Workout calories expended accuracy

I couldn't agree more. I think the Fitbit is more accurate and closer to the actual cal burnt. I love the watch though. I just add 20% more cal to what the watch says:)) it keeps me happy and I get to keep the watch.

Greetings JohnZonie,

It seems you are concerned about the workout results after using your Apple Watch. The articles below may help you calibrate your Apple Watch for better results:

Calibrating your Apple Watch for improved Workout and Activity accuracy - Apple Support

Get the best measurement

Your Apple Watch will estimate your measurements during workouts based on the information that you entered during setup, but you can further improve its accuracy using these tips:

• Wearing your Apple Watch regularly can improve the accuracy of the Activity and Workout apps.
• Choose the Workout that best matches what you’re doing. For example, if you're running on a treadmill, choose Indoor Run.
• For GPS accuracy when you walk, run, or cycle outdoors, select the appropriate Workout and bring your iPhone. This will also help calibrate the accelerometer in Apple Watch for times when you don’t have GPS, such as during treadmill workouts or when you're running outside without your phone.
• To get the most accurate heart rate measurement when you use Workout, make sure your Apple Watch fits snugly on top of your wrist. The heart rate sensor should stay close to your skin.
• You can also use another heart rate monitoring device, such as a chest strap. To pair an external heart rate monitor with your Apple Watch, tap the Settings app on the Home screen, then tap Bluetooth and select it under Health Devices. Learn more about the Apple Watch heart rate sensor, its accuracy, and its limitations.

Use the Workout app on Apple Watch - Apple Support

Thank you for contributing to Apple Support Communities.

Best,

Bobby_D

JohnZonie,

I agree, that standard response of calibrating and snug to the wrist does not answer the issue of why the BPM is correctly reflected but the calories are off by a significant margin of 2X. Something else is askew here.

My wife purchased the Apple Watch for all the neat things it does but mostly for it's activity app. She has been very disappointed with the performance of the Activity / Exercise apps. She uses the Digifit app with a Polar heart rate strap to measure her exercise calories while rowing, spinning, HIIT (high intensity interval training), and weight lifting. All these activities are recorded via her heart rate. Her average time spent doing these exercises is 1 hour 15 minutes daily and she averages 700 to 1,000 calories depending on time and intensity for each day.

She has been wearing the Apple Watch, tightly on her wrist concurrently with the Digifit and Polar strap (Polar strap not connected to Watch). Exercise app set to Indoor Cycling for the duration of her exercise period. The average activity calories for the past week per day (as shown on the dashboard) is 394 (all daily activity). Generally Digifit registers an average heart rate of 150 BPM during the exercise period while the Apple Watch also registers 150 BPM. Since all of her exercises do not involve distance calculations it seems unneccessary to be concerned about calibrating with a GPS app.

All this being said, how can she get the Apple Watch to accurately reflect calories burned during her workouts? It is currently only showing about 1/3 of the total for the workout period. All her personal data (height, weight, age) are the same in both the Apple Watch iPhone app and the Digifit app. Additionally, the Kaiser bike digital readouts show 500 calories just for the indoor cycle ride (no personal data on bike).

I'm getting a major discrepancy on Calories burned between the cardio equipment and Apple Watch. Both agree on my heartbeat rate, but my Apple Watch consistently shows 40% less calories burned than the cardio equipment shows when I factor in my age and weight. If i don't factor that in when I start the cardio equipment, Apple Watch still shows 30% less calories being burned. This has been consistent since I got the watch last Wednesday and I've been to the YMCA every day.

Hi bobby_d,

I bought my wife the 38mm sport watch. Her watch is having the same issues as JohnZonie. The calories (both resting & active) are way off. She will do an hour of fast walking on the treadmill and the watch says she burned 200 calories, while the treadmill says 1000... She begins the workouts by selecting a workout type on the watch first. She's been using it since April 24th and it has never been accurate. Very disappointing. The watch is basically useless as a fitness tracker because you cant trust its accuracy.

I've noticed the same issue. I have participated in a Spin/Cycling class that was 55 mins long. I normally burn between 500-700 calories but the watch is only showing 200-300 calories burned. Huge discrepancy. The heart rate monitor has been accurate. I checked to make sure all my personal info was accurate in terms of age, weight, height, etc. I hope that Apple can send an update for the exercise app!!! This was the main reason I got the Apple Watch.

I am having the exact same issue. A 55 minute spin class on the Apple watch says 232 total calories and 148 Active calories whereas the Polar Watch says 364 (both watches show the same average heart rate of 124) during the class. I posted a similar issue yesterday after a 2 hour bike ride with the apple watch showing 35% fewer calories than than the Polar Watch and 50% fewer calories than a general biking calorie calculator.

Wearing the watch tighter doesn't make sense since both are showing the same average heart rate.

GPS accuracy shouldn't be an issue in a spin class.

My iPhone has always been with me.

I've worn the watch every day, except when sleeping, for 6 days and there has been no improvement in accuracy.

I bought Apple watch thinking that it would consider heartbeat while counting calories , I am thinking of returning this watch.

Alxmgt wrote:

Hi bobby_d,

I bought my wife the 38mm sport watch. Her watch is having the same issues as JohnZonie. The calories (both resting & active) are way off. She will do an hour of fast walking on the treadmill and the watch says she burned 200 calories, while the treadmill says 1000... She begins the workouts by selecting a workout type on the watch first. She's been using it since April 24th and it has never been accurate. Very disappointing. The watch is basically useless as a fitness tracker because you cant trust its accuracy.

Are you sure that your disappointment isn't due to wishful thinking. Without passing comment on whether an active count of 200 is correct or not, I do think a thousand for an hour of walking is kinda optimistic.

Yes! I'm having the exact same problem during spin class! It says I've burned 218 calories. And yes, my heart rate, height, weight are all correct. I agree the algorithm must be incorrect.

I'm having the same exact issue as well. I bought for the same reason and it's very disappointing when you spend that kind of money and try to rationalize the cost of it to only find its not as accurate. I'm debating on returning it and just going back to the Fitbit for activity and Polar for calorie tracking.

I'm having the exact same issue too but mine is the "Indoor Bike" setting. The Life Fitness upright bike for a 65 min workout reports 640 cals the watch reports 424 active / 137 resting 561 total thats a far cry from 640.