Now that we are starting the season, endurance skills, speed (cadence) and strength take more prominence than at any other time of year. And to improve this last STRENGTH skill, the Power Station and GOAT sessions are very valid.
We all know that to gain strength the series with large gears are typical, it is what we call around here in Spain “Strength resistance”.
My question is whether physiologically there is any difference between doing these sessions with a big plate and the longest possible march, or doing them with a small plate reproducing those steep climbs of 10-15% of the real road. After all, those raises are never done with a big plate out there.
The answer depends on which trainer you are using. If you are using a smart trainer, especially one with a flywheel like the KICKR, you will want to be on your small ring. This keeps the speed of the flywheel lower, forcing the trainer to apply for resistance.
If you are using a fluid or magnetic trainer you should use the big ring at a low cadence. This will keep your back tire spinning faster and generating more resistance at the trainer.
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Just to counter that. Depending on your FTP you may reach the wattage ceiling in the small ring when you’re at 50rpm. Also, it’s generally reactive enough to keep the power on even at the slightly higher flywheel speed as it’s still relatively low due to the 50rpm.
On my KICKR I find if I’m not in the big ring, it struggles to hold some of the higher power targets. I’ve checked it against the published power curves for levels 0-9 (albeit from the original KICKR) and it does show that I need the extra flywheel speed from the big ring.
I also find switching big and small ring helps transitioning in and out of the efforts.
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Good point, Sir! Thanks for adding that in. So to correct my append my statement from above… it depends on your trainer and your current power targets 
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I use a Wahoo Kickr Core in ERG mode, so the force necessary to achieve the target powers of the training is the same using both combinations of gears (large plate vs small plate), the question is which is the correct way to do these workouts .
On a slightly different note, I have Power station today. My trainer is set up level. Should I use riser block to simulate climbing?
Cheers
Simon.
No need to. It’s about grinding it out at 50-60 rpm.
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Well 30 mins after I can say that my hamstrings are telling me that the right amount of grinding was done. An enjoyable workout. Just hope I have time to recover for the Bat tomorrow 
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Seems we are on the same plan. Powerstation yesterday and today I did The bat. Went well so will be fine for you too
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Noticed this today doing fight club. Everything was way smoother if I did the intervals in the big ring and the recovery in the little ring.
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Cody I have 2 bikes. My road bike has a compact crankset and I can’t match the power requirements of G.O.A.T. without spinning 10 - 15 RPM over the cadence asked for. My TT bike will allow me to meet both cadence and power requirements. Which workouts are high torque/low cadence? Knowing this will allow me to have the most suitable bike on the trainer.
thanks,
Bill
This really shouldn’t be happening if you’re in the same gearing ratio.
The road bike does not have a tall enough gear to meet both cadence and power targets having a compact crank. The TT bike has a 55 tooth chainring.
Bill