Purple Patch Podcast

Alex Hutchinson Outside Magazine

151 What You Need to Know about Training and Nutrition: A Speed Round with Alex Hutchinson - Part 1 Jan 20, 2021

Show notes

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 the next two weeks, Matt features a little expert "speed dating" with Alex Hutchinson who is a leading researcher on everything cutting-edge in the world of performance.

In today's quick-hit series of discussions, Matt and Alex dig into the first two Purple Patch Pillars of Performance: Training and Nutrition.

What are their thoughts and what does the research show about things like:

The Coach-Athlete Relationship
Heart Rate Variability
Power Meters for Running
Training Mistakes of Aging Athletes
Cross-Training and HIIT Training
Diet Trends
Ice baths
Gut Health
Hydration

…And this is all just in Part One of the conversations with performance expert, researcher, author and athlete, Alex Hutchinson.

Get out your pads and pencils and prepare to take notes on this immersive diver in performance education.

Episode and Purple Patch Resources

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Email info@purplepatchfitness.com with questions about team training and strength programming.

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150 Let's Get Cracking: Race-Ready Fitness Starts Now Jan 13, 2021

Show notes

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 preparation is that the real rewards of this kind of training can only be seen in the rearview mirror. You can't make up deficits in this early work later in the season because you will be neck-deep in other goals. So our goal, therefore, is to build sustainable consistency with specificity that fits into the context of our lives.

This is where the all-important ARTERY SESSIONS come into play.

Artery Sessions are designed to help you put your finger on the "pulse" of your performance and provide a sense of continuity as your training progresses. The workouts will retain a familiar feel, but evolve through the season.

This is Essential: Don't think of these as benchmark tests. Instead, you are looking for a real read on physiological progress, so trying to redline to improve your time will only fool you into thinking your threshold is higher than it really is.

Even if immediate racing plans are murky, I encourage you to lean into ARTERY sessions -- that can run like an artery through your season -- to track and monitor the progress and effectiveness of your training.

What are these magical sessions that Purple Patch embraces throughout the year? You get to preview 12 of them!

This is a wonderful time to begin training with a purpose and the artery sessions are your backbone that you come to every three weeks. Apply patience, seek mini-victories, and build a massive season of performance.

Purple Patch Resources

Download our FREE Artery Sessions Here: https://www.purplepatchfitness.com/arterysessions

Email info@purplepatchfitness.com with questions about team training and strength programming.

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Purple Patch Performance Academy

149 Staying Power - Creating and Cementing Habit Change Jan 06, 2021

Show notes

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 unsustainability. These are often pass/fail short term fixes with very little chance of success.

Matt anchors this timely discussion around two always-popular topics of performance: strength training and nutrition. How do you go about making a long-lasting change without falling into short-term, pass/fail traps?

Here are some of the tips that Matt breaks down in detail.

Share the journey (for accountability)
Focus on the process, not the outcome
Seek mini-victories
Draw from the lessons of 2020

Habit formation.

It should feel like a small change, a small step. But it will be a step that makes a mighty echo across your performance spectrum.

Episode and Purple Patch Coaching Resources

Email info@purplepatchfitness.com to be the first to find out when our Strength programming becomes available

Listen to Episode 146 - Strength Training with Coach Mike Olzinski

1:1 Coaching

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Purple Patch Performance Academy

148 A How-To Guide on Finding the Right Coach for Your 2021 Journey Dec 23, 2020

Show notes

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 needs.
Develop a relationship that will evolve over time.

Once you've made the choice, get committed to the process! If you follow these three steps and you retain a clear head, your chances of having a fruitful coached journey will be amplified.

Purple Patch Coaching Resources

1:1 Coaching

Purple Patch Squad

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Download our Free Strength Workout Here

147 Matt Dixon's 2020 Holiday Gift Guide Dec 16, 2020

Show notes

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 tools you need. Let us know how we can help.

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

Shop Local

Consider a gift card or gifts from area running stores, athletic stores, and restaurants
Reach out to a local events producer and sign up for an area race or event

The Gift of Performance

Customized Purple Patch Gift Card - email us at info@purplepatchfitness.com and let's create a custom performance package
Tissue Health with Addaday.com - https://www.addaday.com/discount/T-Add-PPF-30

code: T-Add-PPF-30
Lauren Fleshman's Running and Training Journals

The Gift of Schwag

Gift of Chocolate from Dandelion Chocolate
Purple Patch/Precision Hydration Stainless Steel Water Bottle
Precisionhydration.com - promo code: purplepatch

The Gift of Scholarship and Charity - While the opportunities to help others are endless, here are two ideas:

Sponsor a Purple Patch athlete in 2021. Reach out to us at info@purplepatchfitness.com if you'd like to empower others to stay on their performance journey
Keep athletes in the game of life with a donation to Challenged Athletes Foundation

146 Strength Training is Not Weightlifting - with Coach Mike Olzinski Dec 09, 2020

Show notes

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 program consists of FIVE Basic Biomotor Building Blocks:

Mobility + Stability
Balance + Coordination
Strength → Endurance = Ability to do work
Power → Power Endurance = Ability to do work over time.
Speed → Speed Endurance (aka getting faster in a RACE) = Ability to do work over time while in motion

Matt and Mike discuss each of these elements in detail, along with common mistakes endurance athletes make in the process, how to incorporate a routine into a busy schedule, hormonal benefits, and why you shouldn't worry about gaining too much bulk.

