The Sonya Looney Show

This is an episode of Crush It Mondays.  Each week, I’ll bring to you an inspiring message, habit, or contemplation to get your week off to a powerful start.  In this week’s episode, I want to talk about the meaning of competition. It's normal to be intimidated by competition or your competitors.   Competition is a measuring stick for comparison on a given day.  Competition has many contexts; athletic, business, contests to inspire action, and even simply just competition for attention.  Competition and comparison can be positive, but it can also be a slippery slope because while it can have positive benefits, it can also harm your confidence and cause anxiety without the right outlook.  I'll use athletic competition as an example in this podcast because it's what we are most familiar with. All of us who have ever worn a timing chip, a number plate, or had our name on a team roster have felt the exhilaration, nerves, excitement, and even anxiety about our performance.  We look at start lists to

This is an interesting story of how a young girl was frustrated by a tumultuous relationship with her mother and learned about self-awareness and personal development through her father's advice.  The inputs we have while we are young always have an impression on our adult lives.  The young girl's father was her mentor, telling her that she will never change her mother, but she could change her own perspective.  He told his 14 year-old daughter,  "Whenever you feel upset and frustrated, remember that the only thing you can control is what you focus on and what you think about. See this as a opportunity to train and strengthen your mind."  The young girl's name is Mo Seetubim, and out of her frustrations, she learned how to be happier.  Initially, she was a blogger, writing about different emotional difficulties that come up in life and how to cope with them.  Blogging lead her down the entrepreneurial path where she started the journal - The Happiness Planner.  The Happiness Planner h

This is an episode of Crush It Mondays.  Each week, I’ll bring to you an inspiring message, habit, or contemplation to get your week off to a powerful start.  In this week’s episode, I want to talk about the currency you use to define your life. I think the majority of our listeners are pretty in-tune to what makes them happy, but a lot of people outside our bubble put their stock, self-worth, or value in how much money they make or the outward appearance of their lives via fancy cars, houses, watches, etc. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with having nice things or making a healthy income, but when you tie your self-worth to external things, it's not good in terms of long term happiness.  The currency/metric that I think we should be looking to enhance in our lives is not money, it's not achievements, it's not things, it's not race results... it's happiness.  Happiness and a sense of flourishing are what gives our lives value and meaning.  While that might sound obvious, i

I'm excited about today's episode because I get to share a keynote speech I gave back in July at a new bike festival called Inspire Your Ride in Nampa, Idaho.  Public speaking is one of my favorite things to do.  Some people fear public speaking more than death, but for some reason, I really like it!  I love speaking because I feel more alive when I'm in front of an audience.  I feel the energy of the people listening and it gets me amped!  This speech is about how I got into mountain biking and the elements of high-performance living I attribute to feeling positive, having a strong mindset, being your healthiest self, and some tricks for dealing with stress.  This bike festival was put on by an amazing community building bike shop in Nampa called Rolling H Cycles. I hope you enjoy it.  Topics Discussed in the Podcast  my journey to cycling Mindset to get through the hardest challenges in life Growth vs Fixed Mindset Dr. Martin Selgiman- Explanatory Style ABCDE Model How to Meditate and cre

This is an episode of Crush It Mondays.  Each week, I’ll bring to you an inspiring message, habit, or contemplation to get your week off to a powerful start.  In this week’s episode, I want to talk about aging. I find it frustrating how our society strongly values youth.  I'm still relatively young in life- I turned 36 a few days ago, but I wouldn't go back to my 20s.  I value the things that I've learned, the person I've become, the experiences I've had - and I certainly would not trade that to have younger-looking skin or even for a longer runway in front of me. Now, I can understand that some people have a lot of regrets of how they've lived their life or maybe it just isn't what they had hoped for, so the younger days seem more attractive. I don't want to invalidate that.  Aging also means loss of loved ones over time, potential illness, and difficult changes in life that I haven't experienced yet. So I don't want to say aging is this glorious, amazing thi

