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I either need intensity minutes to be daily or I need to find alternate software.

Former Member
Former Member over 8 years ago
I think I already know the answer to this, but is there a way to make intensity minutes daily? I suppose it makes sense for someone who only works out 3-4 days per week to have a weekly goal, but I workout 6-7 days a week, and I find it completely un-motivating. Everything else is daily and I find it to be super motivating - even steps, which I don't care about at all, but I still want make that buzzer go off by the end of the day. A weekly goal would only be motivating on Day 7 (and only if I haven't reached the goal yet).

Actually, the hit-or-miss nature of registering intensity minutes makes me want to find alternative software anyway. According to Garmin, swimming is designed (ON PURPOSE) NOT to register intensity minutes. What the bleep? Bleepity bleep bleep are you bleeping kidding me! Why?!? Has anyone found a good alternate software that plays nice with Garmin and that provides the following functionality:

1. Minutes of exercise (synced from device) - daily goal intense exercise only, swimming counts
2. Calories burned (synced from device) - daily goal
3. Stair climbed (synced from device) - daily goal
4. Steps (synced from device) - daily goal
5. Sleep - sleep time, wake time, minutes of restless
6. #1-5 displayed in visually appealing dashboard

So far, the only three apps I've found that display what I want are Runtastic Me, UA Record, and FitBit - but I haven't been able to pair any of them with my device.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you.
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    The Garmin statistics do not provide what I want either, but there wasn't any software that did, so I made some myself with the FIT SDK. You can also convert the Monitor FIT files from your device (or downloaded from Connect) to CSV's for further processing in a spreadsheet, with the FIT2CSV utility that is provided in the SDK. Both ways are a lot of work, but you will be able to make custom solutions that do exactly what you want.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 8 years ago
    The Garmin statistics do not provide what I want either, but there wasn't any software that did, so I made some myself with the FIT SDK. You can also convert the Monitor FIT files from your device (or downloaded from Connect) to CSV's for further processing in a spreadsheet, with the FIT2CSV utility that is provided in the SDK. Both ways are a lot of work, but you will be able to make custom solutions that do exactly what you want.


    Awesome! It looks like you've headed down a road that I'm about to head down. I haven't had a chance to look at your app yet, but how did you access the user stats from Garmin? Did you pay the $5k to join their developer program to access the API?
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    6. #1-5 displayed in visually appealing dashboard


    That is too subjective, and as a fellow Garmin customer who by the way actually paid good money for his Garmin devices, seem rather silly (in the consumer context, as opposed to someone who is prepare to develop his/her own software tailored to personal aesthetics and requirements).

    It looks like you've headed down a road that I'm about to head down.


    In that case, I wish you good luck.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 8 years ago
    Your username really fits with the comments you wrote. Kudos to you on that.

    as a fellow Garmin customer who by the way actually paid good money for his Garmin devices


    What do you imagine I used to acquire my Garmin devices? Monopoly money?

    That is too subjective.


    You're right. It doesn't really need to be "good looking" just simple and to the point.

    Bad


    Good


    Actually, Garmin Connect has fine aesthetics; it's the utter lack of customize-ability that's the problem. It's especially frustrating since, from a programming standpoint, it would be so easy to, for example, allow a user to change intensity minutes from weekly to daily. But clearly they've developed the Apple-like mentality of not trusting their own customers. They think that if they give customers some freedom to customize, that we will screw things up, make the software worse, have more technical issues, etc. And they might be right, but I don't subscribe to that way of thinking. You can change an amazing device into a paperweight simply by denying a single setting option, if that option happens to be essential to that customer.
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    YIt's especially frustrating since, from a programming standpoint, it would be so easy to,


    If your wishes and preferences not being accommodated by others, even when (you believe) it is easy and/or not at all onerous for them to do so, is in principle frustrating to you, then… I wish you good luck navigating modern life.

    They think that if they give customers some freedom to customize, that we will screw things up, make the software worse, have more technical issues, etc. And they might be right, but I don't subscribe to that way of thinking.


    What is most important is that product manufacturers and application developers deliver the features and functionality ‘promised’ in the technical specifications, and hence fulfil the commercial (and/or transactional) obligations to the paying customer. Aesthetic appeal, customisation options to suit the individual user's preferences, etc. may well help a company's sales figures, but not in itself an obligation, irrespective of whether he/she can be trusted not to compromise his/her own best interests fiddling around.

    You can change an amazing device into a paperweight simply by denying a single setting option, if that option happens to be essential to that customer.


    Those who find a piece of information and/or a functional feature that is already available to be essential to their purposes will learn to access it and use it, even if it the implementation rubs them the wrong way. After all, I'd expect they are intelligent/rational enough to weigh up what is essential against what is merely (un)palatable.

    Those who want information and/or features that are not offered today can make the suggestion to the manufacturer/developer. The very worst that could happen is being rejected, or slightly less bad is being ignored. The power and the decision are someone else's, and that's what every consumer has to learn to live with, lest his/her head explodes.
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    ..how did you access the user stats from Garmin? Did you pay the $5k to join their developer program to access the API?

    The $5K is to access the Garmin Connect API. I do not do that, all data is kept and processed locally with my own FIT SDK-based software and GoldenCheetah.

    However, if you need all of the functionality of Garmin Connect (segments, step challenges etc) you'd need to be able to access the data in Connect, and then you'd have to pay the $5K. Disclaimer: I didn't investigate this thoroughly because I do not access Connect.

    Garmin IQ/Monkey C for writing apps/widgets and datafields for Garmin devices is also free, and allows you to customize/extend the functionality of your device. I think you could write a widget that displays intensity minutes per day (also a disclaimer: I did not verify this).

    As to the activity minutes per day, I would prefer intensity minutes per day, and only count them if there are 30 or more consecutive intensity minutes (i.e. not count 3 x 10 minutes); based on Erik Scherder's ideas. A widget for that is something I would like to write.. but it is not high on my priority list.
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    In Connect IQ, you can get activeMinutes for the day, as well as the history, per day, for the last 7 days.

    I think there may be apps in the store that display this already.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 8 years ago
    But Garmin IQ is only for smart watches, right? I think it's not applicable to devices such as my Vivosmart HR.

    I did stumble upon Garmin's "Health API", which seems to have access to the major stats. Not sure why it's free, while Connect API costs $5k.

    The worst case would be to have the user export their stats in a file; I have heard that this was possible with Garmin devices.
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    Connect iq is indeed only for these devices/. I am not sure if a Vivosmart HR allows direct USB access to the data stored on it. If it does not have USB file access, there is no way to retrieve the data other than uploading it to Garmin Connect (syncing) and then downloading it to a PC (exporting). That does not require the use of an API. Once it is on your PC you can do whatever you want with the data, but you are more or less "on your own" to figure out how to get what you want and present it. It can be a lot of work.
  • 0 over 8 years ago
    Health API

    On the Garmin Healtn API page you can request the API and that requires a legal company name and lots of information like your business plan. It does not mention a price. Is that the API you meant? "Free for approved developers" sounds nice, but what is needed to become approved is not clear. I would not like to disclose my business plans before knowing the requirements.