So I did the shovel work out based on my last test and it’s out challenging for the shorter intervals on the smart trainer in ergo mode but manageable otherwise. If you look at the heart rate in the picture below, if I do a cyclocross race I settle at about 158 to 162 heart rate when I’m working. That’s pretty sustainable for an hour. Now for this workout I’m only in the mid 140s. Would this indicate that I need to retest and start working a little bit harder or is that kind of the way that workout should go?
@jroden99 Are you doing it in level mode? Last time I did the Shovel I was in a range of 125 to 170 with an average of 140 whereas my 50 min XC races are around 160.
If your trainer doesn’t handle power changes quickly you may not be getting the maximum effect and may want to switch to level mode.
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I was thinking that. For the short ones it takes a while to load up
Hey @jroden99 ,
Definitely try what @JSampson recommended. You also may want to try TBTITW for a nice cyclocross training effort.
Cheers,
Spencer
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Exactly my thought, my Direto trainer takes around 5-10secs to get up to speed on sprint sections so if the sections are only 20/30secs long then you have lost that training effect. Any session where the efforts are under 1 minute I do in level mode now , which is good practice anyway but you do need a bit more discipline so you don’t cheat!
Ok, I have an old power tap wheel and some nice rollers I can use that setup for the short stuff. In some ways I prefer it to the smart trainer
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