Purple Patch Podcast

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Learn more about Purple Patch Squad High-Performance Training Program

Purple Patch and Episode Resources

This episode is sponsored by our collaboration with INSIDE TRACKER. Inside Tracker and Purple Patch - Receive 20% off their services with code: PURPLEPATCHPRO20

Ask Matt Anything - Leave a voicemail question for Matt

Join Bike Squad - Don't just exercise and work out; learn to train with our structured online cycling program

Join Run Squad - Increase your running performance through our progressive, multi-sport approach to running

Learn more about Purple Patch Fully Customized 1:1 Coaching

Stay Up-to-Date with Purple Patch News and Events

Episode 259: Training for a Time-Starved Athlete Mar 22, 2023

Show notes

Today on the Purple Patch Podcast, Ironman Master Coach Matt Dixon takes a fresh look at how to structure training for a time-starved athlete.

Whether you're training for an endurance event, either competitively or simply for personal enjoyment, Matt provides a ground-up framework of how to maximize your training approach to be successful.

Matt shares 5 principles to help build your time-starved training plan.

Establishing a mindset that can optimize your training impact.

Life is not a spreadsheet. Life is a living, breathing, dirty, unpredictable thing that we love. It ebbs and it flows. Your life demands and your stresses amplify, and then they settle for a bit. And therefore your approach, your training plan, needs to be able to flow and synchronize and dance with this stark reality. -14:31

Tools to ensure each week of training can be productive, no matter how time-starved you are.

We actually build into the construction of a training program, a little bit of a management tool, that when your energy is good, and when life allows, you can show up, be present and do hugely challenging sessions successfully. -19:13

Why Intensity is an important tool for your approach.

If you are a time-starved athlete, you better lean into getting comfortable, being very uncomfortable, because that is the thing that yields the performance progression.

Key strategies to get the training in without it taking over your life.

For multi-sport athletes, it's a real puzzle for you to fit all of the training sessions into your plan in any given week. And once again, we come back to this and say as a time-starved athlete, I encourage you to think outside of the box. -28:22

How team training can ignite your performance if done correctly.

It's really, really hard to go on this journey alone. And so whether you can create some in person or even online component to it, the feeling of belonging and team is a huge catalyst for performance.-31:55

Matt's approach has secured great outcomes for time-starved athletes of all levels. People who, upon adopting the purple patch approach, believed they could never get faster or ever make time to fit in the training needed to hit their goals.

We invite you to listen to the show and join us. If you are a time-starved athlete looking for the right fit, we encourage you to contact us for a complimentary call to see if we can help educate and guide you to your best results.

Episode Timestamps

00:00 - 4:12 - Welcome and Episode Introduction

04:27 - 8:55 - Word of the Week

8:56 - 39:20 - The Meat and Potatoes - Episode 259: Training for a Time-Starved Athlete

Free Webinar - Maximize Your 70.3 or IRONMAN Performance as a Time-Starved Athlete

The Purple Patch Center is Open - Learn More and Schedule a Visit

Learn more about Purple Patch Squad High-Performance Training Program

Purple Patch and Episode Resources

This episode is sponsored by our collaboration with INSIDE TRACKER. Inside Tracker and Purple Patch - Receive 20% off their services with code: PURPLEPATCHPRO20

Ask Matt Anything - Leave a voicemail question for Matt

Join Bike Squad - Don't just exercise and work out; learn to train with our structured online cycling program

Join Run Squad - Increase your running performance through our progressive, multi-sport approach to running

Learn more about Purple Patch Fully Customized 1:1 Coaching

Stay Up-to-Date with Purple Patch News and Events

Episode 258: Developing the Youth Athlete - A Perspective from Matt Dixon Mar 15, 2023

Show notes

Who is the greatest athlete of all time? Take your pick. Once you have a name, ask yourself why? Beyond their physical abilities and talent, what sets them apart from the pack? What makes a great athlete?

It's a question that IRONMAN Master Coach Matt Dixon had the privilege of asking the committed group of young athletes with the BEAR DEVELOPMENT TEAM.

The team is made up of student-athletes, with lofty aspirations of their own, and includes some of the top talent in American Mountain Biking.

With answers like Lebron James, Serena Williams, Michael Phelps, and Lionel Messi, it was clear that each athlete shared a specific set of characteristics and traits that are at the heart of elite sports performance.

Matt believes any athlete can use these trainable traits to achieve their highest level of performance possible.

With many of the young athletes looking to develop into professional riders and find their own success in sport, Matt had the opportunity to speak to the group and share his perspective on what it takes to build a pro career as an endurance athlete.

What emerged from their discussion was a framework that is applicable across many sports and is accessible to everyone, from young and aspiring athletes to parents, coaches, and even seasoned athletes.

