In Episode 86, Matt defined Effective Feedback and the context of where it fits into the performance cycle. . In Part 2 of this series on Effective Feedback, we provide the framework, structure, and flow of both giving and receiving effective feedback in real-life scenarios. Feedback is powerful and will elicit a reaction. It can be positive or negative depending on the tone or the environment in which it is delivered. For the Manager or Coach, delivering effective feedback includes an understan...
Oct 16, 2019•44 min•Season 2Ep. 88
The theme of this episode is empowerment and the power of lifting each other up in support. The journey to elite success can be lonely and competitive, and there's a long-standing stereotype that elite female athletes can't work well together in this pursuit of excellence. Chelsea Sodaro and Sarah Piampiano are here to dispel those myths. In fact, this Purple Patch duo insist that working together day after day is a driving factor in their individual success. The collective wins and the proof is...
Oct 09, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Season 2Ep. 87
"Feedback can and should be a gift. It should be something to cherish and to seek. It is something to be given that will facilitate growth and improvement." In this first part of a multi-part series on Feedback in a Performance Culture, Matt defines effective feedback and illustrates where it fits in the context and cycle of a performance culture. Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved
Oct 02, 2019•27 min•Season 2Ep. 86
"The barometer of a time-starved athlete's success should be anchored around nailing an appropriate postseason over chasing weekly hours in the heart of race season. What you do well now is the thing that will determine your opportunity to evolve, break out, and excel in the year ahead." The meat and potatoes of this episode of real-life postseason case studies will educate, provide perspective, and provide the “why” behind the framework of setting this up in different scenarios. Matt walks thro...
Sep 25, 2019•48 min•Season 2Ep. 85
The most common mistake of amateur athletes is to take too much of an unstructured break between the last race of the season and then ramping back into specific work. The other is to stubbornly train on with the same vigor, fearful of losing fitness. So how do we balance both rest and progression within a phase of training? We set the proper mindset for the Postseason: The postseason is a phase of preparation, in which you develop the bedrock of technique and tissue readiness, which will maximiz...
Sep 18, 2019•28 min•Season 2Ep. 84
Evolve or Die. A Favorite Purple Patch quote. The concept is anchored in the resistance of falling into a fixed mindset and it is a relentless curiosity to seek ways to improve. Change is never easy. No matter our situation, the easiest path is to fall into familiar, but to thrive, we must be equipped to change, willing to evolve, and open to developing the bravery and resilience to pursue improvement. To submit a question or suggestion on what Matt should do when we reach 1000 reviews: https://...
Sep 11, 2019•35 min•Season 2Ep. 83
We are ALL IN...the family this week as Matt interviews his wife and business partner, Kelli McMaster, about her recent marathon journey. . Kelli may not be your typical elite triathlete, but she is the epitome of a Purple Patch athlete who, like many, integrates sport into her time-starved life and uses multisport training as a lifestyle to enhance her life as a mom, wife and working professional. . You'll hear how she adheres to the four pillars of performance - prioritizing not just her uncon...
Sep 04, 2019•56 min•Season 2Ep. 82
In this special BONUS episode of the Purple Patch Podcast, Matt Dixon talks exclusively about the 2019 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship Race in Nice, France taking place on September 7th and 8th. In this detailed discussion, he talks about: The preparation leading up to the event Travel tips for staying fresh and hydrated How to navigate your arrival Specific course nuances and how to approach each discipline of this event Note: The water temperature is currently warmer than expected (high 70s) s...
Aug 27, 2019•48 min•Season 2Ep. 81
Great performances are not mystical. They arrive out of doing basic things repeatedly right. Matt reveals strategies to set you up for success under the lens of proper preparation, a championship mindset, and calm execution. There are no gifts or guarantees, but failure to reach an outcome goal doesn’t mean you are a failure. It is simply another step in the non-linear journey to your best self. Racing is a celebration and this episode will empower you to seek familiarity, go out on a limb and h...
Aug 21, 2019•37 min•Season 2Ep. 80
Matt Dixon interviews long-time Purple Patch athlete, Tim Deer, about his recent experience completing the Badwater 135 ultra-endurance race from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney. The Badwater 135 is billed as the most demanding and extreme running race offered anywhere on the planet. The start line is at Badwater Basin, Death Valley, which marks the lowest elevation in North America at 280’ below sea level. The race finishes at the Whitney Portal at 8,300’, the highest point in the contiguous United...
