The Sonya Looney Show

How would your approach to challenges change if you focused on giving your best effort for that moment instead of focusing what you wish the end result could be?  2016 Mountain Bike Olympic Bronze Medalist, Catharine Pendrel knows. Her plan going into the Rio Olympics was to work hard, but to show up with a mindset to ride a race she could be proud of, regardless of what the final result would be. With a crash in the first minute of her Olympic medal pursuit, she had a choice and it was to come from behind and courageously earn every second to the podium. And she took the Bronze by only 2 seconds. No stranger, to the Olympics, Catharine competed in both Beijing (2008) and London (2012). She also is two time World XC Champion, and 3x World Cup Series Winner. Catharine Pendrel is a model of what it means to have discipline, race consistently, constantly push the growth curve, and to keep perspective in life.   Her calm and kind demeanor almost makes it hard to imagine that she would be so lethal on a mountain b

Rob Loud is a yoga instructor in Boulder, Colorado. His story is unique and courageous. Rob transformed from someone who struggled for many years with dark drug and alcohol addiction into a person and teacher who transmits so much positivity in the world through his work as a yoga instructor. In Rob’s classes, he always has an insightful message on cultivating mindfulness, acceptance, suffering, dealing with change, and self-discovery both on and off the mat. There is always a fun light-hearted element to his demeanor and asana practice. His classes can also be really challenging and allow space to grow as a yoga practitioner.   Rob’s willingness to be vulnerable and transparent about his battle with addiction and how his yoga practice saved his life. Rob passionately says, “My ability to touch just one person through yoga can have the same profound effect on them as it did for me. I know this going into any class I teach that I have an opportunity to change someone’s life completely, give it a 180 degree tur

This special edition of the podcast is with myself and Matt Ewonus.  I raced the Transsylvania Epic Mountain Bike Stage Race: a 5 day event in the rocky, dense forests outside State College, PA. We recorded this special edition while in New York City and were doing a vegan food tour of the city!  Make sure you're subscribed to my newsletter  - I'll be writing about NYC soon!  Leading up to the event, I had to work on the mental aspect of not feeling prepared for the race. At certain events, I've also had instances of getting stuck focusing too much on the outcome rather than the journey or the process.  We discuss that topic in this episode.  There was a lot of adversity and challenges in the few days leading up to the race including travel challenges and I had a huge cooking accident causing blistered 2nd degree burns all over my upper body. I had to put it all behind me on race day.  What happened surprised me.  Despite less than ideal training an preparation for the event due to other (fun) life and work c

There is no such thing as overnight success. This is a story about hard work, a magnetizing passion, and transparency with Brian Kennedy on his wildly popular adventure mountain bike YouTube channel BKXC.   Brian says “I always wanted that mission to pour myself into 100%.... I’m not going to sit at my stupid cubicle for the rest of my life making some other guy rich when I have this crazy passion.” Brian Kennedy rides the best mountain bike trails around the world and creates 3 entertaining YouTube videos per week. In this conversation, he tells us how he quit his full time to job to become a full-time YouTuber and mountain biker. We talk about personal growth and the fear of starting something new and unknown. He grew his YouTube channel from 1000 to 55,000 subscribers in 10 months. He first found success on YouTube when he recognized there weren’t any videos or reviews on automatic sprinkler controllers, and he filled that space with instructional content that began to monetize. From there, he was inspired

Dr. Brent Barlow is a Naturopathic Doctor. Naturopathic Medicine is a holistic practice where the doctor works with the patient to make lifestyle changes to treat the cause of a disease or ailment rather than simply providing drugs to mask symptoms. NDs look for natural ways to help the body heal itself through changes in sleep, energy use, and diet.  Treat the cause, treat the whole person. In this episode, we discuss a number of topics that are present in our daily lives as human beings and as athletes. Some topics:   Caffeine and coffee Overtraining Hormone imbalances What is a healthy way to lose weight? Vitamin D Adrenal glands Managing energy Digestive health Candida Overgrowth Anti-inflammatory foods Probiotics Supplementation and when to use them   Dr. Barlow’s book, To Feel Well – Improve Your Digestive System is a great resource for digestive health and can be found on his website: http://drbrentbarlownd.com/ He also encourages listeners to get in touch with him with questions! Alkaline/pH Food Gu

Today’s episode is an interesting conversation about my background and how I’ve arrived at the place I am in my life with a special guest co-host: my husband, Matt Ewonus! I sincerely appreciate all of my listeners, but I realize not everyone has followed my journey and I think there are some important themes that come out along the way. Mainly, the ability to make changes in your life, being open to try new things, and the amazing life-changing direction it can take.   We discuss my first memories on a bike, how I found confidence as an insecure teenager, team sports vs individual sports, and taking personal responsibility in life. We also discuss how to deal with anxiety around racing, being “in flow”, how I got into racing and the experiences around that, and surrounding yourself with like-minded people to help you implement changes. Fixed vs growth mindset is a huge part of our daily discussions, so we touch on perfectionism and how to work to overcome it, why I’m thankful for the failures and difficult m

Episode 2 with Brenda Davis RD   “Diet is the king pin, there is no debate about that. Diet is the king pin where chronic diseases are concerned. We see athletes who drop dead of a heart attack because they have severe atherosclerosis because they are eating garbage.”   Brenda Davis is a world class Registered Dietician and specialist in Plant-Based Nutrition. She is co-author of nine vegan and vegetarian nutrition books including Becoming Vegan as mentioned in this episode. She is the lead dietitian in a diabetes intervention research project in Majuro, Marshall Islands. Brenda is a past chair of the Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group of the American Dietetic Association. In 2007, she was inducted into the Vegetarian Hall of Fame. Becoming Vegan is an incredible resource with everything you need to know about vitamins, minerals, calories, what to eat as a vegan. In today's show, Brenda and I cover: How much protein do you need as a sedentary person, athlete, or senior How much protein is in plants

  “It’s not just about time management, it’s about energy management.” Today is episode 1 of The Sonya Looney Show! My guest today is dynamic sports psychologist, Dr. Kristin Keim. Dr Keim has her doctorate in clinical psychology and masters in sport’s psychology. Physical effort can only take you so far when it comes to achieving your goals. The power of the mind gives you the extra edge, especially as an endurance athlete. Her mantra is “Happy Racers Go Faster.” Dr. Keim works with Olympians, pro athletes, and amateurs across multiple sports through her firm, Keim Sports Consulting.   In this episode, we talk about   when and why to work with a therapist and how it helps people become the best version of themselves how to deal with negative self-talk healthy, productive ways to reframe negative thoughts how meditation works and how to use it meditation as mental training body image, weight-loss, anxiety around food, and eating disorders the concern: “people won’t think I’m an athlete if I don’t look this w