Brick Workouts for Triathlon Prep

Brick Workouts

Image by Matt Coats

Image by Matt Coats

What is a Brick Workout?

What is a Brick Workout you ask? Simply put, a brick workout is a term used to define training in back to back events. This could describe a variety of events, but for the purposes of Triathlon Prep I would define it as a swim, bike, or run workout immediately following a base workout. For example, a 20k bike after a 1600m swim would be a brick workout. Same thing for a 10k run after a 20k bike. You could even do a 5k run followed by a 600m swim. Get the idea?

Why Should You Do Brick Workouts?

So why should you do brick workouts? I bet you have an idea, but just in case you don’t I will answer it anyway. Brick workouts are used to simulate race conditions because if you aren’t training like you race then you will more than likely fail (unless your goal is simply to finish, and that’s okay too). Simply put, if you want to optimize your triathlon performance, then you will need to implement brick workouts as part of your triathlon prep.

Another benefit to brick workouts is that you learn how to mentally  overcome the pain of moving on to the next event. Sure, with enough training you will learn how to run with jelly legs going from the bike to the run, but mentally you need to be ready for the pain. If you know what to expect during each transition, then you will know how fast and how far to push yourself during each event. Pacing is incredibly important during a triathlon, and brick workouts help you best identify how to handle each event.

How Should You Do Brick Workouts?

Typically, you can do brick workouts without practicing transitions and get the necessary effect from the training, however you are even better served if you implement T1 and T2 transition practice into your brick workouts. This will also help you understand how to place your gear for optimal triathlon transition times.

To get started with brick workouts, I recommend simply taking a typical swim, bike, or run day and then adding a half-workout of another type on the tail end. I first started practicing the bike to run transition by using a 10k bike followed by a 2 mile run. This was in preparation for my first triathlon and was not a full load by any means, but it helped me to get started and form training sessions on my own.

Try out a few different routines to see what works for you. As you get closer to race day and before you taper, I highly recommend a strong series of brick workouts to prepare you physically and mentally for your race.