Aug 18, 2019•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 79
Malindi Elmore is the queen of evolution. Growing up in Canada, she knew early on that running was her passion. This, after all, was a girl who was more excited about winning the 100-meter dash than the spelling bee in school. She was raised as a multi-sport athlete who participated in soccer, field hockey, skiing, waterskiing, running, and hiking, but running was her passion, and coaches took notice early on. By 12 years old, she decided it would be the sport that would take her to the Olympics...
Aug 07, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 78
This is a replay of Episode 55 - an interview with Purple Patch Pro, Chelsea Sodaro. After months of rehabbing an injury, Chelsea won IRONMAN 70.3 Santa Rosa with a blistering 1:16 Half Marathon split. Congratulations, Chelsea! Chelsea Sodaro was born to be an athlete. Both parents competed in triathlon and Chelsea also remembers her Dad training for the Boston Marathon! With energy like that in your life, how could you not love sport?! And she did. Chelsea fell in love with running, which took ...
Jul 31, 2019•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 77
How you chop carrots is how you live your life. What does this mean, exactly? Well, how people do seemingly simple tasks will seep into everything they do and, as a coach or a leader, you can spot talent or value by observing the basic habits and behaviors of your athletes or employees. In this episode, Matt explores: The concept of talent How you as a coach or manager can identify talent Paving a path to excellence with intentional focus How you chop carrots is how you live your life. Copyright...
Jul 24, 2019•46 min•Season 2Ep. 76
Matt opens the podcast inbox this week and answers a variety of listener questions including: How much you should run for marathon training Returning to running post-injury Wearables and fitness trackers Yard work and other physical stressors Bike selection on a budget Training indoors vs. outdoors Yoga Integration To submit your question for the podcast, fill out the form on this page: https://www.purplepatchfitness.com/podcast Episode with Jordan Ouida - 3 Runs per Week for Marathon Training F...
Jul 17, 2019•51 min•Season 2Ep. 75
Matt dives into the oven and talks about training and racing in the heat! It's common for performance to suffer in hot and humid conditions, but why? What happens physiologically when we enter into these conditions that make it so hard to regulate our core temperature and blood volume? In addition to helping you understand "the why," Matt also provides specific strategies on how to prepare in advance for heat training and acclimation and how these strategies can boost performances in any of your...
Jul 10, 2019•50 min•Season 2Ep. 74
While Matt is on holiday, we replay one of his favorite episodes - "AARP Anarchists and Still Crushing It" featuring Purple Patch Masters Athletes, Rick Wimmer and Ken Pagliughi. “The list of what I want to accomplish continues to grow,” says 65-year-old Purple Patch athlete, Rick Wimmer. “Society expects people to retire, but this is how I get the most out of life!” Maintaining a growth mindset is everything - at any age. In this episode, recorded on location at the recent Purple Patch Training...
Jun 26, 2019•59 min•Season 2Ep. 73
Effective communication is not just about getting your message across or making your point. It also isn’t just about being a keyboard assassin and sitting at your computer or firing off emails to your athletes or employees. Effective communication empowers the athlete or employee to execute as intended, to believe in the path forward, and have clarity in actions needed for success. What are these key principles of communication that enable a real coaching relationship to flourish? How can you ad...
Jun 19, 2019•36 min•Season 2Ep. 72
No doubt, you listen to this podcast because you are a high-performer in all areas of your life. Some of you may even be seeking the highest level of performance as a triathlete…You want to go pro. Remember, there is a critical divergence between performance at a high-level and going pro. As a time-starved athlete, your mission is to integrate sport into your big life and around the important non-negotiables of work and family commitments. A professional athlete, however, must be selfish and una...
Jun 12, 2019•53 min•Season 2Ep. 71
Where do supplements, pills, powders and the like fit in the spectrum of your performance evolution? Are they a key catalyst to performance, or a bunch of voodoo and empty promises designed only to drain your wallet? Today, Matt dives into the nooks and crannies of performance trickery and supplementation - the big promises of maximizing performance gains through supplements, treatments, and interventions. There is a veritable gray zone between medicine and coaching, and this episode bridges tha...
Jun 05, 2019•44 min•Season 2Ep. 70
To submit a question to the podcast, visit https://www.purplepatchfitness.com/podcast and fill out the podcast question form. --- Do you need a training intervention? While people seem to be more aware of the cumulative effects of training stress and the need to integrate training into their lives with a pragmatic approach, it still seems that confusion reigns among those who are simply checking the boxes. This week, by request, Matt presents two important case studies for the time-starved athle...
