Sit Less, Move More with Hourly Activity & Stationary Time Tracking

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Fitbit® data scientists crunched some numbers recently and discovered some Fitbit users aren’t moving for prolonged periods throughout the day—on average, those periods can last for 90 minutes*, and over the span of one day they add up to more than 7 sedentary hours* per day. As if just knowing how much time you spend in a chair wasn’t enough to get you out of it, consider this: cumulative sitting has been linked to an increased risk of colon cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.

Thankfully, walking for a few minutes every hour has been shown to reduce the negative impacts of sitting. To help you remember to get up, Fitbit is introducing new features that allow you to track your Hourly Activity and Stationary Time in the Fitbit app, when paired with Fitbit Surge, Fitbit Blaze, Fitbit Charge HR, Fitbit Charge, Fitbit Alta, or Fitbit Flex.

Ready to get started? Navigate to the new Hourly Activity tile (it’s already in your Fitbit dashboard!), and click through to set an hourly step goal. In addition to the CDC health guideline to fit in 2.5 hours of moderate exercise each week, aim to also take 250 steps each hour, which is roughly two to three minutes of walking. As your Hourly Activity time goes up, you’ll notice a decrease in your Stationary Time patterns over time.

 

*Based on aggregated and anonymous data from over one million Fitbit users in 2015.

 

Where does 250 steps take you? Join the conversation below!

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    • Hi Bob! We’re working to make Reminders to Move available in a future firmware release for Fitbit Blaze, but don’t yet have an estimated delivery date. Thanks for your patience!

      • This is great to hear! I really need to be reminded to move since I’m at a desk all day. It seems like that would be an obvious feature of the blaze…I’d use it way more than fitstar! Is there an estimated time that this will be available?

      • I’m checking in to see if you are any closer to having the movement alert on Blaze. I am a FitBit user from the very first one. I think I skipped a couple just because I knew that the Blaze was coming soon. Really miss the movement alert. I bell believe theSurgeHR had the alert. I love my FitBit. Using my FitBit and watching what I eat. I have lost 40 pounds. I am going to try some of your meal suggestions in addition to exercisers and maybe more. I’ve have tachycardia, RA, fibromyalga.

    • Hi Janelle! At this time. Alta is the only tracker that supports the Reminders to Move feature. However, we’re working to make Reminders to Move available in a future firmware release for Fitbit Blaze, but don’t yet have an estimated delivery date. Stay tuned.

          • Hi,

            That’s a pity as the surge would seem to be an obvious candidate for this feature. It is afterall the “fitness super watch!”

            The alternative is to set a reminder every day for 10 to the hour!!

      • I set my alarm to remind me every 3 hrs. At this alerts, I either meditate, exercise , or do some range of motion. No need to have hourly reminders installed, just set the alarm to when you need your reminders.

      • I have a Fitbit One and really want to use the Hourly Activity Goals as you mentioned above, but I can’t find it anywhere on my Fitbit app or on my Fitbit Dashboard on my computer. I have read the self help on hidden tiles and can’t find it. I have also read that Hourly Activity Goals is NOT available for Fitbit One. So am I doing something wrong or is Hourly Activity Goals not available for the Fitbit One???

    • From the article linked it says…. This means Fitbit One and Fitbit Zip customers don’t have an hourly activity goal.

      I wouldn’t mind getting a new upgraded fitbit that had new features, but I really do not want to wear a bracelet. Is there ever any plan for fitbit to make another clip on one for those of us who like to wear it all the time without it being on our wrist??

      • The hourly activity goal on the Charge HR doesn’t help remind you to get up & move though? I work in an office & it’s easy to get caught up in work and not ‘move’ each hour?

        • Hi Caroline. Hourly activity goals don’t send a notification to your Charge HR like Reminder to Move, but it’s a good way to keep track of how active you are per hour with the data that’s collected in the hourly goals tile. Let us know if you have any other questions.

      • I wish you would add the feature to set reminders to move every hour on the Fitbit HR even if it’s not the newest fitbit out. I get busy with my art and forget to move around. Please help us

  • On the Charge HR, how do I know in real time whether I am meeting my goal of steps per hour? Since there is no reminder and I can only see a total steps per day. Thanks.

        • Hi. At this time, we don’t have plans to add the feature to our older trackers, but we’re always reevaluating our development priorities with our customers’ needs and interests in mind. We’ll share your feedback with our product team.

