VACILLATING BRICK TRAINING

If you’re entering the sport of triathlon as a runner, cyclist, swimmer or

as a rookie to endurance sports, brick training is likely a new concept.
But if you want to be successful in the sport of triathlon, brick workouts
are a great way to perform race specific training and you’ll want to incor-
porate vacillating brick training into your routine.

Bricks prepare you for the changing demands of each sport and play an
important role in your race-day success. This method of training also
adds variety to your training, which is one of the reasons so many peo-
ple are attracted to move from a single-sport, like running or cycling, to
tackle their first multisport race.

Your training isn’t quite as simple as just swimming, biking, and running.
This is where brick workouts come into play.

WHAT IS VACILLATING BRICK TRAINING?

Vacillating brick training combines two of the three triathlon sports with
a transition, typically swim-to-bike or bike-to-run. This method of work-
out helps you prepare your body for the unique challenge of moving
from one sport to the next in a single triathlon race, and can help pre-
vent reduced performance.

The most common brick workout for triathletes is the bike-to-run. It can
be tough transtioning between these sports without proper training.
When you coming off the bike, triathletes may experience that dreaded
‘jelly legs’ feeling. It’s difficult to put an end to this feeling altogether,
but practice can improve how your body responds, and transitions. This
helps reduce the impact switching sports has on your run performance.
Practice helps build muscle memory and neural pathways that will help
you regulate pace and effort as you leave transition.

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WHEN SHOULD I PERFORM VACILLATING
BRICK SESSIONS?
If you’re just getting started with brick workouts, we recommend adding
one brick each to your training plan. Try to introduce your brick work-
outs into training about 2 to 3 weeks prior to your race.

As you gain more experience, you can increase the amount of brick
workouts and it’s a good to slowly increase your volume and minimize
your injury risk.

Use your brick workouts as an opportunity to practice your transitions.

Try setting up a small transition station and time your bike-to-run move-
ments to see how quickly you are ready to switch from bike to run. The
more you practice the order you take off your helmet, switch shoes, and
grab your race belt, the smoother and more efficient you become.

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HOW TO DO A BRICK WORKOUT
Brick workouts can be performed indoors or outdoors.

High-Intensity
For shorter, high intensity workouts it’s generally best to ride indoors
on static equipment, so that outdoor traffic and rourtes don’t slow you
down. If you train indoors, have a fan or proper cooling, so that heat-
stress doesn’t become a limiting factor.

Low-Intensity
For longer, lower intensity brick workouts you can either train for the
whole session outdoors, or keep it indoors if you prefer.

Set aside the effort to set the entire thing up in advance. Have your
running shoes prepared, beverages, towel and a dry shirt to run in (your
shirt will get clammy from cycling or running inside). Attempt to main-
tain a strategic distance from delays among cycling and running, (for
example, searching for your front entryway keys). You need to get run-
ning when you jump off the bicycle.

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TRY OUT OUR VACILLATING BRICK WORKOUT
Designed to mimic the specific stress of racing, this vacillating brick
allows for race-day simulation without compromising the ability to im-
prove run performance from excess bike fatigue. Because of its general
proximity to a race, this workout is generally done with the same nutri-
tion, gear, equipment, and apparel expected to be used onrace day.

PLANNED TOTAL: 90 MIN

WARMUP REPEAT BRICK SESSION 3 TIMES COOL DOWN

BIKE RUN TRANSITION BIKE TRANSITION BIKE

ZONE 1 ZONE 3 ZONE 1 ZONE 3 ZONE 1 ZONE 1

15 MIN 7 MIN 3 MIN 10 MIN 3 MIN 5 MIN

Warmup
Begin with a 15 minute low intensity bike warmup in Zone 1.

Vacillating Brick Session

Run 7 minutes in zone 3, followed by a quick transition into a 10 minute
Zone 3 bike workout. Transition once more repeating this routine three
times. These transitions should be quick and no more than a 3 minute
duration.

Cool Down
Wrap up your training session with a 5 minute low intensity cool down
in Zone 1.

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR ZONES

 ZONE 1 - Very low intensity. Staying within it usually requires that you
actively hold yourself back to a pace that’s slower than your natural
pace. The common exception is when a Zone 1 segment follows a
tiring high-intensity effort. The important thing to understand is that
it’s almost impossible to go too slow when you’re aiming for Zone 1,
whereas it’s very easy and all to common to go too fast.

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 ZONE 2 - Zone 2 is fairly broad. You might wonder, “Where exactly
within this zone should I be?” As a general rule, we encourage tri-
athletes to go by feel. If you feel strong, swim, ride, or run near the
top end of Zone 2. If you feel tired or sluggish, go ahead and allow
yourself to exercise near the bottom end.

 ZONE 3 - Zone 3 corresponds to lactate threshold intensity and

marks the beginning of “legitimate” moderate to high intensity.
Thinking in “threshold” terms can help you find this zone and stay
in it by feel. The feeling of swimming, riding, or running in Zone 3
is often described as “comfortably hard,” or as the fastest speed
that still feels relaxed. When you perform a Zone 3 effort, imagine
there’s a cliff edge in front of you that represents the feeling of strain
that accompanies faster speeds. Always stay one or two steps back
from that precipice when training in Zone 3.