Log a treadmill workout to Apple Health

How does iPhone track steps on a treadmill?

On a treadmill you do not move forward, but your body still bounces with each step, and a phone in your pocket picks that up through its motion sensors. A phone propped on the console, which is a common habit for watching the screen, does not move with you at all, so the walk is simply not there.

Fit as does not sense anything either. It fills the gap afterwards from the numbers the treadmill already shows you.

Two ways to add a treadmill session

Pick the one that matches what you want in Apple Health
	Home tab	Insights > Log Workout
What is saved	Steps + walking + running distance	A workout (Treadmill = indoor running) + steps if you enter a distance
When	Today, ending now	Any date and start time you pick
Shows in Workout History	No	Yes
Ad in free version	Short ad before logging	None

Option 1: log treadmill steps from the Home tab

Note the distance and time from the treadmill console when you finish.
In Fit as, open Home, pick Walking or Running, and choose Distance & Duration.
Set Distance and Duration, for example 8.0 km and 50 minutes. The preview shows 8.00 km · 9.6 km/h and Estimated: 10498 steps.
Tap Log Running — 10498 Steps (the button uses the activity you picked). In the free version, tap Watch Ad in the Log This Walk prompt.
Check the green confirmation and the Today total.

Option 2: save a Treadmill workout

Open Insights > Log Workout.
Under Activity Type, choose Treadmill.
Set Date, the duration (for example Duration: 50 min), and under Metrics (Optional) type Distance (km) and, if the console shows it, Calories (kcal).
Tap Save Workout. The session appears in Workout History with its pace.

Use one option per session, not both: both write steps, so doing both would count the same session twice.

Worked examples from a treadmill console

Distance & Duration on the Home tab, stride 0.762 m
Console shows	Preview	Estimated steps
3.0 km in 30 min	3.00 km · 6.0 km/h	3937
5.0 km in 60 min	5.00 km · 5.0 km/h	6561
8.0 km in 50 min	8.00 km · 9.6 km/h	10498

Tips

If the console shows miles, multiply by 1.609 to get km first. The Home tab moves in 0.5 km steps; for an exact decimal distance use Log Workout.
If your console shows only time and speed, use Duration & Pace: pace in min/km is 60 divided by the speed in km/h, so 6 km/h is 10.0 min/km.
Steps are an estimate with a 0.762 m stride, the same for walking and running. A treadmill at an incline works your legs harder without adding distance, and Fit as has no way to see that.

Questions and answers

Can iPhone count steps on a treadmill?

Yes, if the phone is on your body, because it detects your movement. If it rests on the console or in a bag, it will not count the session.

Does iPhone Health count steps on treadmill workouts I log by hand?

Steps written by Fit as are added to your Apple Health step total, marked as coming from Fit as. Whether another app uses them is up to that app.

Should I log a treadmill run as Running or Treadmill?

In the Log Workout sheet, Treadmill saves an indoor running workout. On the Home tab the choice is only a label; steps and distance are written either way.

How to add a workout to Apple Health manually, with date and time · Fit as

Log a treadmill walk or run as a real workout in Apple Health