Inside Tracker is a company that uses bloodwork to assess biomarkers, blood analysis, athletic performance, and nutrition software to optimize fitness and longevity.  Founded in 2009, the Boston company first started working with professional athletes who wanted to see what their biomarkers, hormone and mineral profiles looked like during their training and how they could use nutrition and lifestyle to improve.  They measure over 30 biomarkers and recommend food and supplements to optimize thinks like your energy, cognition, endurance, heart health, and more. I started working with Inside Tracker in 2017.  I liked it because their ranges for your biomarkers change based on your goals. I also think it's important to have baseline and also recurrent bloodwork as you age and also simply as an athlete. Today I sat down with accomplished runner and sales manager, Jonathan Levitt from Inside Tracker. Get 15% off your tests with the Inside Tracker Discount Code: SONYALOONEYSHOW Topics Discussed in the Podcast 

This is an episode of Crush It Mondays.  Each week, I’ll bring to you an inspiring message, habit, or contemplation to get your week off to a powerful start.  In this week’s episode, I want to talk about how changing just a few words can make a big difference with your perspective and attitude. How many times have you felt like you had to do something?  I have to go to work.  I have to take out the trash.  I have to do intervals today.  I have to take my kid to soccer practice.  Even if you don't always intend for it to be this task you are forced to do, saying I have to makes it sound like a chore. And let's face it, sometimes they are just chores and you would rather be doing something else.  Simply rephrasing how you talk about things you have to do, whether it be in your head or out loud, it makes a difference. So instead of saying you have to do something, trying saying you get to do something.  Saying I get to go to work, I get to take out the trash, I get to do intervals today, I get to take

Did you know your body has more gut bacteria cells than human cells?  The emerging field in gut health has made huge strides in how we view our health and how we treat diseases.  A newsflash: everything you put in your mouth also feeds your gut flora.  Many autoimmune diseases live in the gut and the bacteria in our gut even have an effect on our neurotransmitters like serotonin.  90% of serotonin is produced in the gut- this has a tremendous impact on depression.  That means that our gut can dictate parts of our personality. So how do you make sure you have a healthy gut? Well, that's where Dr. Will Bulsiewicz comes in!  As he liked to be called, Dr B is an MD, a gastroenterologist and internationally recognized gut health expert He is passionate about the incredible healing power that lives inside you—your gut microbiota. Dr. B's medical training involved 16 years at America's elite institutions. He completed a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University, a medical degree from Georgetown Uni

This is an episode of Crush It Mondays.  Each week, I’ll bring to you an inspiring message, habit, or contemplation to get your week off to a powerful start.  In this week’s episode, I want to talk about how changing just a few words can make a big difference with your perspective and attitude. How many times have you felt like you had to do something?  I have to go to work.  I have to take out the trash.  I have to do intervals today.  I have to take my kid to soccer practice.  Even if you don't always intend for it to be this task you are forced to do, saying I have to makes it sound like a chore. And let's face it, sometimes they are just chores and you would rather be doing something else.  Simply rephrasing how you talk about things you have to do, whether it be in your head or out loud, it makes a difference. So instead of saying you have to do something, trying saying you get to do something.  Saying I get to go to work, I get to take out the trash, I get to do intervals today, I get to take

If you're familiar with my podcast, I'm sure you've heard other episodes with the acclaimed researcher and environmental physiologist, Dr. Stephen Cheung.  Dr. Cheung is not only a well of knowledge on the topic of environmental physiology, but he is an avid cyclist himself.  He is a professor at Brock University in the Department of Kinesiology.  He also is an author of the textbook Advanced Environmental Physiology and the books: Cutting-Edge Cycling, and Cycling Science.  You may have heard him on the show in Episode 93 talking about how to heat train or Episode 114 on how to train for altitude.  He was on sabbatical from Brock University earlier this year in my hometown of Kelowna, BC and I was fortunate enough to pick his brain on all kinds of topics.  In his spare time, he is the Sports Science & Training editor for www.pezcyclingnews.com. I'm excited about this episode because it involves something we have all experienced- wanting to slow down while exercising.  There are seve

