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RDP not counting steps nor disatnce if hands at rest

2619527
3 days ago

I have a standing desk and a walking treadmil. My hands are resting on the desk most of the time, typing or writing, therefore the watch at rest on my wrist. Tried to get the foot pod but sadly these are no longer available. Bought a running dynamics pod instead. 

Sadly, this does not do what it's expected to. Neither on the pants belt as recommended, nor tied to a shoe does it count the steps/distance. Ok, I do get cadence data, vertical oscilation, and all the fancy statistics, but this does not input to the distance travelled nor the number of steps. 

Thank you for all the suggestions on strapping my watch to the ankle. I deadlift 120kg, good luck strapping anything to it. I sincerely hope none of us not having to strap anything to our ankles in our lives. Slight smile

This is it, either I'm missing something and this is indeed a great tool or it's going back to the store as fancy but not fit for purpose. 

  • 0 3 days ago

    The RDP isn't designed to count steps. It's there to provide additional data to whatever watch you are wearing. It's functions are now built into many of the newer watches (hence I no longer wear mine). 

  • 0 3 days ago
    2619527 said:
    Thank you for all the suggestions on strapping my watch to the ankle. I deadlift 120kg, good luck strapping anything to it.

    You don't mention which watch it is. But there are very long quickfit bracelets. They are actually designed for diving, so that you can wear the watch over the diving-suit.

    Here is an example:

    https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/895737 

  • 0 3 days ago

    I've Instinct 2 Solar 
    For the sake of the experiment I tied it to my shoelaces and the distance was off by 0.8km on a 2.5km 

    Not sustainable. 

    If the RDP does not record steps nor distance this exhausts the topic for me, thank you for your input. 

  • 0 3 days ago

    As a curiosity note, it looks like this is but a software issue. 

    RDP has a gyro, and records cadence & stride length.

    Correct me if I'm wrong but a simple multiplication would result in an estimated distance. 

    Feature request? 

  • 0 3 days ago
    2619527 said:
    I deadlift 120kg, good luck strapping anything to it.

    If you have an old wristband, you can easily make a wristband extender. If not, you can buy an extender in any diving shop, or you can order a long wristband (or just an extender) online - there are many inexpensive ones on websites like Amazon, eBay, or Ali Express.

    There is another solution - use the HRM-Pro chest strap. It does count steps too, though you have to let your watch immobile on the desk, otherwise the steps from the watch would be used with higher priority.

  • 0 3 days ago in reply to trux

    I've seen plenty of Redditers recommending this HRM-Pro strap but it's a bit pricy for a device that's supposed to primarily just measure steps & distance without the watch moving. 

    Sadly Garmin does not seem to make Foot Pods anymore. Will try second-hand. 

  • 0 3 days ago in reply to 2619527
    2619527 said:
    it's a bit pricy for a device that's supposed to primarily just measure steps & distance without the watch moving. 

    HRM-Pro was primarily designed to measure the heart rate, HRV, breathing rate, Running Dynamics, but it also measures Intensity Minutes, Body Battery, Steps, Distance, Pace, and more. It also has the Store & Forward function allowing to use it for swimming, or for sports where wearing the watch is not permitted or possible. I'd tell the price is fair for what it offers, but if you do not need anything of it, then the strap extender for attaching the watch to the ankle costs just a tiny fraction of it. 

    There is another possibility - placing the watch under the rubber band of the trunks with the HR sensor towards the skin. The watch can still measure the HR in this way, and can sense the steps too.

    2619527 said:
    Sadly Garmin does not seem to make Foot Pods anymore. Will try second-hand. 

    I do not think that Foot Pod measures the steps. At least Garmin tells it does not:

    Improving the Step Distance Accuracy of My Garmin Outdoor Watch | Garmin Customer Support 

    Using a foot pod will NOT affect the total number of steps for the day. Using a foot pod can improve distance and pace readings, but only while recording a timed activity. Daily step totals are only recorded using the internal 3-axis accelerometer of a Garmin watch that has an activity tracking feature.

    And even if it could measure the steps, you would have to remove the watch from the wrist, otherwise the steps from the watch have the priority anyway. Just like with the HRM-Pro strap, with the difference that HRM-Pro feeds the watch with the HR data, while the Foot Pod does not. Hence the Foot Pod is not at all a suitable solution for you.

  • 0 3 days ago in reply to trux

    Thanks for the comprehensive answer, much appreciated. 

    I'm going to try a foot pod anyway. From the public internet research (review pages, reddit, etc.) it seems a foot pod is only active during a workout session therefore it doesn't add to the number of steps. But when calibrated and tested on non-gps devices the distance / steps were measured and at the end of the day this is all I need here. 

    Thanks for the tip about wearing the watch beside the belt strap, that's a smart workaround. Will try.

    If that fails I'll go with the most uncomfortable solution of an ankle strap. 

  • 0 3 days ago in reply to 2619527

    Foot Pod can indeed improve the distance, but if it really records steps (which Garmin denies), in order to have them recorded, you will have to remove the watch from the wrist, and let it immobile on the desk. It means you will not get any heart rate based data (besides the HR self, also no Training Effect, Training Status, etc.)

  • 0 3 days ago in reply to trux

    We seem to be delving into semantics here. The Garmin page you linked states a foot pod does not add to total number of steps for a day. Which is fine, I've the watch for that. I expect it to measure steps/distance during a treadmil workout session. 

    I've since ordered a second hand foot pod, will report back with hands-on or more like on-foot results