We will explain what Google Fit is, how it works and how to set it up in case you want to use it on your mobile device. It is an application with which Google wants to enter the sports app sector, and with which it records all your physical activities, allowing you to set goals in order to reach them daily.
We will start the article by explaining what exactly Google Fit app is and which ones are the two main objectives which it aims to achieve on a daily basis. Then we will explain how it gets that data and finish by explaining to you step by step how to do the initial setup.
What is Google Fit
Google Fit is an Android health app created to measure your daily exercise and that it uses several parameters so that you can know if you are doing the exercise you should. The idea of him, at least this is how the application is sold, is to monitor you so that with his data you can try to have a healthier and more active life.
By default, the application will always remain active in the background on your mobile, and with this it will automatically record all your activities. You will also have the option to manually enter other activities in case they have not been registered with the application, and you can also use this function alone by deactivating the automatic registration.
All the data that Google Fit receives is used to offer you two activity goals that, they say, it has agreed with the World Health Organization that can improve your well-being and give you more years of life.
The first of the goals is your active minutes, which is the time you spend moving throughout the day. This parameter counts every time you do physical activity, from going for a walk to a run, or those you introduce by hand such as dance sessions or any other exercise. By default the Google Health app gives you 60 minutes a day, although in the settings you can adapt it to your needs in case you want to ask for more.
And the second goal is the so-called Heart Points, which are a little more complex. Google offers you these types of points with activities that speed up your heart rate, like fast walks. When you do a relatively light exercise you will be given one point per minute and if you start doing a more intense exercise, it will go up to two.
Google Fit how it works
Google Fit collects your activity data using the sensors of your devices. For example, with motion sensors and GPS it can tell when and where you are moving. With these metrics, Fit Google calculates your activity and other data, such as the calories you have burned while doing it.
But since we are not all the same, the application will analyze the history of the your activities for as long as you use it, and with that it will try to improve accuracy when measuring your activity. For example, the more you use it, the better it will know the calories or effort you expend during activities, as you can compare your different rhythms.
One of the most useful parameters is GPS information. With it, it will not only show you on a map which route you took during each training session or every time you went for a walk, but it will use also your position to calculate the speed at which you moved or the total distances you walk, two parameters by which you also measure your effort. This is an option that you can also disable.
With these sensors you will calculate the two activity goals, the total minutes of activity and the cardio points. These two goals will appear on the main screen in circles that fill up as you get closer to the daily goal you have set. When you complete them, an animation will appear telling you that you have done a good job.
Just below the indicators of these objectives, also on the main screen, you will see the total steps, calories and kilometers you walked on the day you are. At the bottom of the screen you can access the Daily field, where you can see all the exercises you have done.
This daily camp is like a story with all your movements. Each of the items belongs to an exercise, from walks to any other type that you have done or entered manually. You will also see the time you did it, the kilometers traveled and the cardio points you earned with them. A preview of the map with the route will also appear next to it.
Whenever you want, you can click on each of the exercises you have done and you will be able to see its complete data, including calories burned, steps you took, minutes of movement and cardio points achieved. Your rhythm will also appear and at the top of the map with the route.
How to set up Google Fit
To start using Google Fit you need to download the Android fitness app from Google Play and for iOS from the App Store. Once downloaded, launch the Health Android app. On the first screen you will need to log in with your Google account If you have Android, it will automatically detect what you use on your mobile, allowing you to continue with that user or log in with another.
In the second phase you have to configure your personal data. In them you will have to say your gender and your age, but also your weight and height so that Google can use them to calculate your effort, the calories you burn or the advice you are given. When you have entered all the details, click Next.
Next, Google Fit will show you a screen where it will tell you how it uses your data to measure your activity and ask for your permission to collect it. Here, you have to click the Yes, I agree button to give Google Fit permission so it can function normally.
In the next step, Google Fit will ask for your permission to get your location information. If you want it to be able to automatically collect where you are to calculate your routes and the data derived from them, click on Activate and then grant it permission to access the GPS. And if you don't want it to, even if it means it doesn't register your business and you have to enter it by hand, click Not Now.
Then you will be shown a screen explaining the two objectives that the application proposes, but I will not put the capture because you just have to press Next and I have already explained it to you. When you pass it, you will need to configure the goal of active minutes per day, which by default will be 60 but you can change. Once done, click Next.
Subsequently, you will need to set your daily heart rate goal. On this screen, the app will explain how they are assigned. By default the app will assign you 10, although just completing your daily activity minutes can easily quintuple them, so you might want to add more. After choosing them, click Add Goals to continue.
And the last two steps of the configuration are pure documentation. In the first you will be told how the target viewer works and in the second you will have finished showing how the gauge works. In these two screens you simply have to continue on press Next and Finish, and that's it, you'll have Google Fit ready to use.
Read also: The best apps to train at home
