Oh I completely agree. I just use workout other for weight lifting, swimming and golf. I don't cheat but was curious when I saw his report for exercise not recording as 1:1 for outdoor walk.
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What does the watch consider exercise?
- Thread starter randyj
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Golf would be 'cheating'
but weight training and swimming would work.Swimming is actually an aerobic exercise and would benefit from it own App/*algorithms. And there is a company that has one ready for wOS2. Of course we don't know if Apple will prove it or not.
*Swimming produces a lower measured HR compared to the effort exerted.
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/07/06/worlds-first-swim-app-on-apple-watch/
Rowing and indoor cycling also give 1:1 exercise minutes. Walking and running doesn't, whether they are indoor or outdoors. I haven't tried outdoor cycling yet.
Good to know. I guess the exercising I do will just be Workout Other because I don't run outside.
Did you see the graph I uploaded for my golf outing? I carry my clubs and I am old. Average heart rate was 135 over 2 hours. I've done 18 holes and burned over 2200 calories.Golf would be 'cheating'
Swimming is actually an aerobic exercise and would benefit from it own App/*algorithms. And there is a company that has one ready for wOS2. Of course we don't know if Apple will prove it or not.
*Swimming produces a lower measured HR compared to the effort exerted.
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/07/06/worlds-first-swim-app-on-apple-watch/
Now next weekend I will be in a cart and won't turn on the workout app.
The calories burned may not be very accurate. If you were using the Other Workout during golf for two hours, then it assumes that you were walking briskly for two hours and gives you calorie credits for a 2-hour brisk walk. From what I know of golf, there's no way you burned the equivalent of two hours of brisk walking during a 2-hour golf session, no matter how heavy your clubs were.
There is no comparison between a brisk walk and walking with 50-75 pounds across your shoulders. I've walked 4mph and my heart rate never went above 120 and golf had me between 135-150. It's all heart rate based so it is accurate as best it can be. I wore a Fitbit the last time out and it had the same heart rate and calorie burn. I trust the numbers as best I can.
Do a google search on calorie burn for golfing.
Based on weight, a person weighing as much as me will burn 200 calories per hour walking at 3.5 mph and a little more up to 4mph while golf for my size is roughly 375-400 per hour. Add in how much my bag weighs tells me Fitbit and Apple Watch are reporting correctly.
Everything is heart rate based. A fit person who runs marathons will burn less calories walking a mile versus someone out of shape.
Honestly, I am not trying to argue with you. I trust your opinion. I just know golf. 85 degree heat carrying about 60 pounds across your shoulders is a very hard workout.
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You carry your bag for two hours and never put it down?
I'm sure golfing uses a lot of energy, but also from what I know, there is a lot of time spent standing around doing nothing while waiting for other players to do their things.
Also, when you are walking around the green, looking at the grass deciding how to putt -- not exercise.
When running Other workout, it credits you with calories for a brisk walk, no matter what your heart rate. I have no idea how walking around with a full golf bag over your shoulder compares calorie-wise to brisk walking, but if you play golf for two hours, surely you weren't carrying that bag for the full two hours.
It's just that after sitting and reading my iPad while running the Other workout and seeing how many calories it credited me, I just don't trust it at all.
you are 100% correct that you don't carry the bag all the time... Thankfully. You only carry when moving from shot to shot and green to next tee box. It's about 2 miles of carrying your clubs. It's very taxing on your body to carry that much weight but no other workout option would work. When I carry over my should my hands usually hold the straps so you don't get as much credit for arm swing.You carry your bag for two hours and never put it down?
I'm sure golfing uses a lot of energy, but also from what I know, there is a lot of time spent standing around doing nothing while waiting for other players to do their things.
Also, when you are walking around the green, looking at the grass deciding how to putt -- not exercise.
When running Other workout, it credits you with calories for a brisk walk, no matter what your heart rate. I have no idea how walking around with a full golf bag over your shoulder compares calorie-wise to brisk walking, but if you play golf for two hours, surely you weren't carrying that bag for the full two hours.
It's just that after sitting and reading my iPad while running the Other workout and seeing how many calories it credited me, I just don't trust it at all.
I think the other workout can only use your heart rate for my weightlifting and swimming for sure. Golf could at least measure my distance walking.
I'm interested in knowing if other workout just assumed a brisk walk. I would have assumed heart rate as a huge factor. It makes sense that is I did the same workout day after day, my body would adapt and I would start to burn less calories because my body adapted to use the least amount of energy and that would also be reflected in heart rate.
Can't blame you for not trusting but like any device, you can cheat. My old Up band said I walked 5 miles using my riding lawn mower to mow the yard. The borrowed Fitbit did the same but the Apple Watch only said I walked a half mile. So in one care it is better.
i need to figure this out. If what you are saying is true. A one hour workout with other would be the same no matter what I did and my calories are all different and the only difference is average heart rate. The higher the average, the more calories I burn and that makes sense.
