Newbie advice

Frazzle88

Hey I'm new to the site and have just recently bought a garmin 500. Done a 10mile run on my trainer with the garmin for the first time tonight. Didn't feel like I was pushing it that hard but wanted to keep a constant rpm and not raise bpm too high.
Now should I concentrate on keeping heart rate lower for better aerobic benefit or increase distance at same cadence and not worry too much about bpm?
Oh and clearly I am unfit
Fraser.

1st Trainer 10Mile by Frazzle88 at Garmin Connect - Details
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/255929734

Alex_Simmons/RST

What are you trying to achieve?

Frazzle88

Hi, in general I want to be alot fitter. But I also wanna aim to ride in a sportive or two this year and not get left for dead, obviously not gonna be anywhere near the front but wanna complete it in a respectable time.

I enjoy being out on my bike but the the whole idea of what my cadence should ideally be and where my heart rate should be to be getting the most from my body confuses me.
Apologies if it seems a little clueless but I am a little clueless when it comes to knowing where these number should be or where I should be getting them.

Fraser.

Alex_Simmons/RST

Well the general idea is to have fun and ride more!

Getting fitter (provided you have no health/medical condition to be concerned about) involves gradually increasing the workload you perform, with workload being a function of both how much you ride (volume and frequency), and how hard you ride (intensity).

For the volume bit, try to gradually increase how much you do each week (e.g. adding 10-15-minutes per week is good for 2 months), and ride 4-6 days per week (depending on how much you do now).

As for the intensity bit, well it helps to have a bit of mix, but what's the right mix isn't easy to advise on without knowing specifics, but in general you'll want to ride hard enough to feel like you are working, but not so hard that you won't last the distance. Some days a bit easier, other days a bit harder. If you include some rides with hills (or simulate them by doing short duration harder efforts on a trainer from 1 to 20-minutes, aka "intervals"), then that will add intensity into your training diet.

You can learn a bit about intensity and what sort of impact it has on your fitness here:
http://home.trainingpeaks.com/articles/ ... oggan.aspx
which describes intensity as a series of "levels", mainly for convenience - it's primarily based on power, but also provides relative comparison for HR and perceived exertion.

To determine those training levels requires you to perform a "test" to establish your HR response to an effort (such as a time trial or a incremental test to exhaustion), or what power you are capable of producing, or just using the perceived exertion guideline about the sensations you feel and things like breathing.

Tests are only for those that are fit and healthy such that a maximal effort is not going to pose a health risk.

Keep it fun, do more and fitness will come.

If you want specific help, then a plan can be made to suit you (we have such plans) and take the guess work out of it.