Indoor Workout Calories

[coffeemadmanUK]

Took the Apple Watch for a quick trial at the gym, with the aim of just getting to know how it works (so only a half hour or so).

Did 10 mins on a cycle, 10 mins elliptical, and 5 mins rowing.

Calories burnt in total? 2. TWO.

Is this supposed to happen, have I got faulty software, or am I doing something wrong?

 

[GrindedDown]

Did you by chance check to see if it was taking your heartrate correctly as well?

I don't have mine yet, and I don't know the algorithms apple is using for calorie expenditure, but having accurate heart rate readings can be paramount to accurate calorie estimates.

 

[coffeemadmanUK]

Did you by chance check to see if it was taking your heartrate correctly as well?

I don't have mine yet, and I don't know the algorithms apple is using for calorie expenditure, but having accurate heart rate readings can be paramount to accurate calorie estimates.

I checked and it matched the heartrate that the machine was telling me as I was cycling and on elliptical (couldn't check on the rower) so yes, it showed the right heartrate.

 

[GrindedDown]

I don't have the watch as I have said, so pardon my questions. Are these screen shots the data from the overall activity metric like you see in the rings or is this data that you pulled after using the workout app?

 

[coffeemadmanUK]

I don't have the watch as I have said, so pardon my questions. Are these screen shots the data from the overall activity metric like you see in the rings or is this data that you pulled after using the workout app?

It's the data from after the workout.

Here's the activity screenshot:

 

[daymouse]

It's the data from after the workout.

Here's the activity screenshot:

That looks like a bug to me.

On mine under workouts it says 202 calorie indoor run

then when you go into it says

Active calories 202
Resting 25
Total 227


So on the summary page i would expect it to say

18 Calorie indoor cycle

Maybe force quit the app on the watch on the phone and reboot both devices.

 

[coffeemadmanUK]

That looks like a bug to me.

On mine under workouts it says 202 calorie indoor run

then when you go into it says

Active calories 202
Resting 25
Total 227


So on the summary page i would expect it to say

18 Calorie indoor cycle

Maybe force quit the app on the watch on the phone and reboot both devices.

Damn. I really hope it's fixable.

I'd want more than 18 calories for a 10 minute cycle! Even the machine gave me 90 or so!

 

[daymouse]

Damn. I really hope it's fixable.

I'd want more than 18 calories for a 10 minute cycle! Even the machine gave me 90 or so!

Yeah that also seems strange and seems low. I did a 10 minute row last night and got 87 cals but i was doing interval 45/15 with avergare HR of 154.

Just have another go and see if it was a one off.

 

[coffeemadmanUK]

Attempting to speak with Apple support on it... not sure it's much use.

They say that it is because the GPS didn't see me move anywhere.

For an indoor activity.

On indoor machines.

 

[coffeemadmanUK]

Apparently I need to calibrate it:

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204516

That being said:

• I've already done several outdoor walks
• The calories surely shouldn't just be 0 on the first go? Calibration improves accuracy but it's never going to be 0 cals for a workout...

 

[Sphyrna]

I'd also give the standard "restart the watch" answer. You could even try doing a reset on the watch. But I have found that the AW seems to be conservative on calories compared to other apps/equipment. Plus it shows Active Calories, not total calories, which sometimes throws people off. I'm not sure how exactly it determines the difference between resting and active. Lately my total calories have been closer to what I'm getting with another app on my iPhone. So perhaps it is calibrating more with each workout.

 

[AtheistP3ace]

Mine has matched my elliptical machine plus or minus 10 or so. About a 50 minute workout on elliptical machine tells me 650 calories. Watch roughly the same thing so maybe its your watch?

----------

Apparently I need to calibrate it:

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204516

That being said:

• I've already done several outdoor walks
• The calories surely shouldn't just be 0 on the first go? Calibration improves accuracy but it's never going to be 0 cals for a workout...

Oh nice. Thanks for the link. I will try this!!

 

[HelloMikee]

Definitely something wrong. I'd be pissed about seeing 2 calories burned lol!

 

[coffeemadmanUK]

Definitely something wrong. I'd be pissed about seeing 2 calories burned lol!

I tried the calibration and did a 1 kilometre walk.

Burned 13 calories according to the Apple Watch.

Either I'm not doing something right, or I have no idea how many calories I should be burning during exercise.