Integrating a Brick into Your Triathlon Training
Make sure a brick is in your triathlon training plans
Integrating a brick workout into your training prepares you for racing by combining two aspects of triathlon into a single, continuous workout. The two most common examples are a swim to bike and a bike to run.
The term brick has a few meanings.
1) It is foundational to triathlon training just like a brick is foundational to a structure.
2) Another is that after a bike/run workout your legs feel as heavy as bricks.
Setting Up for a Brick Workout
There are several ways to integrate a brick workout into your plan, however, set up is always key. The reason for this is to minimize transition time between disciplines in the same manner as a race. At T3Multisports, we utilize a transition bike rack that allows athletes to set their transition area up in the same fashion as they would on race day.
We build a transition rack similar to what you see at races. We place this near our open water swim practice area or in a side parking lot near a pool. The athletes swim the prescribed distance in their race suit. They then run to the transition area (complete with bike mount line) and transition onto the bike.
The duration and intensity of both the swim and bike will depend on where you are in your training or what you are targeting as an area of improvement. If you don’t have the luxury of a rack, setting your bike up poolside (check with the lifeguards first) or securing it a public bike rack might be an option. Brick training along with the transition practice will help you transition to the next level!
By: Andrew Sidwell
Andrew Sidwell is the Adult and High-Performance Coach at T3Multisports. T3Multisport is Round Rock’s premier year-round, group triathlon training program for adults. It doesn’t matter if you are new to the sport or an experienced veteran; we will help you achieve your goals and Transition You to the Next Level.
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In honor of the new swim distance at JGT here are some fun 600 meter swim workouts to try on your next training day.
Jack’s Generic Triathlon was founded by Jack Murray & Stacy Keese in 2003, at a time when they thought many triathlons had forgotten about the participants. Events had become so focused on getting big sponsors, accommodating pro athletes, and trying to look good that they sometimes neglected the actual product – the race. Athletes ended up paying more, but their racing experience was actually less. Jack had the idea to put on a race with very little pomp & circumstance, yet at the core be a great race. It would be well organized, safe, good value, and of course, fun. It reminded him of the generic aisle at the supermarket: It’s the same quality products, sometimes even better, but you don’t have to pay for the fancy packaging. And hence, the name Jack’s Generic Triathlon was born.