So a couple weeks ago my FitBit Charge bit the bullet and had disintegrated; I had crazy glued it a few times already but it was at the point where it was pretty much unsalvageable so my wife and my mom decided to get me a new FitBit that I was eyeing up, the FitBit Blaze Gun Metal Series.

First of all I love this thing, it is awesome. I love the features especially the heart rate monitor. So I went to the gym this week to take it for a test spin. I had a kick ass work out and was drenched in sweat by the time I was done. I set a new personal record for leg press at 750 lbs, I felt alive and good with no soreness in my legs or anywhere else when done the session. As per usual I write in my log book all my work out routines including weight and reps and on which machines. I get back to the car afterwards, load up some pics and video from the gym then look at my app for fitbit on my phone and make sure that my workout synced to my phone. The app did its little thinking thing while it synced and I monitored the progress bar until it was at 100% and the thinking/waiting icon was gone. My step count matched but I noticed that my minutes were way off; I was at the gym for over an hour but I only had 10 mins of tracked exercise, WHAT THE POTATO!

So I clicked on the FitBit help for active minutes and read what it had to say because something had to be wrong as I should have at least 60 mins logged! I proceed to read about metabolic equivalents aka METs.

This is what I found:

Your Fitbit tracker recognizes and awards active minutes when the activity you're doing is more strenuous than regular walking, which includes everything from a brisk walk to a cardio workout or run.

HOW DO I EARN ACTIVE MINUTES?

All Fitbit trackers calculate active minutes using metabolic equivalents (METs). METs help measure the energy expenditure of various activities. Because they do so in a comparable way among persons of different weights, METs are widely used as indicators for exercise intensity. For example, a MET of 1 indicates a body at rest. Fitbit trackers estimate your MET value in any given minute by calculating the intensity of your activity.

You earn active minutes for activities at or above about 3 METs. To stay in line with the Center for Disease Control's (CDC’s) “10 minutes at a time is fine” concept, minutes are only awarded after 10 minutes of continuous moderate-to-intense activity. You can view the CDC’s recommendations on the CDC website.

If the same activity gives you active minutes one day and fewer active minutes the next day, remember that the intensity of exercise is key. Often what seems like the exact same amount of effort over the same distance in fact differs slightly enough to change your active minutes total.

DO I EARN ACTIVE MINUTES IF I MANUALLY LOG AN EXERCISE OR ACTIVITY?

For most manually logged activities, Fitbit uses a standard MET score and your (optional) calorie burn to calculate active minutes. High calorie burn activities award more active minutes. Since custom activities don't have a MET score associated, you'll only get active minutes for them if you also log a high calorie burn.

HOW DO I ACHIEVE MY ACTIVE MINUTE GOAL?

By default, you are given a starting goal of 30 active minutes a day based on the CDC recommendation of 20-30 minutes of daily moderate-to-intense activity. You can always change your active minutes goal to meet your personal needs.

Trackers with heart-rate sensing do a better job of recognizing active minutes for non-step-based activities, such as weight lifting, strenuous yoga, and rowing. If your tracker doesn't have heart-rate sensing, your active minutes will be lower for non-step based activities.

The more calories you burn the higher your MET value, so therefore the more calories you burn the higher your total active minutes. Assuming you're active for at least 10 minutes at a time, green spikes on your calorie graph typically indicate that you’re earning active minutes.

When I read this it felt like a light went on in my head. I know I have put in the time at the gym and not seen the results I wanted but now it makes sense, my intensity has not been where it needs to be, while I was doing well at getting exercise I wasn't pushing myself enough. I need to amp up the intensity, limit the time of breaks between sets; I need to keep that heart rate up at a higher number while I work out.

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I wish I knew this sooner but I am glad I know this now, I may be overly optimistic but I now feel like this was one of the final keys I have needed to unlock the doors to finding me, unlocking the door to finally achieve the weightloss and health I desire.

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So as far as I understand it I was at 3+ METs for 10 mins during that workout, I now feel like I am focused on adjusting what my routine is, to help me achieve the METs goal I have set for myself of 60 minutes. I am working at achieving this now with going back to starting my work out with at least 30 mins on tread mill and then going straight to the weight machines and logging the reps and weights afterwards. I will also minimize the rest between sets, sometimes I just play with my phone and post something on Instagram while I rest between sets, enough of this! My posts can wait until the workout is done.