Google Fit?

[al_yrpal]

Bought a new phone a few months ago. Oppo, seems quite decent. One day, by accident discovered it had Google Fit app on it. It seems to record steps and what it calls Heart Points. But it doesnt record cycle rides miles which I am sure would be simple due to the GPS, but it dishes out loads of Heart Points for a ride. This morning it gave me more than a weeksworth 150 points for my ride! Even on the Ebike I do give every ride a bit of welly. It also counts steps.
There are sections for hours of sleep. Weight which you have to enter, heart rate and blood pressure. I am bemused by the fact that it picks up my steps and somehow picks up some idea of how my heart is doing.
Does anyone know how it does these things and is it actually any good?

Al

[Jdsk]

How it works:
https://support.google.com/fit/answer/7 ... roid&hl=en

Jonathan

[TrevA]

Apple do something similar, which records your steps but not your activities. I would imagine if you had an Apple Watch it would sync with it, but I don’t. Would a Galaxy Watch sync with Google Fit, or do Samsung have their own app?

All my gadgets are Garmin, so steps, walks and rides and hr and sleep data are all on Garmin Connect.

[Jdsk]

Apple do something similar, which records your steps but not your activities.

There are three programming frameworks devoted to this area:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_(A ... lthKit_API

There's some evaluation out there, but it's early days.

And their use of FHIR is very important in the world of clinical data standards because they're such a big player.
https://developer.apple.com/documentati ... th_records

Jonathan

[al_yrpal]

Jonathan, thanks for that, pity that info isnt available from within the app. All a bit flaky as far as I can see.
Am not wound up about monitoring fitness so I havent got an Android watch or anything like that. Google Fit just popped up.
I suppose it gives you some idea of what you are doing

Al

[Jdsk]

... and is it actually any good?

The sort of outcomes that I'd like to see in any evaluation are effect on total amount of exercise and how long that effect lasts.

Of course on a forum like this there are serious athletes and people committed to particular types of exercise. But very roughly speaking the available gains in public health will come from increasing the amount of exercise of any sort taken by those who currently take very little. And it's easy to change how people exercise (and eat) in the short term but very much harder to change behaviour over long periods... or a lifetime.

For both exercise and diet it does seem that changes made along with other people are more likely to stick. I'd be interested if anyone uses this sort of technology with family, friends, clubs, online incentives etc.

Jonathan

[Vorpal]

I use google fit. The first time I went for a bike ride with a linked app active, it asked me if it was a bike ride & I selected yes, and after that, it seemed to recognise bike rides for what they were, and didn't give me excessive heart points for them. Maybe try linking it to strava, RidewithGPS, komoot or something, for bike rides?

[al_yrpal]

... and is it actually any good?

The sort of outcomes that I'd like to see in any evaluation are effect on total amount of exercise and how long that effect lasts.

Of course on a forum like this there are serious athletes and people committed to particular types of exercise. But very roughly speaking the available gains in public health will come from increasing the amount of exercise of any sort taken by those who currently take very little. And it's easy to change how people exercise (and eat) in the short term but very much harder to change behaviour over long periods... or a lifetime.

For both exercise and diet it does seem that changes made along with other people are more likely to stick. I'd be interested if anyone uses this sort of technology with family, friends, clubs, online incentives etc.

Jonathan

Strava and things like that are the antithesis for me. Where I come from is leisurely cycle touring taking time to see whats along the way. Today, somehow Google Fit has come up with graphs of speed and elevation of my morning ride but the estimation of distance is waaaay out. I dont want to become obsessed by this sort of thing.

As for Weight Watchers groups and Gym class attendance I do better on my own.

Are you some sort of medical person Jonathan or just an expert googler?

Al

[Galloper]

I have it on my phone but found it a bit hit and miss. If I put it in a rear pocket on my cycling top, it records the ride, In a breast pocket, it doesn't. ???

[sjs]

Recent reviews on the "play store" are terrible.

[fivebikes]

I have it on my android phone which I keep with me most of the time....except when sleeping, stays out of the room.
Fit provides similar results to the Health app on my wife’s iPhone. So they are as good or bad as each other I suppose.
I hadn’t read the bit about keeping the phone in a pocket when cycling! Might account for some discrepancies with results!
Also, if I drive a shortish journey, less than 5 miles, at under 15mph average as sometimes happens heading to the tip or garden centre, it thinks it’s a bike ride........
I guess it’s the bumpy roads around here that trick it into thinking the motion is human?
Happy enough though as a not too serious guide that does at least record my moving time.