Having recently started introducing high intensity intervals into my training plan, I’ve hit a weird issue with the turbo trainer. I’m meant to be aiming for intervals of 4 mins @ 170bpm, but I really struggle to get my HR above about 150bpm before my legs blow up. Thing is, it’s not like I feel particularly tired or anything & I could quite happily go out for a fast ride and I bet I could get my HR above that in no time. There’s something about being on the turbo trainer that’s causing me a problem.
I’m finding I need to put the bike in a big gear on the turbo to get my heart rate above 130 ish, but then my legs get really tired by the time I hit about 150. I’m not massively out of breath or anything, just tired legs because of the big gear I’m trying to push. Problem is, if I drop the gear then my HR drops down even lower, even with a high cadence. One issue might be that I can’t get out of the saddle on the turbo as the bike just lifts off the roller, but I think it’s more than that.
Any thoughts? Cheers.