Keeping hand in pocket will make activity count inaccurate?

[shankar2]

Hi so I used to use fitbit alta and they did say the wrist u wear the fitbit should be free.

I want to know if it’s the same with Apple Watch? I sometimes keep my hands in my jacket’s pockets when cold outside. Would the outdoor walk workout counter turn inaccurate?

 

[Julien]

You must swing you hand back and forth to count as 2 steps.

 

[shankar2]

Thanks so the count would get messed up

 

[sean000]

I don’t think it would. I walk to and from work almost every day. Some days I walk swinging my arms, some days my hands are in my jacket pockets. I don’t see any significant difference in the number of steps and miles recorded. The motion sensors are pretty sophisticated, and Other factors considered are distance traveled over time and heart rate. When you strap on a new Apple Watch it asks you to calibrate your walking (or at least it used to) by doing at least a 20 minute flat ground walking workout. It used the GPS and motion sensors to figure out your stride. I think that allows it to recognize when you are walking even if you aren’t swinging your arms. You could also just run a walking workout and it will likely increase accuracy for that walk.

 

[SDColorado]

I don’t think it would. I walk to and from work almost every day. Some days I walk swinging my arms, some days my hands are in my jacket pockets. I don’t see Any significant distance in the number of steps and miles recorded. The motion sensors are pretty sophisticated, and Other factors considered are distance traveled over time and heart rate. When you strap on a new Apple Watch it asks you to calibrate your walking (or at least it used to) by doing at least a 20 minute flat ground walking workout. It used the GPS and motion sensors to figure out your stride. I think that allows it to recognize when you are walking even if you aren’t swinging your arms. You could also just run a walking workout and it will likely increase accuracy for that walk.

I wonder about that as well, because I always wear mine on my left wrist and when I walk the dogs I always walk them on the left side, so my arm is not swinging. I also sometime carry a pack over my left shoulder and use the left hand to hold it, but I seem to get the step counts ok.

 

[oeagleo]

I was curious about this myself, mostly about whether pushing shopping carts would count steps if I had both hands on the cart. My Garmin would not count steps with both hands on the cart, the watch hand had to be swinging naturally. So, naturally, me being my curious self, I took note of the steps app on the watch as I grabbed the cart, pushed it through the door, then looked again. Increase of a few steps. Noting the new number, I went about my shopping around the store, and the steps DO count, interestingly. So, I would think that the accellerometer in the watch was looking for more than simple arm swings, perhaps the to/fro motion of the body as we walk is enough to do it.

 

[sean000]

I don’t think it would. I walk to and from work almost every day. Some days I walk swinging my arms, some days my hands are in my jacket pockets. I don’t see any significant difference in the number of steps and miles recorded. The motion sensors are pretty sophisticated, and Other factors considered are distance traveled over time and heart rate. When you strap on a new Apple Watch it asks you to calibrate your walking (or at least it used to) by doing at least a 20 minute flat ground walking workout. It used the GPS and motion sensors to figure out your stride. I think that allows it to recognize when you are walking even if you aren’t swinging your arms. You could also just run a walking workout and it will likely increase accuracy for that walk.

I found that Apple actually does recommend you swing the arm that wears the watch, but they say it’s to ensure the most accurate excercise credit. They don’t mention it affecting step count.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207941

As someone who walks the same 4 mile round trip almost every day I know I’ve gotten basically the same credit whether my arms are swinging, hands are in my pockets, or watch hand is holding the flashlight (this time of year it gets dark before 5 in the Pacific NW). So I guess YMMV?

 

[mdhaus72]

I've taken really long walks in cold temperatures where my hands are jammed into my coat pockets the entire time. And when I get done, the watch has always credited me with what looks like the accurate steps. It doesn't seem to be off from the other times when my hands are moving by my side.

I'm assuming that the watch takes a few variables into consideration when it's doing its count....including what it has learned from your walking habits as well as the movement that shows up in its GPS tracking.

 

[shankar2]

Another thing I noticed is that if I activate outdoor walking activity on the watch the steps don't update in realtime when I see the numbers. Is there any reason for this?

 

[Nell]

In my experience the watch is much better at step counting than wrist-based Fitbits. That said, I think Fitbits do work with hands in pockets (or with the actual device put in your pocket, which I tended to do when pushing a shopping trolley) and one of my many Fitbit Charges (they had a serious design flaw so I had a series of replacements under warranty) took against my winter coat and would only count steps if I had my hands in my pocket when I was wearing it.

 

[SDColorado]

In my experience the watch is much better at step counting than wrist-based Fitbits. That said, I think Fitbits do work with hands in pockets (or with the actual device put in your pocket, which I tended to do when pushing a shopping trolley) and one of my many Fitbit Charges (they had a serious design flaw so I had a series of replacements under warranty) took against my winter coat and would only count steps if I had my hands in my pocket when I was wearing it.

That makes sense I suppose. Most of the pedometers sold seem to be clip-on types that attach to your belt/waist band. So it would seem that perhaps having to swing your arm would not be a requirement for step counting?

 

[villein]

That makes sense I suppose. Most of the pedometers sold seem to be clip-on types that attach to your belt/waist band. So it would seem that perhaps having to swing your arm would not be a requirement for step counting?

Clip-on pedometers must be calibrated with your walking stride prior to use, so they take the distance you walked and calculate your steps based on your programmed walking stride.

I have a Watch Series 3, and I don't remember setting up my stride, but it's also been a long time since I set it up. I remember entering my height and weight into the health app, so it might calibrate the average stride length for someone of my relative size.

