Brick Workouts

I officially and finally made it through one month of post recovery from my half marathon adventure in 2013. I did workout and I did run during January, but I also put some limitations on my efforts. In other words, I backed off the frequency and monotony of the same workout so many days per week. I didn’t get up early a single morning to workout (which is quite the opposite from 2013). I didn’t even workout outside because the weather has been so miserably cold.

What I did do during January was start working my muscles in every way possible and not duplicate a single workout. Whether it was changing up the intensity or simple making the workout longer or shorter, I tried to mix it up as much as possible. It’s made working out indoors bearable for me!  I’ve been focused on slow, long distance running (literally running almost 2 minutes slower than my normal pace), cycling, rowing and strength training.  Those are all my favorites!

I’ve made it even more fun for myself by working in bricks as much as possible.  A brick workout is when you do multiple sports in the same workout. For example, a row-run brick would be rowing for a period of time and then immediately transitioning to running for a similar duration.  You might have to take some time to transition.  When I do a bike-row-run brick, I have to stop after biking to change my shoes. Sometimes in the transition I need to grab mid-workout fuel.  This is similar to watching a triathlete, for example, compete.
  

Ultimately I’m trying to build my endurance for long race events.  I love adventure racing and I’m also eyeing an ultramarathon later this year.  In order to be prepared and trained for either, I need to start somewhere with building up that endurance.  So far it’s keeping my muscles fresh and engaged.  However, I haven’t technically started any training plans yet, but most require some level of fitness before you begin. 

The strength training has made a huge difference too.  I see a big change in muscle definition across my shoulders, chest and arms.  While I have also felt slight variances in my hamstring, I believe that the wide variety of ways my muscles are being worked is to my advantage and keeping my hamstring strong.  I spend around 30 minutes working upper and lower body with free weights, bands and body weight.  I also work in short bursts of cardio during the entire routine.  I’ve included jumping jacks, jumping rope, kicks, kickbacks and speed skaters. 

Just remember that when exercise becomes boring and monotonous, and you feel like you’ve hit a wall in terms of your fitness level, switch it up.  I have found a renewed excitement for particular sports and look forward to filling my race calendar this year!  Feel free to share any races you’ve lined up on your calendar this year.

Miss FitGab