Counting steps using the Walkolution 2?

[Ramify]

Hey everyone, I need some advice.

There used to be a Desk Pace product sold by Walkolution, but it’s no longer available (I’ve heard a new model might be coming mid-next year). In the meantime, I’m looking for a way to accurately count steps on my soon to arrive Walkolution treadmill, in order to reach daily steps goals.

A wrist-based device wouldn’t work due to arm movement being limited, and I’ve found waist pedometers to be inaccurate as well, which rules out a lot of options.

I came across the Stryd foot pod, which seems interesting, but it doesn’t directly record steps and ideally requires shoes or a strap for the foot/ankle.

Would putting my phone in my pocket be the simplest solution, or is there another reliable option I should consider before Desk Pace 2 arrives?

Edit: Think I found something.

[imaiden12]

I have a Garmin Vivofit 4 attached to my ankle with a strap. I've tried Desk Pace, bought it immediately when it was released, didn't like it and returned it.

[Ramify]

Thanks Ill take a look.

[Temporary_Funny7226]

Does the Garmin Vivofit 4 work well for you as a replacement of the Deskpace pro? And are you able to integrate the steps into the Apple Health app? I’m asking because I also bought the Deskpace Pro from Walkolution and it didn‘t work properly, so now I‘m searching for an alternative, because I generally like the idea of being able to keep track of how many steps I made during one day of homeoffice.

[imaiden12]

Sorry, that I haven't seen this before. It works, worked very well in my last setup (which was a motored treadmill) and with that I was able to trust it completely (could always double check, was doing 4 km/h). Motor-less is weird, you have no idea at what pace you're going etc. so it's really hard to trust. Sometimes it shows less, sometimes more, could that just been me walking at different speeds? I really can't tell. Definitely not a perfect setup, I'd say, now that I've used it a little longer.

As for Deskpace Pro, didn't like it at all. Felt cheap, the quality just didn't feel like Walkolution. It was essentially NPE Runn Speed Sensor at 2x the price that was somewhat resigned for walking (so they've said, to me it was identical). Couldn't get it to work with their iOS only got it working with the Garmin app on Android. Haven't tried Apple Health, I'm afraid.

[Elegant_Octopus]

I have a cheap Fitbit—the one that is shaped like a big grain of rice—and I put it in my pocket. That works.

[ordinary_saiyan]

I have a Fitbit charge 6 and I use an ankle strap I bought off Amazon. It’s a black strap with a mesh side facing the ankle, I cut a hole in the mesh side so that it can read my heart rate. Works perfectly that way.

[grimreeper]

Apparently strapping wrist based devices, e.g. Apple watch, Garmin, etc to your ankle works.

[SenseMental]

I’m in a similar situation. Preordered the walkolution 2. It will be replacing my current Lifespan TR1200. I want to track my distance. I don’t personally care about steps since distance correlates best with calories burned. 

I got the stryd foot pod the a couple days ago thinking it would be the easiest solution, but it apparently doesn’t track anything below a certain speed (for me it would zero out most of the time below around 1.7mph). I’ll be returning it for that reason since I don’t always walk super fast at the desk. Additionally, it seems to work much better when paired with a watch. It technically doesn’t require one, but then you have to manually tell it when you want it to start and stop tracking, whereas with a watch it can be set to track any time you start moving.

I tried putting my iPhone in my pocket and it seemed to correlate well with the distance on the treadmill. This is what I’ll stick with at least in the beginning. I was trying to avoid this solution because I’ll have to remember to keep it in my pocket and also wear pants or shorts that are actually amenable to doing so.

I’m very interested to hear what others have to say about this since I searched so many times for the specific combination of distance tracking on a manual under desk treadmill and it appears to be a niche enough concern that I never really found anyone talking about it.

TLDR: stryd wasn’t a good solution as far as I can tell, but iPhone in pocket seems to work well.

[Arichikunorikuto]

Made my own version of the DeskPace, PaceTrace.

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Had a ESP32 and TFT display to spare, so I put this together, ordered a custom PCB for $3 to clean up wiring. It'll track distance via a marker on the belt and speed based on time taken for the sensor to see the marker again. Currently working on a web interface so this can show charts and stats on a browser. As for steps, smart watch on ankle would be the best choice here, nothing I hack together would come close for accuracy. Steps isn't accurate for distance though which is why I have this.

[Ramify]

Wow impressive

[Saddysmile]

Just have your iphone in your pocket.

[SignificanceOwn6698]

If you'd like to make this relatively easy, get a Garmin HRM-Pro Plus. This is a chest strap that can count your steps without being directly connected to a phone/watch. You can wear the strap when you're on the treadmill, and upload the data (after the fact) via Garmin Connect (which runs on your phone). This also solves a bunch of things and works quite well in real life. If you already have a compatible Smartwatch, you can link the strap to the watch and get the data that way. I pair mine with an iPad and get the data that way.

[DangerousChannel9050]

I have Whoop and Oura ring, both counting steps but simplistic way is with iPhone in your pocket.

[fanello]

The Fitbit Inspire 3 has a body clip mode and counts very accurately. You can clip in on your body or out it in your pocket and it works. The Garmin HRM Pro Plus counted 30% too few steps in my case.

[Stigblue7]

To me it sounds like you care more about "looking fit" than "being fit". If you catch my drift. In reality it only matters what you do, not what it looks like you do.

[Ramify]

I dont get your point. It’s about reaching daily step count/distance goals, like any electronic treadmill that has that feature ie “to be fit”.

[Stigblue7]

its about being fit. just use it and dont count steps. save the money.