Purple Patch Podcast

Matt Dixon presents his annual gift-guide episode, a diverse list of ideas for holiday gifts all anchored in performance. Every one of these ideas is delivered after personal experience with Matt and the Purple Patch team, and we think they'll provide some inspiration for you and that favorite fitness enthusiast on your list. This holiday season, the best gifts are personal—and there's nothing mor...

Matt welcomes Dr. Chris Winter back to answer your questions about the importance and performance-enhancing effects of good SLEEP. If you think quality sleep has no bearing on your performance in life or sport, think again. "Doing Well" and simply "Being Able to Do" are two different things. Both Matt and Dr. Winter want you to do well and that is why they dig into your questions today, including:...

Matt welcomes Dr. Chris Winter back to the podcast to revisit our most potent performance enhancer, the secret to fitness improvement, heightened focus and clarity, better resilience and immune system, and a promise to the enhancement of your overall health. Today, Matt and Dr. Winter present your ultimate guide to sleep and help unpack the mystery of sleep. Key takeaways: His role as a Neurologis...

Matt takes a week off to pay tribute to his late Mother, Mary Owen. It is her influence that inspired him and his family's love of the outdoors, swimming, and, ultimately, coaching. What do you want to do with your life? Who or what is most important to you? Who are the folks that you want to keep in touch with? Don't let them go.   Learn More About Purple Patch Fitness, Training, and Education

Matt welcomes Coach Mike Olzinksi back to the podcast to discuss heavy strength training for both fitness enthusiasts and endurance athletes. This deep dive into heavy lifting will answer commonly asked questions and dispel myths around lifting, especially as it pertains to endurance athletes. They answer: Why should you incorporate heavy lifts into your strength sessions and what are the benefits...

In Part 3 of the Purple Patch series on performance nutrition, Matt Dixon, along with leading performance nutritionist, Scott Tindal, lift the veil on nutrition and fueling with nutrition case studies around real-life Purple Patch athletes. The goal for all? To frame a smarter common-sense approach to nutrition and fueling in order to build a long-term platform of health and resilience. This final...

As you shift away from the demands of racing in 2021, it is the prime time to focus on improving your weaknesses. Why Now? This is time because overall training stress is much lower and you're not under a burden to chase fitness for races. Coach Matt Dixon (with a little help from his silent sidekick, Barry) discusses converting your weaknesses to strengths and turning your liabilities into perfor...

In Part 2 of the Purple Patch series on performance nutrition, Matt Dixon, along with leading performance nutritionist, Scott Tindal, lift the veil on nutrition and fueling with nutrition case studies around real-life Purple Patch athletes. The goal? To frame a smarter common-sense approach to nutrition in order to build a long-term platform of health and resilience. This case study is centered ar...

What do you look for in a training program or group? What qualities will amplify your performance? Of course, you want a smart and progressive training plan throughout the season, but at Purple Patch, we believe there is so much more than just a "beef stew" of workouts. Matt and the team at Purple Patch want you to thrive in sport and life, develop great supporting habits around your training, and...

Coming off of a successful IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships where 85 Purple Patch athletes qualified, Coach Matt Dixon looks back at this event and shares insights and athlete stories of goal setting, habit creation, community, resilience, and success. He then outlines four components that are critical for you to achieve your success, especially if you, too, look to qualify at some point. 0:00-05:...

Matt revisits the popular subject of performance nutrition. Together, with leading performance nutritionist, Scott Tindal, they kick-start a miniseries of nutrition case studies around real-life Purple Patch athletes. The goal? To frame a smarter common-sense approach to nutrition in order to build a long-term platform of health and resilience. This first case study is centered around Purple Patch...

Matt does some time-travel in this discussion with six-time IRONMAN World Champion, Mark Allen. Together, they review the recent Collin's Cup race in Slovakia - the good, the bad, and the future of this excitin new format of racing. Mark was on the ground at the race as team captain for Team USA and provides his behind-the-scenes review of logistics, team selections, race day strategies, surprisin...

You're either progressing or regressing and, at Purple Patch, we want growth and evolution. We want you to continue to improve. Today, Matt outlines the framework of building in a successful break after your season has been completed without going backward. These actionable steps will allow you to embrace downtime and back off your hard training, but keep moving forward in your performance journey...