 

[SDColorado]

Clip-on pedometers must be calibrated with your walking stride prior to use, so they take the distance you walked and calculate your steps based on your programmed walking stride.

I have a Watch Series 3, and I don't remember setting up my stride, but it's also been a long time since I set it up. I remember entering my height and weight into the health app, so it might calibrate the average stride length for someone of my relative size.

I thought the calibration steps listed here are supposed to improve accuracy for your specific pace? Maybe I am misunderstanding its purpose though. Could be.

Otherwise, I am guessing that it uses some sort of default miles to steps conversion such as this based on some generic "average" stride length (in the case of the linked site stride length of 0.762 meters or 2.5 feet)?

It is strictly a guess, but my thinking was that the calibration fine tunes that stride measurement. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Edit: But I believe that is one advantage of the GPS models over the older ones is that it can "guestimate" your steps based on miles walked?

 

[Newtons Apple]

Another thing I noticed is that if I activate outdoor walking activity on the watch the steps don't update in realtime when I see the numbers. Is there any reason for this?

Sometimes my watch will not show each individual step and then after maybe 10-15 seconds it all catches up. Most the time is is real time but not all the time.

 

[Kanyay]

somewhat anecdotal but i noticed if i strap one to my wife Kim K's behind, each step counts as 4 steps due to the reverberation. just a tip. hope it helps.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Yep, with my fitbit, if I pushed a cart, it would read 0. With my Apple Watch, it reads steps but not as accurate if I pushed with right hand and swung left hand. I walk with hand in pocket now that it is cold and it counts steps very accurately.

 

[SDColorado]

somewhat anecdotal but i noticed if i strap one to my wife Kim K's behind, each step counts as 4 steps due to the reverberation. just a tip. hope it helps.

Man I am glad I didn't have a mouth full of coffee when I read that ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Yep, with my fitbit, if I pushed a cart, it would read 0. With my Apple Watch, it reads steps but not as accurate if I pushed with right hand and swung left hand. I walk with hand in pocket now that it is cold and it counts steps very accurately.

So, if you normally walk with your arm not swinging, hand in pocket, walking the dog, carrying something, etc. Would it be best to do the calibration procedure with the hand in pocket, etc?

 

[Newtons Apple]

Yep, with my fitbit, if I pushed a cart, it would read 0. With my Apple Watch, it reads steps but not as accurate if I pushed with right hand and swung left hand. I walk with hand in pocket now that it is cold and it counts steps very accurately.

Yep, same here. My AW will read steps while pushing a grocery cart but not as many if the arm was free and swinging.

 

[BigMcGuire]

So, if you normally walk with your arm not swinging, hand in pocket, walking the dog, carrying something, etc. Would it be best to do the calibration procedure with the hand in pocket, etc?

The calibration thing is only with AW 2 and before right?

Wow apparently not - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204516

This explains why, when I reset my phone and AW a few weeks ago that it asked me to run outside for better accuracy. So I went on a 30 min run and it never said anything after that. How interesting.

I wouldn't think so since I really care more about my watch's accuracy when I'm running or doing an exercise. The accuracy when pushing a cart isn't off by much - so it doesn't bother me.

 

[SDColorado]

The calibration thing is only with AW 2 and before right?

Wow apparently not - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204516

This explains why, when I reset my phone and AW a few weeks ago that it asked me to run outside for better accuracy. So I went on a 30 min run and it never said anything after that. How interesting.

I wouldn't think so since I really care more about my watch's accuracy when I'm running or doing an exercise. The accuracy when pushing a cart isn't off by much - so it doesn't bother me.

Yeah, the calibration is still a thing after S2. The change is that now that the watches have their own GPS, they can be calibrated independently.

 

[sdwaltz]

I walk my dog nightly and now that it's cold, the hand attached to my watch-wearing wrist is in my pocket most of the time so it doesn't get too cold. I always get credit for steps taken.

I'm unsure as to the accuracy of what I'm about to say but here's what I think:
Yes, you probably will get the most accurate step-count if your arm actually swings. That said, over time, your watch will learn your approximate stride length by using GPS, counting your arm swings, and then doing the math. Because both your iPhone (which talks to the watch constantly) and your watch have GPS, they can give a pretty good estimate of your steps based on how far you've traveled even if your arm isn't always swinging.

My .02. Might be wrong.

 

[trillionaire]

I don't think you can expect these products to be 100% accurate. They work basing on sensors and positioning so they are prone to miscalculations and tampering. If you're setting goals then I would stick to a range rather than a specific number.

You can always compare several sets of data when you're not certain about a specific type of activity or variable and that should give you a proper indication as to the extent of the influence.

 

[Nell]

Clip-on pedometers must be calibrated with your walking stride prior to use, so they take the distance you walked and calculate your steps based on your programmed walking stride.

I think it’s the other way round: the pedometer counts a step each time it moves in the jiggly way it would in a pocket (or bra) and the associated app calculates distance from steps times stride. The pedometer will count steps on a treadmill so distance travelled isn’t a factor.

 

[villein]

I think it’s the other way round: the pedometer counts a step each time it moves in the jiggly way it would in a pocket (or bra) and the associated app calculates distance from steps times stride. The pedometer will count steps on a treadmill so distance travelled isn’t a factor.

My apologies. You're correct. Clip-on pedometers respond to the movement of your body in order to count steps. It's odd to me that they would need to be calibrated then, but I didn't consider treadmill workouts in my thought process.

 

[shankar2]

Ok so we all agree hand need not be free while walking with the Apple Watch and counting steps etc