u/elmarcelito

Hi team.

Recently I got some new Asics Novablast 5's which I am loving so far. Previous to that I had a pair of shitty Nike Pegasus. The top 2 runs in the image are my first 2 runs with the new Asics - average HR of 159 and 142. The second 2 runs are my last 2 short runs in my Nikes - average HR of 173 and 177.

The runs were only separated by about 2 weeks, during which i did a half marathon in my Nikes at a 5.58km pace.

My question is, is something going wrong with my watches HR reader, or did the shoes really make that much of the difference?

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So I think I may have discovered a feature in my Garmin that the engineers definitely did not put in the brochure.

I own a Garmin Forerunner 265. Great watch. Tracks runs, heart rate, sleep, training readiness, my disappointment after checking VO₂ max... the usual.

A few weeks ago, I noticed something strange.

After a particularly enthusiastic solo "cardio recovery session," I looked at my watch and saw that my step count had jumped by almost 1,000 steps.

Now, as far as I know, I had not gone anywhere.

Concerned scientist that I am, I began investigating.

Hypothesis 1: Elevated heart rate confused the watch.

Nope.

Hypothesis 2: Maybe Garmin detected "vigorous activity."

Also nope.

Hypothesis 3: Ghosts.

Unlikely, but still more plausible than what I eventually discovered.

After several carefully controlled experiments (for science, obviously), I realized the increase in steps was almost perfectly correlated with... arm movement.

Specifically, the repetitive motion of my left hand.

Apparently, Garmin's algorithm had decided I was taking a very determined walk to absolutely nowhere.

At this point my watch thinks:

Distance: 0 km

GPS Track: None

Location: Bedroom

Cadence: Elite

Steps: +1000

Achievement Unlocked: "Beat Yesterday's Stroke Count"

The funniest part is that my Garmin Connect weekly report probably thinks I've become incredibly active.

"Congratulations! You moved more this week than last week!"

Yes, Garmin. Technically true.

I've attached a short video as evidence for fellow scientists and Garmin engineers.

If this post suddenly disappears, I assume Garmin has sent a team to silence me before people start completing step challenges from under a blanket.

TL;DR: Discovered that my Forerunner 265 occasionally interprets enthusiastic one-handed indoor cardio as walking. Accidentally became the fastest walker who never left his room.

Has anyone else accidentally farmed steps this way, or am I pioneering a whole new fitness discipline? 😂📈⌚