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Workout on Treadmill

TopherMan12

TopherMan12

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 10, 2019
786
899
Atlanta, GA
Raining today so I wasn't able to walk outdoors. Got on my treadmill and selected Indoor Walk from within Workouts on my Apple Watch. The Watch recorded my heart and calories like it normally would, but distance and pace were way off. I'm walking about 3.5 - 4 miles per hour and the app is recording a pace of 28'23" mile. I'm usually under 15'30" mile when walking outdoors. Not sure why it is so far off. Is there a better way to record treadmill workouts than "Indoor Walk"?

Thanks.
 
TopherMan12 said:
Raining today so I wasn't able to walk outdoors. Got on my treadmill and selected Indoor Walk from within Workouts on my Apple Watch. The Watch recorded my heart and calories like it normally would, but distance and pace were way off. I'm walking about 3.5 - 4 miles per hour and the app is recording a pace of 28'23" mile. I'm usually under 15'30" mile when walking outdoors. Not sure why it is so far off. Is there a better way to record treadmill workouts than "Indoor Walk"?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I just set it to unnamed exercise. Otherwise it doesn't count for me.
 
TopherMan12 said:
Raining today so I wasn't able to walk outdoors. Got on my treadmill and selected Indoor Walk from within Workouts on my Apple Watch. The Watch recorded my heart and calories like it normally would, but distance and pace were way off. I'm walking about 3.5 - 4 miles per hour and the app is recording a pace of 28'23" mile. I'm usually under 15'30" mile when walking outdoors. Not sure why it is so far off. Is there a better way to record treadmill workouts than "Indoor Walk"?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Two thoughts:

1) Is your watch already calibrated?

Apple Watch für genauere Trainingseinheiten und Aktivitäten kalibrieren - Apple Support (DE)

Du kannst die Genauigkeit der Messungen von Entfernung, Tempo und Kalorienverbrauch über eine entsprechende Kalibrierung der Apple Watch verbessern. Das Kalibrieren der Apple Watch hilft ihr auch dabei, sich deinen Fitness-Grad und deine Schrittlänge zu merken. Dies sorgt für mehr Genauigkeit...
support.apple.com support.apple.com

2) Did you move your arms or did you hold the treadmill bars? Pace is determined by the movement of the arms.
 
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NME42 said:
Two thoughts:

1) Is your watch already calibrated?

Apple Watch für genauere Trainingseinheiten und Aktivitäten kalibrieren - Apple Support (DE)

Du kannst die Genauigkeit der Messungen von Entfernung, Tempo und Kalorienverbrauch über eine entsprechende Kalibrierung der Apple Watch verbessern. Das Kalibrieren der Apple Watch hilft ihr auch dabei, sich deinen Fitness-Grad und deine Schrittlänge zu merken. Dies sorgt für mehr Genauigkeit...
support.apple.com support.apple.com

2) Did you move your arms or did you hold the treadmill bars? Pace is determined by the movement of the arms.
Click to expand...

I didn't know it needed to be calibrated. And no, I typically rest my arms on the side rail.

Good stuff! Thanks a lot. 👍
 
Yeah, if you're not moving your arms there's not much the watch can do on an indoor treadmill unless it's one of the types the watch can connect to. https://appleinsider.com/articles/1...-is-who-supports-it-and-where-you-can-find-it

... and as mentioned above you need to do a few outdoor runs and walks with GPS on for the watch to figure out how your arm movements relate to actual pace / distance -- it's that extrapolation it uses to guess your treadmill pace / distance. Pretty amazing it gets anywhere near, and not something I'd expect much accuracy on anyway.
 
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Also, it’s always under on a treadmill. Every time. It has no GPS so it’s an estimate

it gets close though once you’ve calibrated with a few outdoor runs or walks
 
ukbootlegs said:
Also, it’s always under on a treadmill. Every time.
Click to expand...

Rhetorical question to consider - how accurate is the treadmill really? Belt stretch, belt-slip, wear/slop in any linkages, etc.

Generally I'd think treadmills will be more accurate on distance/pace simply due to a more-direct measurement mechanism. Yet when comparing to measures, it's always worth considering what assumptions we're making as to accuracy of one vs other.

See Segal's Law. :)
 
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Treadmills are not fully accurate. It also takes a while to calibrate on the watch to learn your gait and movement.

At the gym, treadmills are not fully maintained with oil, they are not fully calibrated for my height and weight. Either use your readings and write them down, or just go off the apple watch.

I just used Apple Watch because over time, it has learned my behavior and has surpassed readings on gym equipment.
 
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menace3 said:
I just used Apple Watch because over time, it has learned my behavior and has surpassed readings on gym equipment.
Click to expand...

Yep. I abhor treadmills and avoid them with a passion, but will use one if the situation requires. My watch does a good enough job with pace/distance. ... and let's be honest with ourselves ... Very few of us truly *need* much accuracy with this stuff... Even +/-10% is going to be sufficient "accuracy".

Sure there are some competitive prize-winning runners striving to hone out every second per mile, but if you're that person you know I'm not referring to you with the above.
 
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deeddawg said:
Rhetorical question to consider - how accurate is the treadmill really? Belt stretch, belt-slip, wear/slop in any linkages, etc.

Generally I'd think treadmills will be more accurate on distance/pace simply due to a more-direct measurement mechanism. Yet when comparing to measures, it's always worth considering what assumptions we're making as to accuracy of one vs other.

See Segal's Law. :)
Click to expand...

I’ve got a treadmill at home in my gym and it’s definitely different to the one I used today in a corporate gym. Even tho I put both on 12k my treadmill feels slower
 
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TopherMan12 said:
I didn't know it needed to be calibrated. And no, I typically rest my arms on the side rail.

Good stuff! Thanks a lot. 👍
Click to expand...
I forgot the exact reasoning, but you shouldn’t be holding or resting your arms while walking/running on the treadmill. AW has been pretty accurate for me.
 
Strelok said:
I forgot the exact reasoning, but you shouldn’t be holding or resting your arms while walking/running on the treadmill. AW has been pretty accurate for me.
Click to expand...
Same reason why pushing a shopping trolley doesn’t count steps. You wear it on you arm so if it’s elevated and static it won’t record anything
 
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