May 29, 2019•51 min•Season 2Ep. 69
To submit a question to the podcast, visit https://www.purplepatchfitness.com/podcast and fill out the podcast question form. Matt Dixon and Purple Patch were recently featured on CNN with an in-depth piece on Managing Travel. View that story HERE and look for it at airports across the country. --- Travel can be a corrosive experience, carrying an emotional, physical and hormonal toll that has a great impact on your training ability, as well as the ability to recover. The biggest mistake many of...
May 21, 2019•43 min•Season 2Ep. 68
Change is hard. Most people are not naturally adaptable at thriving in a changing environment and they will lean into familiarity even if that familiarity isn’t positive. Think about it. Most of us like to sink into a familiar couch or slip on a pair of comfortable shoes, even if we are allured by the concept of change. There is nothing wrong with this except that it isn’t the world we live in. It also isn’t realistic if we are stretching the bounds of our own performance. Remember our Purple Pa...
May 14, 2019•43 min•Season 2Ep. 67
Matt looks back to give perspective on some of the best episodes this year related to global performance in sport, work, and life. He reviews the pivotal roles of a coach, how managers and coaches can create a culture to thrive, tips on integrating recovery into your multisport life, and presents an inspiring review of how elite performers STRIVE to succeed during his conversation with Dr. Steve Ingham. Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved
May 07, 2019•41 min•Season 2Ep. 66
It is inevitable. You cannot escape failure. Ups and downs are a part of the journey in work, sport, family, and life. When things don’t go well, you’re no less of a high performer and, guess what? You’re still the same person as you were before. Failure doesn’t define you as an athlete or a human being. In fact, it’s part of your complex tapestry. What happens when things don’t go well? How do you bounce back? Most importantly, how do you set your mindset up ahead of time to give you resilience...
Apr 23, 2019•34 min•Season 2Ep. 65
You are not a Swiss watch and your coach is not a watchmaker. In this episode, Matt redefines specificity to unshackle you from the pretense of precision. In fact, a focus on precision in every session is a slippery slope that leads to obsession, paralysis of analysis, erosion of confidence, and an overreliance on metrics. You can, however, gain specificity without being precise and if it is done right, it means you don’t have to obsess over every detail to get wonderful and lasting results in s...
Apr 18, 2019•39 min•Season 2Ep. 64
It’s no secret that our muscular-skeletal health - our FRAME - takes a pounding in endurance training. In fact, there are whole companies and industries built on muscle health - bodywork, compression, foam rolling, cryotherapy, etc. Athletes and practitioners take a lot of action in this area to promote adaptations and avoid injury, and yet, we still mess it up. How is it possible that so many well-meaning and highly motivated endurance athletes end up hurting themselves in the pursuit of rehab ...
Apr 09, 2019•39 min•Season 2Ep. 63
Today, through the case study of a Purple Patch athlete, Matt outlines a recipe for energy, success, and the ability to be the best person you can be even if you would never profess to be an athlete. In fact, you don't have to be an athlete to adopt an athletic mindset. You don't even have to aspire to be athletic. What you do need is the desire to excel, thrive, and be the best version of yourself. Matt outlines his thoughts around structuring success and performance around: Work Training Your ...
Apr 02, 2019•33 min•Season 2Ep. 62
Matt returns with a bonus "Ask Matt Anything" episode where he answers your questions related to: A return to training after illness and surgery The Benefits of Attending a Purple Patch Training Camp Plus, Matt makes a special announcement about a new program that's coming soon, The Purple Patch Squad! To submit your podcast questions, email questions@purplepatchfitness.com Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved...
Mar 22, 2019•24 min•Season 2Ep. 61
Are you chronically underfed and overstressed? Most time-starved athletes are. In the context of our busy lives, the vast majority of us tend to undercut our calories relative to our training demands. Unfortunately, the cost of doing so is immense. A random approach to nutrition and fueling leads to athletes who are frustrated with energy fluctuations, a lack of portion control, and lower training consistency. This confusion often leads to trying new things and falling prey to the latest eating ...
Mar 19, 2019•38 min•Season 2Ep. 60
This week, Matt has an in-depth Coaches discussion with Dr. Steve Ingham , author of the best selling ‘How to Support a Champion: The art of applying science to the elite athlete’, discussing and inspiring the importance of learning and adapting to reach our maximum potential. Dr Steve Ingham is considered 'performance royalty,' as one of the UK’s leading figures in sport and one of the world’s leading performance scientists. He is steeped in high performance and has been integral to the develop...
Mar 05, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 59
