Mindset Mastery for Midlife Athletes with Sonya Looney (Episode 275)

Mindset Mastery for Midlife Athletes with Sonya Looney (Episode 275)

From Hit Play Not Pause by Hit Play Not Pause

May 20, 2026 · 1h 1m · Episode 275

About this episode

Sonya Looney discusses her experiences and insights on navigating midlife challenges as an athlete and mindset coach.

What happens when a world class athlete and mindset coach meets the menopause transition? We find out this week with champion mountain bike racer and mental performance coach Sonya Looney, who dug deep into her positive psychology toolkit to navigate her compressed midlife journey through pregnancy, postpartum, motherhood, miscarriage, perimenopause, and the performance/identity challenges they bring. She shares hormone therapy insights, nutrition shifts, powerlifting gains, training for who you are now, acceptance without resignation, and much more. Sonya Looney is a World Champion (24-hour racing) mountain biker and 4x National Champion, a positive psychology researcher, and internationally recognized performance expert. She holds a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, where she won an award for her research on meaningful accomplishment. Sonya is a sought-after keynote speaker, performance coach, and podcast host, whose work bridges elite sport, science, and human insight. Her ideas have appeared in major media from The Washington Post to Outside Magazine , and she has been featured in a New York Times Best-selling book. Passionate about…

People in this episode

Guest: Sonya Looney

Topics covered

  • mindset
  • midlife athletes
  • positive psychology
  • hormone therapy
  • nutrition
  • performance challenges

Keywords

  • midlife
  • athlete
  • mindset coaching
  • positive psychology
  • hormone therapy
  • nutrition
  • performance
  • identity challenges

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Pennsylvania, The Washington Post, Outside Magazine, New York Times

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