Gary Dudney has ran 70 100 mile running races...and he is 66 years old.  His goal is to get to 100 100 milers.  Gary is the author of the 2 books: The Tao of Running and The Mindful Runner where he writes about using mindfulness to combat common problems when tackling a big event: thinks like quitting, staying positive, getting through the dark moments, expectations and acceptance, and how to view the bad things as good things. He is a long time columnist at Ultrarunning Magazine.  In this episode, we get into what it takes to have mental endurance.   Topics Discussed in the Podcast  how gary got into running progressing to 100 miles how he started writing how not to quit, how to get out of a quitting rut techniques to stay positive and keep going why mindfulness is a useful tool mantra: Infinite patience, steely determination 4 horsemen to positive thinking expectations & acceptance how to make bad things good story of 3 vinegar tasters Listen Now     Resources taoofrunning.com       Support the

This is an episode of Crush It Mondays.  Each week, I’ll bring to you an inspiring message, habit, or contemplation to get your week off to a powerful start.  In this week’s episode, I want to talk about a random and awesome thing that happened in the grocery store. Listen Now   I was at the grocery store admiring all the summer produce.  As a side note, I counted and there are about 10 types of fruit in my fridge right now- one of the perks of summer. As I was lost in my own thoughts, a guy came up to me and said, "Hey...Sonya?"  It turns out he knew me from my racing and my online content.  I'm always super humbled when this happens, so thank you to the guy that said hi- you made my day.  He told me he was about to leave for Europe to take on a bikepacking race. He wanted to know if I had any advice for him.  I wanted to give him something that I thought would be useful, but I kind of froze for a minute because I was caught a bit off guard!  I loved it. The first thing that came to my mind is

A common question I get emailed to me is what I eat on race day.  Race nutrition is very individual - what works for one person may not work for another.  In this episode, I sat down with GU Energy LabsNutrition & Performance Research Manager, Roxanne Vogel  to help give you guys some guidelines on how to create your own personalized race nutrition plan.  This applies to any endurance sport.     Topics Discussed in the Podcast  The keys to structuring your race nutrition plan how many calories to start with per hour how long to digest gel vs solid food how to come back around when you make a nutrition mistake chews vs gels hydration strategies how to use caffeine in endurance racing what to eat and when on race morning what to eat after your workout for recovery do you need to carbo load? supplements to take and protein what to eat on a recovery day how to eat for weight loss/fasted rides Listen Now     Resources Ask the GURU  Roxanne's instagram Roxanne on Everest Support the Show If you

This is an episode of Crush It Mondays.  Each week, I’ll bring to you an inspiring message, habit, or contemplation to get your week off to a powerful start.  In this week’s episode, I want to talk about how our thoughts affect our emotions, and how it can alter the consequences of a situation. Listen Now I was prepping for a new format of a speech that I just had the opportunity to give at the Inspired Your Ride event in Nampa, ID.  I have my usual topics I love to discuss, but I came across the ABC Model in Cognitive Behavioral Psychology.  I often think about and discuss the importance of being aware of emotions.  It's hard sometimes... sometimes you feel disrespected and get angry, sometimes someone says something that makes you feel embarrassed.  And maybe you say or do something that you wish you hadn't. In this model, we are going to break down a situation into A,B,Cs. Let's start with A. A is the adversity that you are experiencing. It's something that happened to cause you stress,

Steph Gaudreau's mission is to help women create bigger, bolder, fiercer lives — by building health from the inside out.  From her incredibly powerful instagram posts of 200k followers to her best selling books, she creates meaningful content to help people change for the better. Her new book, The Core 4 is coming out on July 30 and you can actually pre-order it on Amazon now!  It cover 4 pillars: Eat nourishing foods, Strengthen your body Recharge your energy, and Get your mindset right.  I personally enjoyed this book because it's very interactive with worksheets and even journal prompt. She is also the host Harder to Kill Radio. Steph is well-versed in creating changes in life.  Steph was a teacher for 12 years and created a successful food blog. She transitioned again and spend her time as a Nutritional Therapy Consultant, author, blogger, podcaster, and also is the host and founder of the Women's Strength Summit.   Topics Discussed in the Podcast  where Steph came up with the Core 4 a

