Is using an elliptical in a challenge cheating? (Also posted on the Fitbit community page)
jennycreative1
Posts: 8 Member
Just wanting some more opinions on this....
I need a question answered. I started a weekend warrior challenge and have really been killing it to keep up with another highly competitive person. After pretty much walking, boxing, running and using the elliptical for over 6 hours, I pulled ahead of this person. We had some friendly, competitive banter on the challenge message board, but when I mentioned being on the elliptical, this person said that ellipticals are cheating.
Is it cheating? I thought it all counted towards the challenge, otherwise I wouldn't have done it and I certainly wouldn't say it on the public challenge message board.
The person is a friend, but it has caused quit a rift, as this person is extremely upset about it. I mean scorched-earth upset.
Be interested in what the consensus is. I've lost a friendship over this.
I need a question answered. I started a weekend warrior challenge and have really been killing it to keep up with another highly competitive person. After pretty much walking, boxing, running and using the elliptical for over 6 hours, I pulled ahead of this person. We had some friendly, competitive banter on the challenge message board, but when I mentioned being on the elliptical, this person said that ellipticals are cheating.
Is it cheating? I thought it all counted towards the challenge, otherwise I wouldn't have done it and I certainly wouldn't say it on the public challenge message board.
The person is a friend, but it has caused quit a rift, as this person is extremely upset about it. I mean scorched-earth upset.
Be interested in what the consensus is. I've lost a friendship over this.
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Replies
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Since we have absolutely no idea what the challenge is, how should we know?1
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Since we have absolutely no idea what the challenge is, how should we know?
it'd be a step challenge. Who can get the most amount of steps over the weekend.
Op I didn't think the elliptical picked up steps very well??
If this person wants to end your friendship over this, then I say good riddance!!
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Ate treadmills allowed?0
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There are no rules! Your friend sounds uber competitive, maybe you should discuss what they consider "acceptable" before doing another challenge with them - it sounds like it's their rules that count for them!2
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Yes, to clarify it's a challenge on who can get the most steps in one weekend.
Yeah, the friendship blew up over it.0 -
jennycreative1 wrote: »Yes, to clarify it's a challenge on who can get the most steps in one weekend.
Yeah, the friendship blew up over it.
So why is the elliptical 'cheating'??0 -
It is not cheating. I use the elliptical all the time on challenges, and I am on a workweek hustle one right now. Steps are steps and they all count. Unless you have made an agreement prior to the challenge starting on how you can accumulate your steps, they should all count. I have had a fit bit for over 3 years and have never had anyone ask, or qualify, how you can get your steps on these challenges.
BTW, unless I have my fitbit in my pocket when I am using the elliptical, it doesn't pick up all of my steps, so it is possible that you have taken even more steps than you are credited with.1 -
I use the elliptical to count my step as to burn the most of my calories, it may not be accurate but after an hour I go over the 10,000 steps a day and that's not counting the other hour on the treadmill.0
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What the hell?
My sister, bf, and I all do the Workweek Hustle and Weekend Warrior challenges - and they know when I go the gym, I specifically choose the elliptical to pick up steps. My bf has a job where he walks around all day. My sister works 2nd shift and has time to take walks in the morning. Who the heck cares? It's a fun, silly challenge that, above all else, is supposed to encourage you to move around more - that's literally the entire point of a step tracker! Why would your friend be pissed that you're actually moving?
Honestly, if your friend is legitimately going to end the friendship over a stupid step challenge, good riddance to them.2 -
OMG. They need more adversity in their life if they get so upset about a stupid Fitbit step challenge.0
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jennycreative1 wrote: »Just wanting some more opinions on this....
I need a question answered. I started a weekend warrior challenge and have really been killing it to keep up with another highly competitive person. After pretty much walking, boxing, running and using the elliptical for over 6 hours, I pulled ahead of this person. We had some friendly, competitive banter on the challenge message board, but when I mentioned being on the elliptical, this person said that ellipticals are cheating.
Is it cheating? I thought it all counted towards the challenge, otherwise I wouldn't have done it and I certainly wouldn't say it on the public challenge message board.
The person is a friend, but it has caused quit a rift, as this person is extremely upset about it. I mean scorched-earth upset.
Be interested in what the consensus is. I've lost a friendship over this.
I think it isn't cheating unless there were rules against using exercise machines during this time period. I would say this is a failure to clearly communicate rules and expectations of the challenge. You honestly did the work. Your friend is overreacting.
Does an elliptical cause your step counter device to exaggerate the number of steps? From what I read in a few places a pedometer wouldn't be accurate on an elliptical because the motion in different than what it is callibrated to track but that kind of sounds like it might record less steps rather than more compared to walking.0 -
No, the elliptical is not cheating.0
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I get steps faster walking than on the elliptical becaus the elliptical is a large circular motion vs straight steps. Friend should lay out any special rules b4 the start of next challenge. Most of us learned around age 3 that you can't make up rules in the middle of a game! As far as fitbit, if fit bit counts it as a step, it counts. Maybe she's sitting in the couch shaking her arm to register steps. Lol. Just keep moving!!0
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I get steps faster walking than on the elliptical becaus the elliptical is a large circular motion vs straight steps. Friend should lay out any special rules b4 the start of next challenge. Most of us learned around age 3 that you can't make up rules in the middle of a game! As far as fitbit, if fit bit counts it as a step, it counts. Maybe she's sitting in the couch shaking her arm to register steps. Lol. Just keep moving!!