    • I agree. Other than that, I love the Fitbit HR. Don’t really need all of that GPS tracking stuff but a reminder to move would be great.

  • I also believe that reminder to move feature is an imperative to the next surge firmware upgrade. Having obtained the ‘top of the line device’ like the surge and then hearing that updating firmware to match lesser models is not being done is disconcerting. Please give reminder to move upgrades to all devices a priority now that your new products are out. Thanks!

  • I believe what you published made a lot of sense.
    However, consider this, what if you were to write a awesome headline?
    I mean, I don’t wish to tell you how to run your website, but suppose you added something to possibly grab folk’s attention? I mean Sit
    Less, Move More with Hourly Activity & Stationary Time Tracking – Fitbit Blog is a little boring.

    You should glance at Yahoo’s front page and note how they create article titles to get
    people to open the links. You might add a video or a related
    pic or two to grab readers excited about everything’ve got to say.
    Just my opinion, it would make your website a little livelier.

  • Good morning – I just saw this article saying that there would be an upgrade available for the Fitbit Blaze that has more watch faces and a reminder to move at 10 min to the hour if you haven’t met your 250 steps per hour. This is exciting news if it’s true. I’m wondering if there is a date the upgrade is available and would the upgrade happen automatically or do I have to keep an eye out for it somewhere. Thanks for your help! Patty

    http://www.cnet.com/news/fitbit-blaze-update-adds-third-party-notifications-new-watch-faces/

  • I don’t know if someone has asked this but my Alta used to tell me how many steps I needed to reach 250 10min before the hour but with the latest update it now only tells me to get up and move. How do I get it to tell me how many steps again?

    • Hi Jen, Alta has a few different sayings to remind you to get up and move. A couple of them say how many more steps are needed to reach 250, but not all of them. Thanks for reaching out!

  • Reminders to move is what I need. I have Charge HR because I wanted the heart rate monitor. Why can’t it be added to HR? Why should we have to buy a new one to get this feature. I like this size, and set of functions. I don’t want to get a bigger one or lose HR. I have now purchased 7 fitbits for myself and friends and family. After all of that I am supposed to buy a new one or miss out on the one feature that would remind me to move when I am working at my desk.

    • I agree…why cant the older ones get the updates as well, or is this just a scam to get those of us who have already purchased oe, or two, or more, to keep buying new ones????

  • How many more steps needed EVERY hour would be great. I sit all day. So every top of hour I write down my steps plus 250. My company not happy at first I got up every hour but now see it takes three minutes to reach 250 and I’m happier employee

  • Regarding Alta, It would be nice to be able to set the 250 step/hour higher if we’d like. Might this be possible one day?

  • Hi Fitbit,
    I also have the One and the latest update version as of November, but I cannot find any tile or add the tile that may be hidden that gives the monitoring hourly activity. Your explanations above did not help at all.

    • Hi Jean! Please try the following to help get you back on track with Reminders to Move:

      a. Unpair all other devices paired to your Fitbit account.
      b. Force close the Fitbit app.
      c. Go into your phone’s Bluetooth settings and unpair every device that is currently paired.
      d. Turn your phone’s Bluetooth off.
      e. Restart your tracker.
      f. Restart your mobile device.
      g. Turn your phone’s Bluetooth back on.

      If you are still having issues, please reach out to us via our other support channels so we help you further with this.

  • Why can’t I find the “Hourly Activity tile” in my dashboard so I can set an hourly step goal?? I have the Fitbit Alta.

  • My Fitbit Charge 2 used to give me hourly nudges if I hadn’t reached my 250 steps in the hour and now it doesn’t – is this because of the update I accepted – if so can we have another update with the nudge put back on as I found it useful at work and now its annoying

    • Hi! We don’t have any plans to add the Reminders to Move feature to Fitbit Flex. However, we’re always reevaluating our development priorities with our customers’ needs and interests in mind. We’ll share your feedback with our product team.

  • I own a Surge, but was wondering why doesn’t it give you the reminder to get up & move? It has the most bells & whistles why not go all the way out?

  • So does this mean the active hours has now been updated to a 24 Hour Clock so that people who work non traditional shifts can take advantage of this feature or will it remain at the current 14 hour span?

  • I find it very disappointing that the Surge, the most expensive fit bit, will not be updated to include these movement reminders. I would think at the price tag, that would be the first to receive an update. I should have saved money to buy less expensive model… Very disappointing.