This is an episode of Crush It Mondays.  Each week, I’ll bring to you an inspiring message, habit, or contemplation to get your week off to a powerful start.  In this week’s episode, I want to talk about health. Listen Now What comes to mind when you hear the word "health?"  For me, the first things that come to mind are things like absence of illness, whether someone exercises, and the food that someone eats.  When we say that someone that looks healthy, it usually means that look fit and maybe have healthy looking skin.  But health goes far beyond exercise and the plate.  It's something that we often forget.  For example, you can look healthy and still have an eating disorder or mental illness.  You can look healthy but maybe be suffering from burnout or you can even look healthy and have heart disease. After reading Dan Buettner's work with National Geographic a few years ago in Blue Zones and Blue Zones of Happiness, it reshaped what health meant to me. If you haven't heard of the

Today's guest is a fascinating best selling author: David Epstein.  He is the author of two best selling books: The Sports Gene and his more recent book: Range, Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World.  He is currently an investigative report at Pro Publica and was formerly a staff writer at Sports Illustrated.  David's new book, Range makes a strong case that it is better to be a generalist rather than a specialist in both sports and life.  I'm sure you've heard of the "cult of the head start" or Malcolm Gladwell's "10,000 hour" rule but David Epstein argues that you don't need it to be successful. We often assume that the greats in sports, music, and art started at a very young age and were singularly focused their entire lives.  But in David's book, he shows us that the opposite is true and that being a generalist gives one a better chance to succeed than early specialization.  In this thought-provoking episode, you'll learn why.  And as a

This is an episode of Crush It Mondays.  Each week, I’ll bring to you an inspiring message, habit, or contemplation to get your week off to a powerful start.  In this week’s episode, I wanted to talk about numbers and data. In the information and web-based age that we live in, numbers are used in so many ways.  Hours of training, number of miles ridden, number of followers, number of likes, heart rate, power, HRV, number of emails left unanswered in a day, a race time, etc. I'm sure you can think of some ways that numbers are a part of your daily life. It can be really easy to fall into a trap or habit of assigning something as good or bad, as a success or failure based on a number.  Numbers are useful tools to help us measure what we are doing so we can improve and are necessary, but the importance of them can be overemphasized. They can affect our happiness. I've created a couple of categories to help you (and of course, me) keep some perspective with numbers. The elements are purpose, quality, an

Today's guest is the most impressive Dr. Dave Vago. I first found Dr. Vago in the Ten Percent Happier Meditation app that I use.  In the app, there are several different meditation instructors and courses with educational videos before you get started.  I found a course called "Meditation and the Brain" in the app and I was immediately drawn to it.   I took a deeper look into Dr. Vago and I learned that he is a cognitive neuroscientist and is the research director for the Osher Center of Integrative Medicine at Vanderbuilt University Medical Center.  He also maintains an appointment as a research associate in the Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory (FNL) at Harvard.  If you're not impressed yet, he held the position of Senior Research Coordinator for the Mind & Life Institute and is currently a Mind and Life Fellow, supporting the Mind and Life mission by advising on strategy and programs.  He's worked with John Cabot Zinn and even the Dalai Lama.   Some of his work includes studyi

This is an episode of Crush It Mondays.  Each week, I’ll bring to you an inspiring message, habit, or contemplation to get your week off to a powerful start.  In this week’s episode, I wanted to share some of my favorite apps.   Noislii TrainerRoad  Happiness Planner and Five Minute Journal Ten Percent Happier Meditation App  Follow Up.CC for Gmail Toggl Airtable Snapseed Flux Listen Now--------------The Sonya Looney Show is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co.