This exactly. You get more steps walking!0 -
I'd absolutely say it's cheating- you aren't walking or running- much like I would say swimming doesn't count. It's steps- not strokes.
giggle- I said stroke.1 -
The "friend" made such a big deal about it that they called me names and really took it to extremes, said that all his "Fitbit" friends say it's cheating and went to an online chat with a Fitbit employee and sent the screen grab, which only has the employee saying that ellipticals aren't always as accurate in counting as walking, hiking, and running. This friendship was on shaky ground and I think this person wanted to blow it up and texted alot of extremely hurtful things to me. I'm really shaken up by it.
Thanks for all the advice. On the Fitbit community, everyone agrees with all of you, that ellipticals are perfectly fine. It's supposed to be fun.
Feel free to friend me too. https://www.fitbit.com/user/224R3K
And if anyone wants to challenge me, I don't care how you get your steps. It's all for fun to get us moving more.1 -
both of you are over reacting- it's just a fitness challenge.
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I have found that you get way more steps on the elliptical, hence the guy above who gets over 10,000 steps with an hour on the elliptical. I would say it is cheating.0
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Jeezalou - are we fitbit friends? There was a challenge last week in my little world where things got a little heated with claims of "cheating." I'm totally giving up on this particular group of fitbit friends - it ruined the whole thing for me. (And no, I wasn't the one accused of cheating.)
Look, even if you're "cheating," you're only cheating yourself. The idea is to improve your own fitness, and the challenge is motivation and fun. Nobody wins a prize. None of your fitbit challengers have "lost" anything. If they get so stupidly competitive that they want to act like children, then they're taking it WAY too seriously.
My take - on my own challenge "drama" and yours - if you're being active in some way, good for you, and it counts, and even if it counts a little more (or less) than it should - so what? Rack up your steps on the elliptical, jump rope, hula hoop (that was our example) or whatever. If you were up and moving, it counts. Just don't strap your fitbit on your dog and veg in front of the TV while he runs laps in the backyard. LOL!6 -
I would say with no or low resistance the elliptical will be much easier to get "steps" in, as there is little to no resistance, making strides easier and faster than walking, so in a way cheating. If you set the machine to maximum resistance then it would be harder than walking and you would be cheating yourself out of steps.0
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Ehh I'm on the fence about this. The elliptical isn't really walking/running, but the fitbit doesn't know the difference so it counts the steps. But to blow up a friendship over it? Poo-poo to them.
I once had my mother-in-law challenge me to a daily showdown just so she could rub it in my face that she had nearly 20,000 steps that day. Turns out she was sitting in a rocking chair and her fitbit counted every time she rocked back and forth. Being a competitive person (and knowing she averages around 5k steps daily) I got a tad flustered, but after 10 seconds or so I realized the hilarity of it and we all had a good laugh.1 -
I take part in challenges with my Fitbit friends all the time and use the elliptical. I actually find I end up with fewer steps than when using the treadmill or walking outside. Clearly this 'friend' is just too competitive for their own good.0
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It seems ridiculous to get upset about this, whether it's cheating or not. I would say just establish whether or not it counts for the next challenge and no harm no fowl this time. I sounds like a weight off your shoulders to be rid of this person in the end.0
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I don't see a problem with an elliptical at all! I do these challenges all the time. Im more of a runner but if someone were doing anything other than walking or running to get their steps I'm behind them 100 percent! My friends motorcycle was calculating his steps and I did get a little upset over that because he continues to wear it to try and beat me. That is unfair because I bust my *kitten* to win!! He told me I was taking to too serious and perhaps I was but now he won't do the challenges but we remain great friends!
Hopefully your friend can get over this! If your friend can't get over it, you don't need someone like that in your life!
I'm going to test out the elliptical now just to compare!0 -
It's not cheating, and this person is/was not your friend. Let it go and move on.2
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I got fewer steps in 30 minutes on the elliptical than I did on the treadmill. It's just that there were no treadmills available when I got to the gym, so I got on the elliptical. Once the treadmills opened up, I jumped on that. I also walked, boxed, jump-roped like crazy. I also went to Target and got another 1000 steps pushing a grocery cart and shopping. The elliptical was WAY harder than that.
Oh well, the person won in the end. It's too bad that the person is a sore winner.
And no, they can't get over it.
After a long talk with husband, it's agreed that I can't have them in my life anymore. It's for the best. If it wasn't this, it would have been something else. I hurts, but I'll get over it.
Thanks for the opinions.1 -
I've used 2 arm based pedometers and compared them to a hip based pedometer using the elliptical. The arm base were always 1500 to 2000 steps behind, so if you were cheating, you were probably just cheating yourself out of some steps.2
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ScubaSteve1962 wrote: »I've used 2 arm based pedometers and compared them to a hip based pedometer using the elliptical. The arm base were always 1500 to 2000 steps behind, so if you were cheating, you were probably just cheating yourself out of some steps.
^^exactly this, even Fit Bit will tell you that all your steps do not get counted on the elliptical. Same thing when you are pushing around a shopping cart, at least for the wrist fit bits.
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