In today's episode of the Purple Patch Podcast, Matt breaks down his presentation to BEAR DEVELOPMENT TEAM and lays out five principles that you as an athlete can deploy and apply today in order to elevate your performance.

"There are very few guarantees in life, but I do guarantee you this -- if you take these principles that we talk through today, and you apply them, I guarantee you that you will progress in your ability to meet your trained potential with your race day performance on an endurance fashion. Because we are after long-term sustained high performance, that's what it means to become a great no matter what, or at least your version of great." - 15:53

We hope the insights gleaned from today's show will help you guide your young athletes or assist you in your own performance journey.

Episode Timestamps

00:00 - 5:41 - Welcome and Episode Introduction

05:48 - 9:43 - Matt's News-ings

9:51 - 43:40 - The Meat and Potatoes - Episode 258: Developing the Youth Athlete - A Perspective from Matt Dixon

Free Webinar - Maximize Your 70.3 or IRONMAN Performance as a Time-Starved Athlete

The Purple Patch Center is Open - Learn More and Schedule a Visit

Learn more about Purple Patch Squad High-Performance Training Program

Purple Patch and Episode Resources

This episode is sponsored by our collaboration with INSIDE TRACKER. Inside Tracker and Purple Patch - Receive 20% off their services with code: PURPLEPATCHPRO20

Ask Matt Anything - Leave a voicemail question for Matt

Join Bike Squad - Don't just exercise and work out; learn to train with our structured online cycling program

Join Run Squad - Increase your running performance through our progressive, multi-sport approach to running

Learn more about Purple Patch Fully Customized 1:1 Coaching

Stay Up-to-Date with Purple Patch News and Events

Episode 257: Leveraging Indoor Training to Optimize Your Performance Mar 08, 2023

Show notes

With record rain and snowfall across most of the United States, there seems to be no better time to fix our lens on the strategic application of indoor training in your performance journey.

"Indoor training isn't about just replicating your outdoor sessions into a less favorable environment. It's specifically thinking about what is the appropriate training to do while you're in this environment, and also connecting that training to what you are going to be doing outdoors." (26:54)

In this episode of the Purple Patch Podcast, IRONMAN Master Coach Matt Dixon covers indoor training techniques you can use every winter to help set yourself up for success. Matt highlights 3 case studies of real, time-starved, Purple Patch athletes, all with different skill levels and aspirations, who leveraged their indoor training to build a foundation for their performance.

The athletes' stories provide examples of thinking outside of the box to focus on specific areas of your performance you can build on for the season ahead.

"What you do in the winter, in the indoor training is the bedrock for the big performance gain potential that comes in the six months following. But it's not about just piling on fitness. It's about specificity." (28:02)

The case studies emphasize the benefits of optimizing indoor training as well as the pragmatic approach each athlete used to emerge with amplified athletic performance, improved health, and a refocused mindset aimed at each of their individual pursuits.

Matt also shares details on how you can leverage Purple Patch resources in your own performance journey either remotely or in person via the Purple Patch Performance Center.

Episode Timestamps

00:00 - 3:29 - Welcome and Episode Introduction

03:37 - 8:15 - Matt's News-ings

8:22 - 55:48 - The Meat and Potatoes - Episode 257: Leveraging Indoor Training to Optimize Your Performance

Free Webinar - Maximize Your 70.3 or IRONMAN Performance as a Time-Starved Athlete

The Purple Patch Center is Open - Learn More and Schedule a Visit

Learn more about Purple Patch Squad High-Performance Training Program

Purple Patch and Episode Resources

This episode is sponsored by our collaboration with INSIDE TRACKER. Inside Tracker and Purple Patch - Receive 20% off their services with code: PURPLEPATCHPRO20

Ask Matt Anything - Leave a voicemail question for Matt

Join Bike Squad - Don't just exercise and work out; learn to train with our structured online cycling program

Join Run Squad - Increase your running performance through our progressive, multi-sport approach to running

Learn more about Purple Patch Fully Customized 1:1 Coaching

Stay Up-to-Date with Purple Patch News and Events

High-Intensity Training Linked to Reduced Risk of Cancer and Recurrence

Episode 256: There Is No Easy Way, But You Can Do It: Building the Mindset To Thrive in Sport (and Life) Mar 01, 2023

Show notes

In today's episode of the Purple Patch Podcast, IRONMAN Master Coach Matt Dixon takes us back to the core values of Purple Patch Fitness to help provide perspective on framing your performance mindset.

The simple fact is, anything worthwhile is inherently difficult. The road to Kona is riddled with adversity. As is spearheading the drive for your team or company's success. Most of the time, that's part of the fun. The challenge is the game.

The goal always requires commitment, consistency, and hard work, but as time-starved athletes, you are faced with an optimization challenge. Where do you make the time for family, work, and training? How do you fit the performance journey into your already crowded schedule?

