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Recording with an Edge device while wearing an activity tracker

Pirnie13
Pirnie13 Posts: 26 Member
edited December 20 in Social Groups
I've just got a new Garmin watch which I'll use as an activity tracker (instinct) . I also have an Edge 810 which I use for cycling (moving over from Fitbit).

If I wear the watch (not recording) while I'm riding, how will Garmin Connect & MFP handle that? Will the elevated heart rate and activity on the instinct double up with what I'm recording on the edge? (and will I get double calorie burn into myfitnesspal as a result? ).

I've tried to Google but can't find a recent, conclusive answer. Any help appreciated!

Replies

  • chris_in_cal
    chris_in_cal Posts: 2,554 Member
    ithink it is GC that syncs with MFP, so after your ride, you sync your devices, open GC. If in GC you see only one activity that is what syncs to mfp. if you should you ride is two different activities (which I doubt) the you will have two activities sync to mfp
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Garmin as the other activity trackers are is a Replace only system, not add to.

    So if something comes in with same start/duration time - whatever is there will be overwritten.
    So bike computer syncing in a workout, or from other site say.

    In the case of your question, GC will log the ride, and as it does with a workout - send it to MFP.

    That ride will be added to the total daily calorie burn - and that value will be sent over to MFP to do math with.

    Now - what I did observe doing this is sometimes the Garmin side was slow to react for it's own math - when I manually synced the tracker first (did not use auto-sync to phone, but manual to computer).

    GC would see the increase of 100 calories over last sync, and sync new value to MFP.

    Bike computer would then be synced with more realistic higher values for some of that time, but for a pause of time the daily total would not go up - but the workout would be sent to MFP.

    So here MFP is looking at a workout that it rightfully assumes is part of the total daily burn, but in reality Garmin didn't send a new figure that contains it, but an older one.

    So the math on MFP caused a negative adjustment almost always.

    It then took a bit for GC to actually correct it's addition, and then it send new daily burn, and all was right.

    I don't think I ever figured out a way for GC to correct faster, it was merely from bopping around between screens I noticed it showed the workout, but the daily burn didn't go up the correct amount.

    I believe having the tracker info there first, to be replaced by the bike computer, was better.
  • Pirnie13
    Pirnie13 Posts: 26 Member
    Thanks @heybales you always seem to have answers to these sorts of questions!

    So if I understand what you're saying correctly, things will work out correctly, it just can take some time for everything to balance out. Is that right?
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    I hope so - the Garmin side always seemed to eventually.

    My MFP account is hosed from some past issue, so with Fitbit and Garmin I only get one good sync each day, then it fails for rest of the night.

    So I had to screw around with which order is best to have that sync contain all the best data over to MFP.

    In my case MFP tech support said my account time zones were not correctly matched up.
    On giving them proof they were (both Fitbit and Garmin account later) - I never hear back.
  • Pirnie13
    Pirnie13 Posts: 26 Member
    Turns out I was worried about nothing. Everything syncs fine, no doubling issues. Hope this helps anyone who has the same concern
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