading movement as a step. The first night I had it I spend 45 minutes grocery shopping and had a grand total of zero steps for my effort since I was pushing the cart.

    STEPS WHILE RIDING

    1. I drive a compact car on city streets, and it continuously counts these as "steps".

    2. Counts steps while riding golf cart

    3. The next day I got 2 flights of stairs on an elevator, then 3 more on the way home in my car.

    COUNTING NON-EXISTENT STAIRS

    4. Apparently I have climbed 150 flights of stairs today. I have not. I have maybe climbed 15 flights.

    5. Live in a bungalow yet climb 10 sets of stairs on average each day

    19 . The step counter credits me while sitting and reading. I am credited for walking flights of stairs when stairs are not in sight.

    19. I put it on and by the time i walked down stairs it said i did 900 steps.

    20. It does not count floors/stairs properly. It’s pretty good when you can climb a flight a stairs without leaving your chair.

    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

    23. At the end of the day, it said I had climbed 17 floors when I really didn't climb a single one!

    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.

    Sorry....I don't believe most of these. Because of my own experiences. I highly doubt ANYONE got those types of steps out of laying in bed all day, ever. Nice try tho. Since January, I've only gotten above 10000 steps 4 times. Yesterday I managed over 12000 for the first time, and believe me, I put effort into getting every one of those steps, as I work from home and my home is quite small. If I didn't have the Fitbit to remind me of how little I was moving, I'd still be averaging 5000 a day, max. Someone said it earlier, if you are so against it, don't get one. Trying one on for two days is a joke, a slap in our faces. How about doing a couple of months sincerely, tracking, and then showing us if you notice any difference in your own health?

    My thoughts too, Amazon reviews are mostly garbage and unreliable. I've noticed a few times when it gave false positives but they were low, not in the hundreds or even thousands per day and you can adjust the sensitivity of a FitBit to lower the count. I've heard stories about steps from typing etc but I've had 4 different counters and I've put them through tests and they are pretty good at filtering noise. I've never seen anything fro typing, or swaying back and forth on my heels or such. I think a lot of these people are not being truthful. I also love all the reviews on Amazon that start off about how they just ordered the product and are excited or that they bought it for someone else, or someone knows someone who had a friend who had one. Yeah, just ignore those reviews a lot of them are from dubious sources.
  • 100df
    100df Posts: 668 Member
    I have the Zip. It doesn't register anything but a step. I wear an old pedometer that measures steps with a small pebble along with the Zip every so often. Every time the two are within 7-12 steps of each other. I am satisfied with the accuracy of the Zip. I wear it on my waist band usually.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    OP are you a shill for the anti-activity tracker industry? Is there some new product coming out soon that is going to put these activity trackers out of business and you are just planting the seeds? I just don't understand the animosity towards these devices that so many people find to be helpful tools to achieve our overall goals.
  • koinflipper
    koinflipper Posts: 45 Member
    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.
  • WordWhisperer
    WordWhisperer Posts: 33 Member
    edited February 2016
    Your Fitbits are not counting your steps at all. They are counting your HAND MOTIONS.

    Then I would like to thank my hand motions from the bottom of my inactive little heart for the scale registering 25 pounds lower this morning than it did nine weeks ago.

    Or maybe the scale is just registering my wishes and not actual weight loss. That's probably it.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    OP are you a shill for the anti-activity tracker industry? Is there some new product coming out soon that is going to put these activity trackers out of business and you are just planting the seeds? I just don't understand the animosity towards these devices that so many people find to be helpful tools to achieve our overall goals.

    I'm starting to wonder this as well.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    edited February 2016
    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 still haven't answered simple questions such as how is getting people to increase overall daily activity and baseline fitness a bad thing? What do you do for your activities that puts you in a position to say what others do isn't sufficient?

    The new one, why the change from step counting isn't helpful to the bashing of one form factor of counter from one manufacturer? Another new question .. how does one devolve from citing their studies to Amazon reviews as the intellectual basis of a position?

  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,338 Member
    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 still haven't answered simple questions such as how is getting people to increase overall daily activity and baseline fitness a bad thing? What do you do for your activities that puts you in a position to say what others do isn't sufficient?

    The new one, why the change from step counting isn't helpful to the bashing of one form factor of counter from one manufacturer? Another new question .. how does one devolve from citing their studies to Amazon reviews as the intellectual basis of a position?

    Exactly...I'd like to know too....