Treadmill Distance Accuracy

Former Member over 6 years ago

I see treadmill distance accuracy has been discussed before, but I am having a different but related issue.

When I complete a treadmill walk, the distance is about a third of what my treadmill reads. I have entered a custom stride length for both run and walk (as I am unsure which measure the Treadmill activity uses, but still get a reading very different (one day I walked 1 hour with a distance of 3km, the next day I walked 1 hour (at the same speed) with a distance of 1.8km).

My problem is that at the end of my activity, I try to "calibrate and save" but the distances to choose from doesnt go high enough (i.e. only lets me choose km increments of 0km, 1km, 2km). Each time after my activity I will try to calibrate to my treadmill distance (appreciating that the accuracy of the treadmill distance is debatable), and if my treadmill reads 5km but my watch says 3km, the distance range under calibrate and save is only between 0-3 km - so I cant calibrate to a higher distance to match my treadmill reading.

What I end up doing is going to the Garmin Connect app (once the activity has sync'd) and changing the distance there.

Interested to hear if I am doing anything wrong or whether this is a bit of a glitch. Surely if Garmin Connect allows the greater distances to be selected, then the Calibrate and Save function on the watch should also allow this.

0 Dr Phil over 6 years ago

I don't use my device on a dreadmill, but I would do a calibration walk, say 1km, then calibrate, then continue with the walk.

0 C966 over 6 years ago

The problem is with running more than walking since the speed can vary so much during running, so does the stride length, and an average stride lentgh value is going to still be innacurate for different sessions, for example I get a very different distance value from when I do interval training on the treadmill than when I do steady pace workouts. That said I never noticed a limit in the calibration option when correcting the distance, maybe because my reading was never that much off since I usually fo 30-45 min sessions, and no matter the workout I dont think the distance reading has been more than 1.5Km off from the real distance travelled.

0 Dntom over 6 years ago

i walk frequently on my treadmill with my fenix 5 + foodpod. the first walk it asked me on the save to enter the distance on the treadmill... the recorded speed and distance is now almost the same.

0 Artivis over 6 years ago

If you want accurate results on treadmill use a footpod, then you can calibrate it and it is pretty accurate (if you don't change the pace too much).
If you use the watch only, you have to move the hand while walking, that is the only way the watch will know you are moving. Stopping the movement (wiping your forehead, drinking, holding the hand on treadmill) will change the recorded distance.

You can always change the activity afterwards writing the correct distance from the treadmill.

0 C966 over 6 years ago

I usually do 30-45 min sessions, and no matter the workout I dont think the distance reading has been more than 1.5Km off from the real distance travelled.

I just realized thatI probable reason for the above, I always use a HRM-TRI chest strap when training on the treadmill since the wrist HR sensor in the watch is too unreliable to base your training on. The metrics from the strap probably give a more accurate diatance estimate than the watch.