Goals and Challenges - Adding Cycling Workouts and Activity Into the Engage App

Overview

Learn what data syncs to Engage from a cycling workout and how to convert cycling activities for credit in Engage. This article is useful to anyone using the Goals and Challenges in Engage. 

Note: Your challenge admins at your organization are in charge of your account settings. Depending on your organization’s account settings, you have different options for how to get credit for your cycling workouts in Engage.

Syncing Cycling Data to Engage

Engage pulls in steps, distance and active minutes from connected devices. With step-based activities like walking and running, your connected device should credit you with steps and distance from these activities automatically. However, activities like cycling are not step-based, and are not accounted for in your step and distance totals automatically.

Which Data Syncs to Engage

Your active minutes earned through cycling or biking may sync to Engage from a connected device, but Engage does not sync steps or distance from cycling workouts automatically.

Here is what you can expect to sync to Engage from a cycling workout:

Syncing Specific Devices

Apple Watch

Engage pulls in Steps, Walking & Running Distance, and Exercise Minutes from the Health app on your phone. Your time spent cycling should sync to Engage via Exercise Minutes depending on the intensity of your workout, but we won't sync in Cycling Distance.

Note: If you’re using the Apple Health app to sync to Engage and do not connect an Apple Watch, time spent cycling will not sync.

Peloton

You can connect the Peloton app to the Apple Health app. Engage pulls in Steps, Walking & Running Distance, and Exercise Minutes from the Health app on your phone. Your time spent cycling should sync to Engage via Exercise Minutes depending on the intensity of your workout, but we won't sync in Cycling Distance.

Garmin

Engage pulls in Steps, Distance, and Intensity Minutes from the Garmin Connect app on your phone. Engage can only connect to devices that report steps. If your device doesn't report steps, it will not sync with Engage. Engage cannot sync data from Garmin Edge devices or other bike computers. 

Your time spent cycling should sync to Engage via Intensity Minutes depending on the intensity of your workout. Garmin devices may also send Engage a combined distance total of both running/walking distance and cycling distance.

If your Garmin device is syncing combined running/walking and cycling distance totals to Engage, and you need to have more control over those totals for a current distance-based challenge, you have a few options:

Option 1. Connect to another device option during the challenge.

• If you have an iPhone, you can connect your Garmin to Apple Health, and then connect Apple Health as your device in Engage. Apple Health will filter out your cycling distance, while syncing in your step and walking/running distance totals.
• If you have an Android, you can use your phone as your fitness tracker by connecting Health Connect to your Engage account.

Option 2. Remove your Garmin permissions and use manual entry during the challenge.

• To remove permissions for Engage to sync your Garmin data, go to your log into your Garmin Account and scroll down to remove the permissions for Engage (click the Disconnect button).
• Manual entry must be enabled by your organization. If manual entry is not enabled, we suggest connecting to another device option.

FAQs

Q: How do I sync cycling from another app or device that does not connect with Engage (such as Strava, MapMyRide, etc.)?

A: If your device's mobile app can send steps to the Apple Health app for iPhone or Health Connect for Android phones, then we should be able to pull those steps into Engage as well.

Note: This option does require your device app to reliably send step data into Health Connect/Apple Health. Engage cannot guarantee that your device’s app will accurately and reliably sync your data to Health Connect/Apple Health.

Engage only pulls in steps, distance from walking/running, and exercise/move minutes from the Apple Health app or Health Connect on your phone. Your time spent cycling should sync to Engage as active minutes depending on the intensity of your workout and the device you're syncing from, but we won't sync in cycling distance.

Follow these steps to see if you can send steps to Health Connect/Apple Health:

1. Check to see if your device's app can send steps to the Health Connect app (on an Android phone) or Apple Health app (on an iPhone). Typically, this option can be found in the Settings menu of your device's app, if it's available.
2. Follow the prompts to connect your device's app to Health Connect/Apple Health. 
3. Confirm that steps are showing correctly in Health Connect/Apple Health from your device app to make sure the connection is working.
4. Moving forward, to sync successfully, please open your device's app first, then Health Connect or Apple Health, then Engage to make sure steps are syncing correctly.

If you have an iPhone, you may also want to confirm that your source priorities are adjusted so that your steps from your device app are prioritized over the steps tracked by your iPhone.

(See the 'View and prioritize your data sources' section of this guide, to learn more; Manage Health data on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch).

Q: How do I get credit for steps and distance from a cycling workout in Engage?   

A: The Activity Converter can be used to get credit for non step-based activities, such as cycling. Click here for detailed instructions on using the Activity Converter.

Note: Your challenge admins are in charge of your account settings for your organization, and decide whether to enable or disable the Activity Converter. 

Q: Why does the converter show a different distance total than my distance cycled?

A: The Activity Converter takes your time spent performing a non-stepping activity such as cycling and converts it into the equivalent step total based on the intensity of the activity. The steps are then converted into distance, at a rate of 2,000 steps to 1 mile (or approximately 3,219 steps to 1 km).

The aim of the converter is not to include your total cycling distance, but rather to convert your cycling workout to the equivalent walking distance, so you should expect the converted distance total to be lower than your actual cycling distance. This allows you to compete with others in your challenge fairly, as all activities are represented as walking/running.

Q: What activity should I select to convert if I am biking outside, doing a spin class, or doing indoor cycling?

A: We combined all spin/bike activities into the category Cycling. Please use the Cycling category for these activities.

Q: Which cycling pace should I choose for the converter?

You can select from Cycling, easy pace, Cycling, moderate pace, or Cycling, vigorous pace depending on the speed and intensity of your ride.

A: The vigorous cycling option should account for higher-intensity cycling workouts, whereas the easy cycling option accounts for rides where your heart rate and speed remain lower. 

Q: What if active minutes have already synced to Engage from my connected device?

A: You can uncheck any metrics you do not need added to your account when converting activities. Simply uncheck the active minute metric if you have already received credit for your time spent cycling and only want to get the equivalent step and distance totals added.

Q: Should I enter my cycling activity through manual entry or the Activity Converter?

A: You should typically use the Activity Converter to get credit for any non-step based activities, including cycling. The converter allows you to compete with others in your challenge fairly, as all activities are represented as walking/running.

Happy cycling! 🚴