Exercise - inside vs outside walk

[Tammster]

I have walked for approx 40 minutes 4 times since getting my watch, three were outside and one, this morning, was inside on a treadmill. The watch tracked all three throughout the walk and seemed to work flawlessly. The outside walks resulted in my achieving 40 minutes of my 30 minute exercise goal but this morning on the treadmill I only got 11 exercise minutes! Is this a glitch? It truly doesn't make sense because I actually worked harder on the treadmill than on our flat roads (because of inclines and interval speed adjustments).

 

[Tammster]

FYI, just round this in the Apple Watch User Guide:

"Outdoor and Indoor Walk/Run/Cycle are distinct workouts because Apple Watch calculates the calorie burn differently for each. For indoor workouts, Apple Watch relies mainly on your heart rate readings for calorie estimates, but for outdoor workouts, Apple Watch works in conjunction with iPhone (which has GPS) to calculate speed and distance."

So, I guess this explains the difference but I'm not happy with the result. I was much more winded after my treadmill workout (and I checked my heart rate throughout both indoor & outdoor walks & the average was higher on my treadmill walk).

In general I dont mind small differences but only 11 minutes of exercise vs the actual 40 minutes is just not motivating.

 

[alywa]

I've discovered the same thing... one question... are you holding onto the treadmill bar? This could greatly underestimate movement / distance. Did the distance / # of steps make sense given the workout?

As an aside, elliptical and rowing working settings seem to work as expected.

 

[Tammster]

I did hold the bar more than normal since I kept checking my heart rate. Having said that, for indoor walks I don't think distance is in the equation since you're not really moving.

 

[alywa]

I did hold the bar more than normal since I kept checking my heart rate. Having said that, for indoor walks I don't think distance is in the equation since you're not really moving.

It should be able to do distance since it learns your stride length. The treadmill displays a distance based on speed and time... seems like the AW should be able to approximate that. I'll play with it more next time I go to the gym and see if not holding the bar makes a difference.

 

[rosario1990]

I did hold the bar more than normal since I kept checking my heart rate. Having said that, for indoor walks I don't think distance is in the equation since you're not really moving.

Yeah, I think that too.

 

[alywa]

I just re-checked an indoor walk I did on Friday as a warmup to weight lifting... I used the indoor walk setting, walked for 5 minutes. It measured .31 miles at 16:09 /mile. Average HR 116, active calories 26. I did make sure to not hold the bar. It seems to have given me all 5 minutes towards the green circle / goal.

 

[betabeta]

I find it's not always heart rate but how much you move your arms, the more you swing your arms the more minutes you will get during exercise.

I get more exercise minutes working in the garden, and that's not distance or speed and my heart rate even was less than when I do a dedicated walk at a brisk pace say, 15 min. a mile.

Tried swinging my arms and got more minutes on my last walk, look like a nut though#

 

[Tammster]

I find it's not always heart rate but how much you move your arms, the more you swing your arms the more minutes you will get during exercise.



I get more exercise minutes working in the garden, and that's not distance or speed and my heart rate even was less than when I do a dedicated walk at a brisk pace say, 15 min. a mile.



Tried swinging my arms and got more minutes on my last walk, look like a nut though

Very interesting! I'll try that on the treadmill next time. If not, maybe I'll just start walking outside (even though it's getting hot out around here).