There are many approaches that pitch the "less is more" mindset or "the easy way to (insert goal here)." But there is no shortcut, quick fix, or expert trick. Some approaches promise to help you find harmony and balance, but they miss the mark of your specific challenges and what you are trying to achieve.

"Trying to hide from friction or challenge, and seeking some utopian magic pathway that's bathed in balance, it's nonsense." (20:25)

Whether you are a time-starved athlete or a busy executive, the foundation Matt lays out will help you apply focus around the strategies and practices that can help you improve performance and develop the capacity to achieve long-term success.

"I'm not trying to diminish the challenge. Instead, what I'm doing is developing you and equipping you with tools to be able to respond to any challenge." (28:06)

Using the lens of the athlete and the executive, Matt explains how to leverage proven tactics and approaches to maximize the return on your hard work to deliver long-term sustainable performance in sport and life.

Additional Education From Today's Episode

High-Intensity Training's Anti-Aging Effect on Skin Cells

Episode Timestamps

00:00 - 3:10 - Welcome and Episode Introduction

03:19 - 5:21 - Matt's News-ings

05:36 - 10:20 - Word of the Week

10:27 - 30:11 - The Meat and Potatoes - Episode 256: There Is No Easy Way, But You Can Do It: Building the Mindset To Thrive in Sport (and Life)

Lauren Fleshman - Interview and Book Signing at The Purple Patch Center

Free Webinar - Maximize Your 70.3 or IRONMAN Performance as a Time-Starved Athlete

The Purple Patch Center is Open - Learn More and Schedule a Visit

Learn more about Purple Patch Squad High-Performance Training Program

Purple Patch and Episode Resources

This episode is sponsored by our collaboration with INSIDE TRACKER. Inside Tracker and Purple Patch - Receive 20% off their services with code: PURPLEPATCHPRO20

Ask Matt Anything - Leave a voicemail question for Matt

Join Bike Squad - Don't just exercise and work out; learn to train with our structured online cycling program

Join Run Squad - Increase your running performance through our progressive, multi-sport approach to running

Learn more about Purple Patch Fully Customized 1:1 Coaching

Stay Up-to-Date with Purple Patch News and Events

Episode 255: Data and Analytics - How You Can Leverage for Better Performance in a Time-starved Life Feb 22, 2023

Show notes

Data, metrics, technology, and analytics - there are tools and tech that measure everything for an athlete. Wearables and apps track your sleep data, monitor your glucose, detail your sweat composition, and offer an endless list of information.

For some people, tracking and assessing every training minute represents a drive toward high performance and specificity.

For others, the data is a distraction that can be confusing and even lead to paralysis of performance.

Some people go all in and build their performance around the information, while others prefer to ignore it and dismiss it altogether.

So, how do you find balance? How do you use the gadgets, tools, and available analytics to amplify your athletic performance?

In today's episode of the Purple Patch Podcast, Matt breaks down performance data into two main ideas looked at through the lens of the time-starved athlete.

Matt discusses:

How to get the most out of devices that track power and pace during training or a race.

By just viewing the simple fact that your power and pace is just simply information on output, it can open up the gateway to create a much more harmonious and powerful measure for you. (33:27)

and

How to leverage wearables and health-tracking devices without becoming consumed by the information.

If you choose to go out and get an Aura Ring or a Whoop band or look at some of the information that comes off of your watches, and you decide to utilize these tools, you better be able to get out of the weeds on the day to day basis, and come up for a broader perspective. (43:28)

Matt provides perspective on how to utilize data and metrics to support your progress, and how to identify what works for you and what is simply cluttering your performance journey.

Episode Timestamps

00:00 - 5:35 - Welcome and Episode Introduction

5:43 - 54:21 - The Meat and Potatoes - Episode 255: Data and Analytics - How You Can Leverage for Better Performance in a Time-starved Life

Lauren Fleshman - Interview and Book Signing at The Purple Patch Center

Free Webinar - Maximize Your 70.3 or IRONMAN Performance as a Time-Starved Athlete

The Purple Patch Center is Open - Learn More and Schedule a Visit

Learn more about Purple Patch Squad High-Performance Training Program

Purple Patch and Episode Resources

This episode is sponsored by our collaboration with INSIDE TRACKER. Inside Tracker and Purple Patch - Receive 20% off their services with code: PURPLEPATCHPRO20

Ask Matt Anything - Leave a voicemail question for Matt

Join Bike Squad - Don't just exercise and work out; learn to train with our structured online cycling program

Join Run Squad - Increase your running performance through our progressive, multi-sport approach to running

Learn more about Purple Patch Fully Customized 1:1 Coaching

Stay Up-to-Date with Purple Patch News and Events

Lauren Fleshman - Interview and Book Signing at The Purple Patch Center

Episode 254: A Smart Approach To Measuring Success In Your Performance Journey Feb 15, 2023

Show notes

Whether your goal as an athlete is to win a race or simply cross the finish line, it can often feel as though the only measure of success is race results. Every event is seemingly a pass-or-fail test reducing your performance journey to one athletic performance.

