BRICK IT

7

Duathletes and triathletes carve out huge VO2 maxes with countless hours of swimming, cycling and running. Most of the time they’re done separately but, to maximise gains and mimic the race situation, they’re often ticked off one after the other. The most common ‘brick’, as these sessions are termed, is the bike to run, which works lots of muscles in the lower body.

‘One of my favourite sessions is a threehour ride, featuring a few hills but keeping my heart rate at around 65-70% of maximum,’ says South African Kyle Buckingham, who finished in the top 30 at the recent Ironman World Championships, putting him among the fittest athletes in the world. ‘That doesn’t sound like a lot but it really builds endurance.’

‘Follow this with a 30min mid-to-highintensity run,’ says Buckingham. That brief run may not sound a lot but post-bike your legs will feel like jelly. You don’t have to be a triathlete to benefit from these, although if you do them for six months you might be ready to race Buckingham in Hawaii.

PLANNING YOUR SESSION

One of these each week is plenty, ideally at the weekend where you have more time to exercise and more time to recover.