A defining component of Purple Patch Fitness is our highly distinct methodology and approach that frames a way of thinking and performance in both sport and life. Most think about Purple Patch as building a strong platform of health, and assisting time-starved athletes to thrive within limited training hours, and a strong focus on supporting habits, such as nutrition, strength, and sleep. The good...

He's back and better than ever at Badwater 135. Two years ago, Purple Patch athlete, Timothy Deer, completed his first Badwater 135 Ultra in just over 36 hours. This year, at age 56 and in some of the hottest historical race conditions, Deer finished again...faster, stronger, and healthier than ever. In fact, he was 11th overall, the first athlete 50+, and four hours faster than in 2019. The Badwa...

If you've raced this year, we hope allowed yourself the joy of "dusting the rust off" and approaching your events with a mindset of celebration. If you're still building up to your first race, you'll love this "best of" that encapsulates some of the earlier stand-alone episodes from earlier this year. In fact, we highly recommend you go back and listen in full to episodes 160-165. It was our 'tria...

Matt is on holiday this week, so we're releasing a recent interview he did on "The Greg Bennett Show," hosted by former Olympian and professional triathlete, Greg Bennett. It was a perfect match as Matt and Greg share many of the same philosophies around high-performance sport and life. In this episode, Matt: Shares his journey from collegiate swimmer to pro triathlete. Discusses the key lessons h...

We are thick into the 2021 race season and the most common questions we receive are always centered around hydration and fueling during training and racing. We're proud to welcome back Precision Hydration founder, Andy Blow, to answer your questions. Precision Hydration is, first and foremost, a hydration company, but they have recently expanded into new fueling products that include gels and a ca...

If you are running a marathon, prepping for a hot triathlon, getting primed for IRONMAN or IRONMAN 70.3 summer racing, then this episode is for you. Matt digs into performance readiness for HOT environments; more specifically, how to get heat adapted BEFORE your event. After outlining some rules around heat adaptation, Matt defines two of the best protocols for heat adaptation before your event: I...

There is no easy way to deliver high performance in life, work, or sport. It requires a tremendous amount of hard work, but performance only arises when your hard work is supported by downtime, rejuvenation, and really positive habits to health and vibrancy. Matt outlines the mental and physiological benefits of stepping away to facilitate mental and physical rejuvenation—the ultimate accelerant t...

You began the year with the best intentions, big ambition, and commitment to your BHAGS - your Big Hairy Audacious Goals. Unfortunately, things haven't gone quite as planned. You may be struggling or dealing with more adversity than you had anticipated. You may have fallen off the training wagon, or had a bad race result or two. It happens to the best of us because that's what the performance jour...

Matt is on holiday this week, so we're releasing a recent interview he did on "The Changeable" podcast hosted by Social Psychologist, Dr. Amy Johnson.  Dr. Johnson was Matt's guest last week when they discussed our brain's tendency to "get in the way" and take things that happen to us personally - sabotaging success and happiness. In this interview, Matt and Amy discuss failure, resilience, and th...

The Purple Patch Podcast is all about performance in sport, but also in broader life. We work with people who are seeking to improve and evolve their relationships or behavior patterns, ideally for the better. Our guest today is Social Psychologist and Coach, Dr. Amy Johnson. She, too, helps people who are seeking to improve their lives, mostly around freedom from and anxiety and unwanted habits....

Matt welcomes longtime Purple Patch athlete, Lars Tandrup, back to the podcast. In 2018, Lars and his wife lost everything in the Santa Rosa fires. He was left, quite literally, with only his pajamas - and even those were on fire as he escaped through acres of flames to safety. A few months after this tragedy, Lars came on the podcast to discuss how he hoped to emerge from this adversity. He sough...

You need support and guidance in your endeavors. You go and find an expert or coach who can help. And just like that...like magic dust...The results flow. Is it really that simple? No. It isn't. Ironically, so many folks just don't know how to be coached. There is an important perspective, mindset, and action that can enable a coaching relationship to flounder or flourish. When you get that right,...