OXNARD, Calif. -- The Dallas Cowboys receivers head to the corner of a practice field as a long day at training camp comes to an end.

But before it's over, the receivers have to hit the bricks.

Twenty-five-pound bricks are lined up for each of the receivers to pick up and carry from one side of the end zone to the other. After one trip, players flex their forearms and wiggle their fingers. They look at the bricks with the same disdain they have for cornerbacks.

“It’s at the end of practice, and that’s what really makes it hard,” rookie receiver Michael Gallup said. “If you come out here right when practice starts, it probably wouldn’t be too slippery or nothing like that, but it’s a good little technique he has.”

New wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal is the architect of this training method. He did not have the receivers do it during the offseason program at The Star.

"When we get grabbed, we want to be able to rip [the defender’s] arm off and pull through,” Lal said. “Hand strength is huge.”

The receivers are told to walk with them as far as they can. Gallup said Cole Beasley and Deonte Thompson are the best. They can go a little farther than up and back. But the idea is wherever you stop, beat that point the next time.

“Shoot, we’re catching whatever we can out there, trying to catch everything,” Gallup said. “But I’m pretty sure Sanjay’s not going to tell us to do anything that ain’t good for us.”

In years past, most of the exotic drills belonged to tight ends coach Mike Pope. He would throw buckets of ice at his players as a pass was in the air. He had them wear goggles that limited their field of vision. Coach Jason Garrett remembers seeing now-retired tight end Jason Witten diving for passes in a pool at training camp.

“You’re always looking for ways to get better,” Garrett said.

The pain, however, is real. During the course of a practice, a receiver can have his fingers jammed from blocking defensive backs or catching passes. Their legs get worn out by running route after route after route. Their feet get so sore, at times, that they take off their cleats.

But the bricks are a different matter, even if they see the benefits.

“It definitely works your hands and actually your forearms, too,” Beasley said. “Just gets really sore. It’s easy the way over, but the way back sucks, yeah.”