Strength training is a Purple Patch Pillar of Performance that requires time, pateinece, and consistency, but, as you'll hear, the benefits extend FAR beyond simply 'getting strong.'

Remember, it's no different than any other concept in life, health, and performance. It is a life-long project. Starting is always better than not starting, but if there was ever a PERFECT time to start, it would be in the post-season or early in the year. Do yourself a favor and just get to the point where it starts to truly feel good. Success will only bread more success.

Purple Patch Resources

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145 Prepping Your Best Performance in 2021 Dec 02, 2020

Show notes

Let's set a framework for 2021 and to do so, it's important to know that what you do in the next nine to 12 weeks will likely determine your performance success for all of 2021.

This year especially, you cannot rely on re-running prior experiences or approaches to thrive going forward. You must learn lessons from adversity, plan within the context of your realities, and you must deploy some incremental aspects of your performance that -- perhaps -- were not important to you in prior years.

This episode is all about the Postseason, or the Preparatory Phase.

We don't train in the upcoming months. Instead, we prepare to train for the year ahead. How?

Providing specific focus and action items to focus on NOW -- and the coming two-three months.
Ensuring that our training and habit creation in the coming weeks and months are not rushed.
Applying focus with a long-term lens.
Developing a mindset of preparing the body to do the work over DOING the work.

Matt dives into two case studies of real-life athletes who have vastly different goals for 2021, but must employ a similar approach and athletic mindset to develop skills, resilience, and consistency.

If this part is done well, then the actual goal you establish will yield great joy, but it is who and what you become as you navigate the journey that is the most important yield. Keep this in mind, as this is the gold!

Purple Patch Resources

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Purple Patch Squad Black Friday SALE! - Between now and November 30th, 2020 ONLY

144 Mohamed Lahna - Accomplishment in the Face of Challenge and Adversity Nov 25, 2020

Show notes

What would you do if you were born without a femur in one of your legs and told you would never walk, especially, if you were born into a modest Moroccan family with no access to technology or real health assistance?

What if you had to endure the ridicule and shame that comes with rejection and exclusion from schoolmates and teachers who won't let you participate in organized sports?

Like today's guest, Mohamed Lahna, you would hopefully adapt and rise above. You would visit the local cobbler and develop your own ill-fitted shoewear. You would attempt to play sports and participate in soccer and swimming just like all of your friends - even when the odds are stacked against you.

You would dream big and, if you're anything like Mo, you would work your way to the Paralympics with a meteoric-like rise in endurance sports and, once again, against all odds, you would succeed.

Today's episode is not only a celebration of athletic achievement but also a recognition of emotional and physical resilience. Lahna provides lessons and inspiration for overcoming adversity as a disabled athlete. But, naturally, these are lessons that all can adopt in their daily lives. He also recognizes those who came on board to help him succeed: Matt Dixon, the Challenged Athletes Foundation, and even his French translator. These were people who treated him, not just as a disabled athlete, but a world-class athlete.

As we approach Thanksgiving and the holiday season in the United States, it's also our chance to celebrate Giving Tuesday, which is why we recognize the Challenged Athletes Foundation for the tireless work that they do to keep everyone in the game of life.

As Mohamed says on his website, "Sport has provided me a new sense of freedom and a changed outlook on life. We can do more than we ever imagined if we just dare ourselves to push a little harder, go a little further."

Purple Patch Resources

Purchase an Annual Squad Membership for 2021 and Receive Two-Months Free (That's a $198 savings!) - no refunds, no cancellations

We are encouraging the athlete community to transform the lives of physically challenged athletes.

Donate to Challenged Athletes Foundation

Mohamed Lahna Website

Thanks for taking a listen and, if you like what you hear, please subscribe, share, rate and review. Your feedback is appreciated.

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Donate to Challenged Athletes Foundation

143 Shake Up Your Approach to Running Improvement and Enjoyment Nov 18, 2020

Show notes

Are you frustrated with a lack of improvement in running?
Do you suffer from a history of running injuries when you try and stick to a traditional running plan?
Have you found yourself saying, "I've tried, but running just isn't for me?"

Today, Matt breaks down proven different approaches to running faster-with less injury risk-while avoiding fake promises, quick fixes, or any of the fads that permeate the endurance industry.

Let's shake up your definition of what you might think of as a "healthy approach to running."

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