Smart watch not recording any exercise with buggy

[theotherfossilsister]

We live in Edinburgh and I walk everywhere, partly because of limited pram space on buses, for fitness and also because two year old escapes buggy on bus and is hard to control and fast walking easier and just as quick.

Yesterday we walked all round Edinburgh, at least ten miles by Google maps but Apple Watch only recorded 8000 steps and 500 calories. When I run with buggy it thinks im
cyvling. Feel short changed here. My partner who just walked round Portobello in his lunch break and after work got more calories, steps and heart points. Ugh

I used to put mine on my ankle so it registered my steps.

they don’t really record steps, they record arm swings. It’s in their info that they’re not accurate if you’re pushing prams or carrying things. You need to turn on outdoor walk in the workout app, then it will properly measure distance and elevation gained using gps.

It could be because your arms are staying still on the buggy handle so the watch thinks you are cycling as it is a similar action - arms still but legs moving. Also, mine (Garmin forerunner) will record steps if I wave my arm about, and I’ve noticed that it records a faster pace if I am running on the treadmill and I deliberately swing my arms more.
You could try putting the watch on your ankle. Or just accept that the steps still happened even if they’re not recorded.

I used to find this and strapped the watch around my bra strap (where you could see it) to solve the issue and that worked fine. I think it also worked if you put it in your pocket.

Yeah I found this even when having a trolley in the supermarket. It doesn't record steps when arms not swinging

I don’t really look at ‘steps’ at all, just distance logged in the workout app. Re calories, 500 may not be too far off, depending on your weight (my DH obviously registers significantly more than me for the same walk because he weighs a lot more). There isn’t, afaik, any easy way to adjust if you’re carrying extra weight.

The thing that irritates me is that ‘stand’ also uses arm swings as a proxy so I can be stood doing food prep etc for the best part of an hour and then at ten to it’ll remind me to stand up for a minute.

Yeah when I am at the gym if I put my hand on the machine at all when running the watch thinks I have stopped. You need to move your arm for it to register the steps.

You do realise that just because the calories burned, steps and ‘heart points’ aren’t recorded doesn’t mean they didn’t have an impact on your body? You’re not being ‘short changed,’ you’re still having a positive impact on your physical health regardless of what an app says. Why does it matter what the watch says so long as you know how much exercise you’ve had?