Purple Patch Podcast

If you care about performance, if you want to understand the mechanics of training, if you're invested in optimizing your training returns to yield the best adaptations, then this episode is assuredly for you. Matt Dixon welcomes a conversation with Exercise Physiologist, Dr. Stephen Seiler, a living legend in the world of Sports Science and Training Methodology. After unpacking Dr. Seiler's backg...

This week in the United States, it's Memorial Day Weekend, where we take a moment to reflect and honor those who have served in the military. Today, we celebrate by welcoming long-time Purple Patch coach and veteran, Sean Garick. Sean didn't get into coaching simply by being an endurance athlete-turned-coach. His background is something entirely different. He's an aerospace engineer, a longtime Un...

In this special episode, Matt speaks with a living legend in the sport of triathlon - Greg Bennett. Not only is Greg one of the best triathletes in the world, but he has also successfully transitioned to a business owner as a corporate coach, speaker and podcaster. This conversation paints a wonderful illustration of a successful athlete transitioning to build a business, all with a wealth of pers...

It was inevitable. After a full calendar of racing was canceled in 2020, we knew that 2021 was going to be the year of deferrals and stacked event calendars. And now, here we are in the midst of the training season for this upcoming cluster of races that all feel important to you. You did invest the money and emotional energy into these races, after all, and you rightfully expect a positive return...

Now that restrictions are lifting and we're emerging from the fog of Covid-19, you may be deciding to take on a challenge - to TRAIN for something. It's your time to embrace the journey and go on a charge to challenge yourself, to stay consistent, and to achieve big hairy audacious goals. Today, Matt strips it all down to the fundamentals, to reground you, reset the mindset, and course correct in...

Today, Matt provides his insight on successful race day execution . It is a Dixon deep dive into all of the elements to ensure you are able to meet your trained potential with race day performance. It is normal and common for you to feel a little anxiety, even fear, when you return to racing. You are rusty, it has been a while, and the event feels bigger because of the gap from the last race. Ackn...

The Purple Patch Podcast Triathlon Takeover strides towards the finish line this week where Matt takes you through all you need to know to help facilitate hitting your potential on the run - including shoe choice, nutrition, terrain, and even walking your way to your fastest run performance. It is a triathlete's guide to run success. You come out of T2 and all you need to do is run to the finish. ...

The Purple Patch Podcast Triathlon Takeover rolls on this week with an hour of power on all things related to bike performance and race-day execution. Optimum bike fit, posture, equipment, and pacing strategies are all covered in this episode that features two of the best in the industry, Ivan O'Gorman and Chris Soden of IOG Bike Fit and Consulting . As you'll hear, IOG's approach to consulting is...

The Purple Patch Podcast 'Triathlon Takeover' continues with a step-by-step guide to race day fueling and hydration with Sports Scientist and Precision Hydration Co-Founder, Andy Blow. Matt and Andy identify and explain the three levers of race fueling –  Fluids (water) Electrolytes Calories/carbohydrates Then, they outline your race day fueling prescription depending on race intensity, distance,...

The swim leg of any triathlon is one that elicits stress and fear. You're entering into murky water with the blinding sun in your eyes. There are choppy waves that are seemingly predestined to make their way into your lungs. All the while, you're getting very physical with hundreds of your closest friends. Swim anxiety is real, especially in open water swimming. Today, Coach Matt Dixon and Coach J...

Celebrate Good Times, C'mon! Fasten your seat belts, folks. It is time to get back to racing and over the course of the next several weeks, the podcast is executing a "triathlon takeover" - focusing on everything you'll need to implement a successful return to racing after our extended hiatus. Today's episode lays the groundwork to arm you with the knowledge, mindset, and tactics for a confident e...

Obsession. It isn't an easy topic, but it's an important one and Matt explores this fine line between a healthy commitment to performance vs. an unhealthy obsession in today's episode that sets the backdrop of future episodes. Remember, the pursuit and excellence in your sporting goals aren't the only measures of success. We define success as nailing that part, but by pursuing these goals, you als...

