Is Fitbit activity minutes better

It seems to me that the Fitbit activity minutes is better than intensity minutes on Garmin. On Fitbit it appears to me the activity minutes are calculated based on your heart rate zones regardless if you record an activity. On Garmin they are only calculated when you record an activity and it is easy to cheat. If I want to extend my minutes all I have to do is wait 10 minutes after I have say done a cycle before ending the activity. Garmin will still count that as your heart rate slows. I wish it just monitored my heart rate all day and give me a score based on that. 

  • You're OK with Fitbit giving you minutes any time during the day your HR reaches a certain zone, but you think it's cheating if you don't stop your activity on your Garmin watch because it's now doing the same thing as your Fitbit?  By the way, recording an activity is not a requirement to earn intensity minutes on your Garmin watch.

    support.garmin.com/.../

  • Good point. And thanks for the tip. My own experience is that if I go for a vigorous walk or exercise on my static bike my Garmin would not give me intensity minutes. However my Fitbit did do it.

  • Garmin intensity minutes can be fickle. You have to have 10 consecutive minutes in your zone before it starts counting. So, if you were in your zone for 9 mins and then dropped out, it starts the 10 minute counter again. This is more of a problem using the WHR rather than a HR strap because the slightest movement of the watch can cause the WHR to read incorrectly. 

  • I decided today do my normal indoor bike exercise without recording it on my watch and not a single minute of intensity was awarded when typically I would get about 25 minutes if I record it. Maybe Fitbit would over estimate activity but it appears to me that there is still some way to go to before watches accurately measure activity other than steps.

  • Try experimenting with your activity class level. Seems to be the higher that number the more intensity minutes credited.

  • I might be unpopular here but... I don't use the Instinct to pick up my cycling activities, I use my Edge with the associated sensors (Cadence, speed + HR). Likewise, I wouldn't use my edge to pick up my walking activities, I'd use the instinct.

    I guess my point is that you can't expect a 'jack of all' to be a master of some.

    Can also vouch for intensity minutes gained when not recording, however would only really expect them when I am as that's when i'm active.

  • I decided today do my normal indoor bike exercise without recording it on my watch and not a single minute of intensity was awarded

    That's normal. Only activities recorded on a Garmin device supporting the feature of Intensity Minutes can log some IM. Imported activities, manually created ones, or activites done with devices without the IM feature, won't add any IM to your account.

    I use my Edge

    Edge is not compatible with the feature of Intensity Minutes, hence you will not get any for the rides, if you use Edge only.

  • Edge is not compatible with the feature of Intensity Minutes, hence you will not get any for the rides, if you use Edge only.

    See that's where I find this interesting. I've never looked if it does/doesn't because it shows on my Connect. So i presume that it's therefore identifying the effort via the instinct and recording it. So basically what the OP want's to happen but isn't happening.

    Previously had a vivosmart HR+ and that also recorded IM without being 'turned on' for cycling.