I tried my first Workout using the Android app (which seems to communicate with the Web app) and time seems to run at half speed. E.g. if the Interval timer on the top says “1:00” it takes about 2:00 in real time and the seconds tick off super slow. Which is BRUTAL if it’s supposed to be an MPA-emptying interval. Any ideas here?
Which workout? Sometimes this is intentional if the interval is a smart interval that has variable durations. Have a look at our Smart Workout blog.
It was SMART “I Won’t Back Down.” I read the blog (just now), but it’s unclear to me, still, what was going on. I started one interval where the timer said “2:00” and gave me a Wattage target that was very hard. After what felt like a very long time I arrived at 1:30. I thought it might be psychological - sometimes when you’re suffering time seems to slow down. So I started my wristwatch’s stop watch at 1:15. My wristwatch got to 1:00 elapsed when the interval timer still showed about 0:45 (it should have been at 0:15 if following the standard definition of seconds). By this time I was physically unable to continue at the Wattage (and angry at the lying timer) , and just quit the workout altogether.
The middle intervals are all variable duration. If you don’t hit the target wattage, the interval timer will slow down. If these are too hard, be sure either that you have sufficient training in your legs, you signature is properly defined or (often the most likely) your trainer is properly calibrated / you’re using powermatch.
Thanks, I understand now. However, I’m going to register official dislike for changing the units of time. If you’re going use some unit that scales with wattage, I’d call it something other than “time”. This is speaking as a lifelong slave to the stopwatch in track (running), rowing, and now track cycling. I’m keenly aware of interval lengths, and there’s something keenly unsettling when that lifelong awareness becomes completely baseless due to scaling. I don’t mind the length of he next interval changing based on current performance. But don’t mess with me in the middle! For what it’s worth, my trainer was calibrated, my legs have training, but I’m still trying to figure out if my signature is properly defined. It continually seems significantly “optimistic.” (And I’ve read all the various ways of tuning the signature, so no need to cover that here.)
Dislike noted. However, consider what should happen if the interval is set to 600W for 30 seconds, say, and given the challenge with most trainers (lags, slow to respond), it takes 15 seconds for it to ramp up or the contrary, you stand for 15 seconds and average 700W or higher, making the interval impossible to complete. Xert adjusts the interval duration to accommodate, ensuring you get close to the correct training dose as the interval prescribed.