Summary:
Threshold bricks give you different ways to combine harder cycling and running within your Olympic triathlon preparation. These ten sessions offer structured bike-to-run workouts you can adapt to your experience, helping you practise managing the effort across both parts of the session.
Exploring Threshold Bricks for Olympic Triathlon
A brick session lets you experience a bike effort through the running that follows it. A ride that feels controlled on its own may leave you working harder than expected once you change disciplines, giving you useful feedback about how you judged the cycling. Including threshold work brings a more demanding element to that combination. The aim is to complete the planned efforts with control across the whole workout, giving both the bike and run the attention they need.
The ten sessions below provide options for exploring that challenge during your Olympic triathlon training. Look at the combined workload when choosing a session, including any easier riding or running around the threshold efforts. If the full workout feels like a large step from your recent training, shorten one of the sections or complete fewer repetitions. Becoming comfortable with a smaller version gives you a useful starting point without needing to take on every part at once.
Our How to Use Training Zones in Olympic Triathlon Training guide explains how to use the different intensities across your preparation. Our Bike Calculators and Running Calculators can help you establish the discipline-specific ranges to guide each part of these sessions.
10 Threshold Brick Sessions for Olympic Triathlon Training
1. Threshold Bike Into Tempo Run
Purpose: Combines sustained threshold cycling with continuous tempo running, developing your ability to settle into a controlled run after harder bike efforts.
Bike Warm-Up: 10 min easy spin, including 3 brief cadence increases at light resistance with easy spinning between
Bike Main Set: 2 × 10 min @ Zone 4 (3 min easy spin between)
Transition Jog: 5 min easy jog
Run Main Set: 20 min @ Zone 3
Cool-Down: 10 min jog
2. Bike and Run Threshold Repeats
Purpose: Introduces threshold efforts in both disciplines, using recovery between repetitions to help maintain the quality of the running after cycling.
Bike Warm-Up: 10 min easy spin
Bike Main Set: 2 × 10 min @ Zone 4 (5 min easy spin between)
Transition Jog: 5 min easy jog
Run Main Set: 2 × 6 min @ Zone 4 (2 min easy jog between)
Cool-Down: 10 min jog
3. Progressive Threshold Brick
Purpose: Builds the cycling intensity through successive zones before a run that progresses from tempo into threshold, giving you practice managing each increase in effort.
Bike Warm-Up: 10 min easy spin
Bike Main Set: 8 min @ Zone 2 → 8 min @ Zone 3 → 8 min @ Zone 4
Transition Jog: 5 min easy jog
Run Main Set: 5 min @ Zone 3 → 10 min @ Zone 4
Cool-Down: 10 min jog
4. Short Bike Repeats Into Longer Run Efforts
Purpose: Pairs shorter threshold bike repetitions with longer running intervals, shifting the challenge towards sustaining each effort once you are on foot.
Bike Warm-Up: 10 min easy spin
Bike Main Set: 3 × (5 min @ Zone 4 → 2 min easy spin)
Transition Jog: 5 min easy jog
Run Main Set: 2 × 8 min @ Zone 4 (3 min easy jog between)
Cool-Down: 10 min jog
5. Long Bike Intervals Into Short Run Repeats
Purpose: Extends the threshold efforts on the bike before dividing the harder running into shorter repetitions with regular recovery.
Bike Warm-Up: 10 min easy spin
Bike Main Set: 2 × 12 min @ Zone 4 (4 min easy spin between)
Transition Jog: 5 min easy jog
Run Main Set: 4 × 3 min @ Zone 4 (90 sec easy jog between)
Cool-Down: 10 min jog
6. Alternating Tempo and Threshold Brick
Purpose: Develops your ability to move from tempo into threshold within repeated blocks, managing changes in effort on both the bike and run.
Bike Warm-Up: 10 min easy spin
Bike Main Set: 3 × (3 min @ Zone 3 → 5 min @ Zone 4) (2 min easy spin between sets)
Transition Jog: 5 min easy jog
Run Main Set: 2 × (3 min @ Zone 3 → 5 min @ Zone 4) (2 min easy jog between sets)
Cool-Down: 10 min jog
7. Short Threshold Blocks
Purpose: Accumulates threshold work through shorter efforts in both disciplines, with brief run recoveries challenging you to maintain consistency through the final repetitions.
Bike Warm-Up: 10 min easy spin
Bike Main Set: 4 × 5 min @ Zone 4 (2 min easy spin between)
Transition Jog: 5 min easy jog
Run Main Set: 4 × 4 min @ Zone 4 (1 min easy jog between)
Cool-Down: 10 min jog
8. Threshold Ladder Brick
Purpose: Increases the length of each threshold repetition on the bike and run, asking you to maintain control as the efforts become longer.
Bike Warm-Up: 10 min easy spin
Bike Main Set: 6 min → 8 min → 10 min @ Zone 4 (3 min easy spin between)
Transition Jog: 5 min easy jog
Run Main Set: 3 min → 4 min → 5 min @ Zone 4 (2 min easy jog between)
Cool-Down: 10 min jog
9. Tempo Into Threshold Brick
Purpose: Places threshold work at the end of continuous tempo efforts in both disciplines, developing your ability to increase the intensity without a recovery break.
Bike Warm-Up: 10 min easy spin
Bike Main Set: 20 min @ Zone 3 → 8 min @ Zone 4
Transition Jog: 5 min easy jog
Run Main Set: 8 min @ Zone 3 → 8 min @ Zone 4
Cool-Down: 10 min jog
10. Endurance Bike Into Threshold Brick
Purpose: Introduces threshold cycling after a longer endurance block, followed by a sustained threshold run that requires careful management of the earlier bike effort.
Bike Warm-Up: 10 min easy spin
Bike Main Set: 40 min @ Zone 2 → 10 min @ Zone 4
Transition Jog: 5 min easy jog
Run Main Set: 12 min @ Zone 4
Cool-Down: 10 min jog
Choosing Where a Threshold Brick Fits
Combining two demanding disciplines makes a threshold brick worth considering as a whole when planning your week. Even if the bike and run sections are shorter than workouts you would usually complete separately, doing them together can change how you respond. Give the session a place where you can approach both parts prepared for the work and allow for its recovery demands before your next harder workout.
It can also help to reflect on each discipline separately afterwards. You might have managed the cycling comfortably but struggled to settle into the run or started running well before finding the later efforts too demanding. Those experiences can guide a practical adjustment next time, whether that means a more measured bike effort or less running. Returning to a familiar brick gives you an opportunity to apply what you learned while keeping the session recognisable.
Our Why Is Threshold Training Useful for Olympic Triathlon? guide takes a deeper look at threshold training and its role within your Olympic-distance preparation.
Final Thoughts
There is a particular satisfaction in finishing a brick and feeling that the bike and run worked well together. The change of discipline gives the session a different rhythm and learning how to approach it can make your training more engaging. Threshold work adds a challenge that you can explore as you become more confident combining the two.
Let these workouts give you ideas for the sessions you want to return to throughout your Olympic triathlon preparation. Some combinations may suit you immediately, while others make more sense as your training develops. Enjoy finding the balance that works for you and the growing familiarity of stepping off the bike with a run still to come.
Always consult with a medical professional or certified coach before beginning any new training program. The information provided is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for personalized advice.