But how do you move beyond race day and embrace the entire Journey? How do you effectively gauge your improvement and progress?

In this episode of the Purple Patch Podcast, IRONMAN Master Coach Matt Dixon provides a framework for measuring improvement beyond the validation of a single race performance.

Matt provides a mindset built around key principles that will help you re-engage with your performance journey and provide an opportunity for you to place the focus on areas that will yield long-term success.

Episode Timestamps

00:00 - 5:34 - Welcome and Episode Introduction

05:41 - 8:58 - Matt's News-ings

09:06 - 45:22 - The Meat and Potatoes - Episode 254: A Smart Approach To Measuring Success In Your Performance Journey

Free Live Webinar - Optimize your IRONMAN and 70.3 Performance as a Time-Starved Athlete

The Purple Patch Center is Open - Learn More and Schedule a Visit

Learn more about Purple Patch Squad High-Performance Training Program

Purple Patch and Episode Resources

This episode is sponsored by our collaboration with INSIDE TRACKER. Inside Tracker and Purple Patch - Receive 20% off their services with code: PURPLEPATCHPRO20

Ask Matt Anything - Leave a voicemail question for Matt

Join Bike Squad - Don't just exercise and work out; learn to train with our structured online cycling program

Join Run Squad - Increase your running performance through our progressive, multi-sport approach to running

Learn more about Purple Patch Fully Customized 1:1 Coaching

Stay Up-to-Date with Purple Patch News and Events

The Effect of Strength Training on Performance in Endurance Athletes

Episode 253: Applying the Science of Strength - Integrating Strength Training for Specific Athlete Populations Feb 08, 2023

Show notes

Strength and conditioning are an integral part of every Purple Patch Athlete's training program. It is just one of our four Pillars of Performance: Endurance, Strength, Nutrition & Fueling, and Recovery.

In this episode of the Purple Patch Podcast Matt moves beyond how to build a strength program and the general benefits of strength training, and instead focuses on strength training as it pertains to three specific groups of athletes:

Endurance Athletes
Female Athletes - 35 to 60 years of age navigating perimenopause, and menopause.
Mature Athletes - Men and Women over the age of 45.

Matt provides research on how to leverage the benefits of strength training to tackle the unique physiological challenges each group faces.

An Outline of the Discussion

Defining strength and conditioning: A brief overview of strength training and the resources Purple Patch provides.
The benefits of strength training for Endurance Athletes:
- Improving coordination, power, speed, endurance, and muscular resilience.
- How to integrate a structured and progressive program.
Navigating perimenopause, and menopause:
- The benefits of strength on body Insulin regulation, energy utilization, bone density & cognitive health.
- The benefits of heavy lifting and muscle recruitment.
Mature Athletes:
- A focused look at cognitive health.
- Positive impacts of strength training on mood, daily energy, and reduction of disease risk.

We hope this episode will encourage you to embrace strength and conditioning and integrate it into your program, to improve your body, your mind, and your performance no matter what stage of life you are in.

More on the data provided in this episode:

Explosive-strength training improves 5-km running time by improving running economy and muscle power

Exercise beyond menopause: Dos and Don'ts

Information on Next Level by Dr. Stacey Sims

Purple Patch Podcast Episode 191: Lift Heavy, Get Fast - Why Every Endurance Athlete and Fitness Enthusiast Should Be Lifting Heavy - With Coach Mike Olzinski

Purple Patch Podcast Episode 146: Strength Training is Not Weightlifting - With Coach Mike Olzinski

Episode Timestamps

00:00 - 8:39 - Welcome and Episode Introduction

08:46 - 12:17 - Matt's News-ings

12:32 - 16:05 - Word of the Week

16:13 - 52:35 - The Meat and Potatoes - Episode 253: Applying the Science of Strength - Integrating Strength Training for Specific Athlete Populations

Free Live Webinar - Optimize your IRONMAN and 70.3 Performance as a Time-Starved Athlete

The Purple Patch Center is Open - Learn More and Schedule a Visit

Learn more about Purple Patch Squad High-Performance Training Program

Purple Patch and Episode Resources

This episode is sponsored by our collaboration with INSIDE TRACKER. Inside Tracker and Purple Patch - Receive 20% off their services with code: PURPLEPATCHPRO20

Ask Matt Anything - Leave a voicemail question for Matt

Join Bike Squad - Don't just exercise and work out; learn to train with our structured online cycling program

Join Run Squad - Increase your running performance through our progressive, multi-sport approach to running

Learn more about Purple Patch Fully Customized 1:1 Coaching

Stay Up-to-Date with Purple Patch News and Events