What is a Brick Workout?
A brick workout combines two disciplines back-to-back with little to no rest, mimicking race conditions. It most often refers to cycling followed by running but can include swimming to cycling or swimming to running in events like aquathlons or aquabikes. These workouts are named for the heavy, wobbly feeling in your legs during the transition.
Brick workouts are critical for multi-sport athletes. They help your body adapt to switching between disciplines, improve pacing and technique, and build endurance.

Why Are Brick Workouts Important?
Muscle Adaptation
Switching disciplines engages different muscle groups. Cycling relies on quads and hamstrings, while running uses calves and glutes. Swimming involves the upper body but shifts effort to the legs during transitions. Brick workouts improve these transitions, reducing “jelly legs” and enhancing efficiency.
Race Simulation
They prepare your body for the fatigue and stress of consecutive disciplines, especially the first mile after a transition. This helps optimize performance during key race phases.
Pacing and Technique
Bricks help maintain form and proper pacing while fatigued, reducing injury risk and improving race outcomes. The perception of speed you have on a bike can make you begin your run too fast. Practice will help you improve your pacing.
Mental Toughness and Endurance
They build resilience by challenging you to push through fatigue. Bricks also extend training duration, improving stamina.
I typically provide a regular brick session during training plans for multisport events such as triathlon for these reasons. You get so much more than just increasing your fitness levels from them.
How to Perform a Brick Workout

- Warm-Up
Do 5–10 minutes of light cardio, followed by dynamic stretches like leg swings and arm circles. - First Discipline
Complete your swim, bike, or run with focus on form and pacing. - Transition
Keep transitions quick and efficient. Practice swapping shoes or gear to mimic race conditions. - Second Discipline
Start the second activity at a moderate pace, increasing intensity as your muscles loosen and adjust. - Cool-Down
Finish with 5–10 minutes of easy cardio and static stretches to recover.
Example Workout
- Bike: 30 minutes, at a moderate intensity
- Run: 20 minutes, at an easy pace
There are so many different varieties of brick session that you can perform, you can mix up duration, distance, intensity and frequency of intervals. Regardless of your level and point in your training season, you can create a brick session that is at your level and will benefit you in the long term.
Advanced Brick Variations
Here are a few more advanced level brick workout variations:
Sprint Triathlon Bricks:
- Bike 5 miles → run 1 mile (→ repeat)
- Swim 400 meters → bike 3 miles (→ repeat)
Long Distance Interval Session Bricks:
- Ride 2 hours in zone 2, finish with 2 x 15 Minute Race Pace Efforts → 5 Miles Race Pace
- Swim 2 x 1500m at Race Intensity with 1 Minute Recovery → 2 Hour Ride of 30 Minutes Race Pace, 30 Minutes Easy.
Practice Triathlon:
Simulate race conditions by completing all three disciplines in sequence at reduced distances.
Off-Order Bricks:
You can also reverse the sequence (e.g., running before biking) to train fresh-leg speed or mimic late-race fatigue.

Common Mistakes to Avoid
Because there are so many variations for brick session it would be hard to list every possible mistake, these are the most common for every brick session:
- Starting Too Hard
Begin with shorter, less intense bricks and gradually increase effort. - Ignoring Nutrition
Practice hydration and fuelling strategies to prepare you for an intense race day. - Skipping Recovery
Rest when needed to avoid over training or injury.
Adapting to Fitness Levels
- Beginners: Start with short, low-intensity bricks.
- Intermediate: Increase intensity to one of the disciplines or add intervals.
- Advanced: Include race-specific distances and intensities, or do extended sessions such as Bike – Run – Bike – Run.
Example Off-Order Brick Workout
Designed for long distance triathlon training:
- Run: 60 minutes with 6 × 2-minute tempo intervals.
- Bike: 120 minutes with 3 × 20 minutes at race effort.
Conclusion
Brick workouts are essential for multi-sport athletes. They improve transitions, build endurance, and enhance mental resilience. Begin with shorter sessions, practice transitions, and progress gradually to maximize race-day performance.