Accuracy on a treadmill

[PhalanxPunx]

I went to the gym again yesterday and this time on the treadmill the BPM was 30 less than what the treadmill hand bars read. I was wearing it a notch tighter than usual so I don't know if that made a difference or if this time or the previous time was just a fluke. Either way I'm no gym rat or health nut and I still love the band.

 

[realwarder]

Is this true that Band has logic in is OS to "calibrate" to individuals??? If that's the case, why isn't there a calibration setup in the settings?

Yes it would be nice to have a manual override to correct the distance and store that data to be used in the future.

I don't run very often (simply don't like it) but I did run couple of miles on the treadmill earlier this week at 10min/mile pace (6 mph). The band indicated that I'd reached a mile in 9.19 instead of 10 minutes. However, when I have ran on a track (local HS stadium), my same pace got me through 4 laps in less than 10 minutes, which - I realize there are too many variables and not at all scientific measurement - made me think that the treadmill may not be all that accurate either.

So, if there really is a calibration of Band, I'll go and rerun the track to see if that's true...

Early on a reporter had a trip to see the Band team and I do remember reading them say that the GPS was used to calibrate a users stride.

That said, all the website info says about the Band enabling advanced analytics, and so far that has to be seen... I don't know if anyone has evidence of a band calibrating a users stride, e.g. run before enabling GPS and then run with GPS and then run without GPS again and see if the distance is better on the third run (all on a clean band/account.)

 

[littlebib]

Early on a reporter had a trip to see the Band team and I do remember reading them say that the GPS was used to calibrate a users stride.

That said, all the website info says about the Band enabling advanced analytics, and so far that has to be seen... I don't know if anyone has evidence of a band calibrating a users stride, e.g. run before enabling GPS and then run with GPS and then run without GPS again and see if the distance is better on the third run (all on a clean band/account.)

My first run on a treadmill had my pace at around 90 seconds per mile slower than the treadmill said (9:10 vs. 7:30 minutes/mile). I then ran outside with the GPS on and it matched my running watch (Garmin 610) within .01 of a mile for the 2 miles before the battery died on my Band (left the stupid charger at work on accident). Today, I hit the treadmill again. It was closer (8:49 vs. 8:00) but still not where I'd like it.

At the end of my battery life using GPS, I was running a bit slower pace, 8:33, when it died. So, it may have used this as my baseline for calibration (not sure if it averages out a full run or takes the last .25 mile). Generally, when I'm running faster or slower, I'm really only adjusting the length of my stride, not the number of steps per minute (unless I'm at a full out sprint) so it might have assumed my 8:33 stride length in the calibration. I'm going to continue playing with this but I suspect it will rarely be very accurate if you alter your pace at all. I had the same challenges with the Garmin foot pod which essentially does the same thing.

The other thing I noticed on the treadmill is when I took the time to look at the band to get my pace, by stopping my arm movement enough to be able to read it, I noticed that my pace slowed down. The treadmill didn't change so clearly the less swing in my arm made a difference.

 

[Kim Frehe]

I'm pretty disappointed that this won't work on a Walking Workstation. I Guess I'll have to go back to the fitbit during the day...their arm bands measure steps on a walking workstation perfectly. Any chance this is on the horizon to be fixed soon?

 

[jojoe42]

I'm pretty disappointed that this won't work on a Walking Workstation. I Guess I'll have to go back to the fitbit during the day...their arm bands measure steps on a walking workstation perfectly. Any chance this is on the horizon to be fixed soon?

As others have said, how can the Band measure your steps when it's on your (relatively) stationary wrist....the Fitbit (One) sit on your waist and thus registers movement.

 

[Wolfjt]

The heart rate measurements were pretty close to what the treadmill reported. Not sure of how accurate either are.

 

[rickhan]

I hold the handrails very loosely, just for balance, and I make sure my wrists move up and down while walking. My Band registers pretty close to the treadmill count. I've been using the exercise tile for the treadmill, and the Run tile for outdoor walks. Might try the Run tile with gps off.