Athletes often think of recovery as a weakness or liability to their training.  Unfortunately, our barometer of success is often a simple accumulation of training hours without regard to the quality of those hours or what we do in between. If we do give a thought to recovery, it's usually in the form of a rest day or a little foam rolling after a tough session. But, is this true recovery? Are we r...

Consistency - the magic ingredient of success for those seeking to penetrate the thin air of word-class performance, to succeed in their journey to a first finish line, or to thrive in life performance. While every coach will tell you this is the magic bullet for success, not all will explain the HOW of developing consistency in a time-starved life. Via personal story and an athlete case study, Ma...

There is a common thread that unites all Purple Patch athletes, and likely, all athletes in general - the desire to IMPROVE. Whether winning a world championship or optimizing energy throughout the day, we, as humans, embrace and enjoy the journey more when we improve and when we see progression. So, if you want to improve and go faster, you need to train faster, right?? Well, yes, sometimes . But...

You may be committed to, or thinking about committing to, your very first IRONMAN® event. You might be salivating at a return to racing following a very dry 2020 season, or, you could be committed to making this your best race season ever and are desperate to get it right. What does it take to have your best performance at IRONMAN® racing? There is no escaping the requirement to thoroughly prepare...

Wearables, FTP, Sleep, HRV, Pace, Power, Sleep, Calories... There are so many opportunities to track things. As an athlete and a performance-minded fitness enthusiast, what are some aspects of your training and performance that you might consider tracking? And, most importantly, in what context? Today, we dive into data and provide a performance lens to create a workable marriage between those fee...

Who is the 'King of Toughness?' The 'Queen of Managing Adversity?' Who had an almost mystical ability to focus on a task, even as stress and distraction amplified? Which of the Purple Patch Pros is the 'King of Lazy,' all the while finding consistent world-class performance? Enjoy this rare coach's insight into some of the special traits, skills, and elements of the pros (well beyond physical prow...

The premise of the Purple Patch podcast is all about performance and helping you enhance your performance journey to become the best that you can be in sport and in life. This week is part two of the in-depth performance discussion with Alex Hutchinson, who is a leading researcher on everything cutting-edge in the world of athletic performance. Hutchinson is a science journalist who writes about f...

The premise of the Purple Patch podcast is all about performance and helping you enhance your performance journey to become the best that you can be in sport and in life. As the performance engines rev up in 2021, it is more vital than ever to educate and empower all human beings to reach their athletic potential because, through the lens of athletic potential, you reach your human potential. For...

Yes, we're still in the midst of it all and racing feels like a way off, but it is time to begin to build your base for performance. Yes...starting NOW. I don't want you to let this opportunity bypass you. Admittedly the postseason/prep-phase of training is not usually the favorite of athletes and yet, it's so critical that you can't be race-ready without it.  The problem with this kind of prepara...

Matt lays down a solid foundation on STAYING POWER - creating and cementing performance habits, especially in the popular areas of nutrition and strength. First, though, we must differentiate between a habit and a resolution. A habit is something that stays with you - becomes a part of you -- for the long-term.  A resolution , conversely, is quite often a self-imposed intervention and reeks of uns...

A coach is not the catalyst to your success and breakthroughs don't lie in a software platform or a wristwatch. You are the one who determines if you achieve success and, in this episode, Matt provides perspective and three steps to find the best coaching fit for you. Ask yourself: What are your needs and what type of support do you need? Go shopping to find the best relationship that meets your n...

Matt Dixon is back with his 2020 Holiday Gift Guide and, in a year that was anything but ordinary, we hope these gift ideas spark a little extraordinary creativity, love, and thought. We also hope they ignite a little positive motivation to start your own performance journey in 2021. Sport has the potential to amplify life, happiness, resilience, and adaptability and we're here to provide the tool...

Some athletes think about "strength" in terms of push-ups and pull-ups, others think about bodybuilders and weightlifting. Strength training for multisport development is NOT strictly weightlifting. Matt talks with long-time Purple Patch Coach, Mike Olzinski, about the role of strength training in endurance sports and life performance. According to Olzinski, a comprehensive strength training progr...