  • Hi,

    I think my Blaze is great, but just wonder as to why my watch will say I have completed all hourly 250 steps for the day, but the dashboard says I missed one. It’s no big deal but can be frustrating.

  • I thought this was awesome, until I found out you can’t do it with the Fitbit One (even though support keeps pointing to the same article which says clearly that you cannot do this with the Fitbit One – learn your product).

    I would love if they would reinvent another clip-on fitbit that had more features that the other bracelet types have. I will never wear a bracelet. Maybe I need to start looking at what other brands have to offer since the clip on does not seem to be Fitbit’s priority.

  • I’m a 3rd shift person why can’t I changed my 250 movement to 7 pm to 9 am ? It only works on a am to pm not pm to am movements

  • My charge 2 stopped vibrating for the movement warning. I tried Turing off and back on and still not for the whole weekend.

  • I have a fitbit Alta and I was wondering if anyone knows if there is a way to see your hourly progress in relation to your 250 steps or if that is something in the works? If not I think that would be an extremely useful tool.

  • I have the Fitbit Blaze and like the hourly nudges to help me move more. However, I would really like to be able to set the intervals during the hour it nudges me. For instance, maybe have it tell me 15-20 minutes before the hour is up. Being able to actually customize this down to the minute would be huge. I’d also like to be able to change the step goal from 250 to something higher. More customization would be a great improvement.

  • Hi ,
    My flex 2 no longer vibrates for reminds me for hourly movements even though, the reminder to move is set to ON . Thanks for your help!

  • Is it a big problem to translate to Danish ? It would help me a lot. Many people in Copenhagen use Fitbit.

  • My Change 2 fit bit stopped telling me when to walk. It is in my settings but all of a sudden it stopped. It really bums me out because I lose track of time and when it would tell me to take a stroll, we would.

  • I am adding my voice to the numerous Charge HR users who are requesting “Reminders to Move” be added with fiture firmware updates. It’s an obvious upgrade and is glaringly missing from the Charge HR. Please reconsider adding it to the list ASAP. Thank you.

  • Why not for the One? I don’t want to up grade & have to wear silicone with my gold jewelry. My tracker is my business, not something to advertise. Btw, I’ve had a Fitbit since 2011, so it’s not a fad thing for me.

    • I love the reminders on my Charge 2. Sometimes it just makes me more conscious that its time to get up from my desk and get other tasks done, but other times it gets me “charged” up to go out for a walk with my dogs, do 20-30 min of yoga,etc. I’ve had a few Fitbit’s– back to when they did not really fasten, kept popping off and have lost a couple. The Charge 2 doesn’t hold its charge like my enough (2–3 days), but I’m sticking with it for a while. Fitbit, keep working on upgrading because your customers are working hard!

  • I am also a One user and would like access to this feature. Will it ever become available?
    BTW, I wore a Flex at the same time as the One and found the One much more accurate. I don’t want to switch.

  • I luv the reminders to move but I am only encouraged to get up when it tells me how many steps to go
    Sometimes the message says time to stroll or let’s move. But when it tells me 92 to go I will make an effort to run up the steps to meet the goal. It’s a great add on thanks

    • I have the HR2 I think which when I first set it up a month ago would vibrate to tell me I needed to move 10 minutes before the hour which was awesome since I sit at a computer all day. But about 2 weeks in it stopped working and I don’t know what to do to get it back. It was really a huge help and I loved it. Please tell me how I can get it back. Thanks.

  • I love my fibit just wish i could use it in the pool i know you have the altra that does that but i don’t like that style i like the charge HR style i have lost 65 lbs. With diet and exercise

  • I work nights and the software does not allow me to select 1 pm to 2 am which is somewhat limiting unless I am working a 9 to 5 job the program fails – what is the solution?

  • just reading this page and realised it is a complete waste of time, Fitbit ignore it and assume that the public will answer questions they should be addressing – this is just a page, like so many others on this site, that s just a stream of questions that Fitbit ignores – what a joke! – on us idiots that bought the products

  • I’ve set my alarms on my Flex for an hourly reminder to walk my 250 steps. It used to vibrate once and then only if I did not go the minimum 50 steps it would vibrate again. Recently my Flex started to vibrate the 2nd time even though I had gone my 250 steps. Is this a recent bug? Any way to fix it?

  • How can I get my Flex 2 to give me hourly reminders again? I’ve had it since April 2017 and it was working great until a week ago. It’s the most important feature to me so I hope there is a fix. Thanks!

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