How do I track a run or exercise on my Surge?

With the Fitbit Surge you can track several types of runs and exercises, see your stats on the device during your workout, and then consult your dashboard to review details and totals after syncing your tracker. This article provides everything you need to know to track a run or other exercise in real time, after which you’ll be able to get started in seconds regardless of activity. If you’re not yet familiar with the buttons on your Surge, refer to the following illustration while reading the steps below.

To use your Surge during a workout:

1. Press the Home button to see the menu and then swipe to find the run or exercise screens.If you’ll be tracking an exercise rather than a run now or later, you may want to decide which exercise types appear in the exercise menu. For more information on customizing your Surge, see How do I choose and re-order the exercises on my Surge?
2. Press the Select button or tap the screen, then swipe to find the type of run or exercise you want to track. You’ll know whether the activity uses GPS if you see a GPS icon next to the heart rate icon.
     
3. When you find what you’re looking for, press the Select button or tap the screen to start your activity.
4. (GPS only) If your run or non-bike exercise uses GPS, Surge will search for a GPS signal and vibrate when it is found. If a signal isn’t found within a few seconds, a Quick Start option appears so you can start your activity immediately while Surge keeps looking for the signal. To use Quick Start, press the Select button to see the initial activity screen and press Play. Keep the following in mind about Quick Start and GPS:
   • For best results, wait for the GPS fix before you start your workout.
   • If you use Quick Start, Surge takes longer to find the GPS signal than if you’re standing still.
   • If you start moving before the signal is found, Surge uses your step count to estimate the distance you traveled before GPS tracking began. Therefore, the total distance calculated for the activity may be slightly less accurate than if you’d waited for the GPS fix before you started moving. For more information about GPS accuracy, see How accurate is my Surge?
   • If you’re tracking a bike ride, the Quick Start option does not appear because cycling requires a GPS signal to track distance. Wait for the signal to fix before starting your ride.
5. During your workout you can:
   • Swipe to see various stats or the time of day.
   • Press the Select button to pause or resume your activity.
   • Press the Action button to view any call or text notifications Surge received from your mobile device while you were working out. To see one-time setup instructions, see How do I receive call notifications and text messages on my Surge?
   • Double press the Home button to see the current song playing on your mobile device and pause or skip a track. For one-time setup instructions, see How do I set up my Surge to control music playing on my mobile device?
6. Press the Select button when you’re done with your workout, then press the Action button to see a summary.
7. Press the Action button once more to exit completely and return to the clock.

After Surge syncs your new data to the web dashboard or Fitbit mobile app, use these tools to see your workout details, assess their impact on your daily and weekly totals, and much more.