Enough rambling but I am going to test everything to know for sure.
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I'm not sure it's exactly the same. Like say, if you run the Other Workout and you got your heart rate above the rate you would for a brisk walk, then perhaps it would give you more calorie credit than if you are sitting still doing nothing. Unfortunately, I have no way of testing this, as I have a hard time getting my heart rate going enough for the watch to consider it a brisk walk. If you do find out anything through your tests, do let us know!
It's not much of a test really. Monday I worked my chest and triceps for1 hour and 1 minute on workout other. Total calories was 350 and average heart rate was 118bpm. Wednesday was legs for a total time of 1 hour even and it was 128bpm average and 410 calories. Same workout other. Same rest periods walking on the treadmill to keep my heart rate up. Golfing for two hours with workout other had an average heart rate of 135bpm for 450 calories per hour or 905 for 120 minutes.I'm not sure it's exactly the same. Like say, if you run the Other Workout and you got your heart rate above the rate you would for a brisk walk, then perhaps it would give you more calorie credit than if you are sitting still doing nothing. Unfortunately, I have no way of testing this, as I have a hard time getting my heart rate going enough for the watch to consider it a brisk walk. If you do find out anything through your tests, do let us know!
Not sure what else to do or say.
Other is for anaerobic based workouts. You should not use it for golfing. It is WAY overestimating your caloric usage. If you want more accurate results you should use Walking and Pause it each time you get to a hole.
Weight training is primarily anaerobic and caloric burn is not directly tied or calculated by HR.
If 'Other' just assumes a brisk walk then wouldn't every 'Other' workout register calories at the same rate? Looking through my data, this isn't the case. I have two 'Other' workouts of the same duration but one shows as 64 calories and the other shows 50 calories. Similarly I have a 200 calorie 'Other' that took about 30% longer than a 100 calorie one. I'd probably use 'Outdoor walk' for golf but I do think 'Other' is looking at heart rate data and movement not just assuming you're burning calories at the rate of a brisk walk.
It is doing both. It will give you extra caloric credit when your HR is elevated. However it will still give a baseline credit when your HR falls lower.
Don't have access to the algorithms but it appears the baseline plus the extra higher HR credit is far more than any of the aerobic Workout algorithms. This is to account for anaerobic exercises.
Oh yes, that's certainly true. 'Other' will happily give you calories and exercise minutes for doing nothing at all so I do think it's generally calculating calories somewhat generously.
This would be a problem when someone is counting all their calories, both in and out, and trying to maintain a consistent calorie deficit.
When I got serious about losing weight, I took to underestimating my calories burned and overestimating how much I ate so I could guarantee at least a mild deficit. If, instead, I had paid attention to the machines at the gym, which often overestimated by 20-40%, I might not have had a deficit at all.
For me, it always registers a brisk walk as exercise, but often doesn't register any other type of exercise unless I specifically tell it I am exercising - probably because it doesn't bother with regular HR measurements any more when you are moving. For instance, yesterday, I walked half an hour on level ground into town, and it all counted. The day before, I went for a very brisk walk up and run down a hill, and less than half of that time counted. I carried my iPhone 5S with me both times. My HR was definitely more elevated during the hill walk/jog than during the level ground walk, but I didn't cover as much distance. The day before that, I went for a 40-minute, 20km/hr bike ride, and it counted no exercise. In all three cases, I did not explicitly start a workout, just left the watch to figure it out on its own. I suspect it can tell when I am walking, and how fast, but not (at least, not with the iPhone5S) when I am climbing a hill or (unless I tell it) when I am cycling. So if my HR is elevated when I am walking and covering ground, it counts as exercise, but if my HR goes up when I am cycling or jogging up a hill, it is not sure what I am doing, and assumes the HR measurement is incorrect (and hence doesn't record it in WatchOS 1.01).
In regard to carrying something and how it *should* add to your exercise....
I haven't tested this yet, but if you are carrying a bag in your watch hand and your arm then doesn't swing much, will that reduce the amount of exercise that the watch thinks you are doing ?
I haven't tested this yet, but if you are carrying a bag in your watch hand and your arm then doesn't swing much, will that reduce the amount of exercise that the watch thinks you are doing ?
He's right, it's quite a bit off. I two hour run burns around 1200 calories. 4 MPH is almost a jog, so you may be over-calculating your speed.
Anyways, I run about 6 miles on the treadmill after a recommended 3 mile outdoor run to calibrate the watch, yet the watch still doesn't calculate correctly the mileage I've run. It's better after the calibration, but still off by up to a quarter mile. And yes, I always use the correct settings.
I should have done a treadmill run first. I've gone on a couple runs and many walks with the iPhone along for calibration, so when (more like if) I get on a treadmill later, I could at least have some pre- and post-calibration comparisons.