Our family made a lot of changes in the last year to our lives. We moved to an entirely new town, bought a house, changed our work environment, got pregnant with our second child, and we are raising a sweet toddler! Each month, I like bringing a solo episode to you. Usually, it's about a well-researched topic as it relates to topics covered on the show (and you can get weekly doses in my newsletter ), but today, we talked about courage, parenting, marital satisfaction, and more! Key Takeaways Wh...
Feb 04, 2022•56 min
Emily Oster tells it like it is. The Professor of Economics at Brown University is known for her books that take a data-driven approach to pregnancy and parenting. Wondering what’s behind the sushi rule during pregnancy or how much coffee you’re allowed to drink? Curious about co-sleeping? Potty Training? Emily provides the data and analysis that drive these well-known rules. Emily’s first book, Expecting Better, provides information to help women make their own well-informed decisions throughou...
Jan 28, 2022•58 min
Dani Taylor and Giacomo are vegan bodybuilders. Sounds a little bit like an oxymoron, right? But these two married athletes are amazing examples for how you can be plant-based, strong, and champions. In this podcast, Dani, Taylor and Sonya sat down to talk about how to be a vegan bodybuilder, what steps to take to incorporate more plant-based foods into your diet, and their work coaching through VeganProtein.com. Dani is a vegan figure competitor and champion. She co-founded VeganProteins.com an...
Jan 20, 2022•1 hr 1 min
In this week’s podcast, Sonya sat down with Katy Milkman, a professor at The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine, to discuss behavior sciences, behavior change, setting goals, and much more. Katy conducts research that looks at insights from economics and psychology and how they can be harnessed to change consequential behaviors for good. She co-founded, and co-directs, the Behavior Change for Good Initiative at the Universi...
Jan 14, 2022•59 min
Excuses can show up in several forms, especially when it comes to following through with goals and commitments. The biggest excuse often comes in the form of procrastination. We say we will do something later and then we never do it. Other forms of excuses show up as a reason to let yourself off the hook. Maybe you feel like you're too tired, too lazy, too unmotivated, or you just hate doing something. First, I am going to talk about big picture excuses- excuses that we make to avoid bigger life...
Jan 07, 2022•25 min
We all have ideas of what we want our life to look like. It could be something like weight loss, improving speed on the bike or running, or even cooking more at home. When you set those goals, how do you go about doing it? Have you set goals and ultimately lost motivation or simply got out of the habit? With the impending New Year, many of us like to think about what we want to accomplish. In fact, fresh starts are a great time for habit change. (link). I'm here to help you set goals for the new...
Dec 31, 2021•34 min
Imagine rocketing head and face-first down a frozen track around 80 miles per hour with the rapidly moving ground just inches from your face. Well, that sport is called Skeleton and Duff Gibson won a gold medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics for being the best. Not only that, but he is the oldest gold medalist in history in the Winter Olympics, winning gold at age 39 after decades finding his niche in sport. Duff didn't start in Skeleton and spent a lot of time finding high degrees of success in wi...
Dec 24, 2021•57 min
Muay Thai is a martial art and combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques, and being plant-based has been a gamechanger for Cass Warbeck. Cass Warbeck started training martial arts at the age of 11 and is a black belt in Goju Ryu karate and black level in Kurama Yama kickboxing. After reading The China Study by T. Colin Campbell in 2013, she went plant-based and never looked back. A plant-based diet fueled her throughout her amateur Muay Thai fighting career...
Dec 17, 2021•1 hr 1 min
"It's too late for me. I'm too old to start." Have you ever used these excuses are barriers? Meet Ian Morgan, an ultrarunner who is crushing it in his 50s. And guess what? He didn't even start on this journey until he was in his mid-40s. Ian was primarily focused on his engineering career and property investment company in his 20s and 30s. Realizing that a primary focus on money, materialistic possessions, and career achievements wasn't making him happy, he took a 180 turn in his life. Ian said,...
Dec 09, 2021•1 hr 4 min
Have you ever noticed that when you get close to the end of something hard, you wish you were at the finish line? I notice this feeling the most in a mountain bike race. It doesn't matter how long the event is, but when I'm 70% done (or sometimes even before), I start dreaming of the finish line. It also happens during a workout or a project. We start anticipating being done and then wish to be at the finish line. I admit I've even done this looking at how long it'll be before my son's nap, wish...
Dec 03, 2021•19 min
Sarah Sturm is a cyclist who can't be grouped into a specific category of cycling. Although you might know her bright smile and speedy results from gravel, she is a 2x Singlespeed Cyclocross National Champion, a podium finisher at the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race this year, has multiple high-profile gravel accolades (aka Belgian Waffle Ride, Steamboat Gravel (SBT GRVL), Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder, The Rift in Iceland, and more), and done a sizeable amount of racing road and cross-country mo...
Nov 26, 2021•58 min
Most of us try to balance the act of doing and the feeling of being in our lives. We ask ourselves questions like, "How can I work hard and have success without burning out? What do I need to do to feel fulfilled while striving for improvement?" Brad Stulberg, author of the bestselling author of the new book, The Practice of Groundedness , and also Peak Performance regularly researches, writes, and coaches on the many elements of health, well-being, and sustainable performance. And today, he ret...
Nov 18, 2021•1 hr 7 min
Sonya has been committed to a plant-based diet for almost a decade. Her interest in and passion for the benefits of plant-based eating has led her to connect to those equally committed to the space. Cue this week’s episode with Stevan Mirkovich - owner of Planted Expo, a trade show, platform and network to connect Canadians to local vegan and plant-based businesses. Sonya will be speaking at Planted Expo this weekend and had a chance to speak with Stevan leading up to the event. Stevan is a reco...
Nov 12, 2021•1 hr 4 min
This week, Sonya gets personal and talks about all the details of her second pregnancy. She shares her experience from the first 20 weeks and some of the lessons she learned from her first pregnancy with her son. Key Takeaways: Why we decided to have a baby now Early pregnancy experience with a SURPRISE My biggest lesson as a parent Knowing when to trust your doctor How self-compassion and acceptance are helping me I’m okay if I am not achieving -------------- The Grow the Good Podcast is produc...
Nov 05, 2021•39 min
After first connecting on Twitter, Sonya was interviewed on Lindsey Hein’s podcast “I’ll Have Another with Lindsey Hein,” where she talks with motivating and inspiring runners. Lindsey aims to inspire and refresh listeners in her conversations with runners of all levels, from your everyday runner to Olympic athletes. Lindsey is an RRCA Certified Running Coach and coaches runners, writing personalized training plans for all distances - 5K to marathon distances. Lindsey also founded her own podcas...
Oct 28, 2021•1 hr 4 min
Dre Baldwin went from playing NCAA D3 basketball to a nine-year basketball pro. His path to the highest level fo the sport required a level of discipline and toughness that drove him to build his “Work On Your Game” brand to share those tenets with a wider audience. He is now a full-time entrepreneur who has authored 29 books and participated in TEDxTalks about discipline, confidence, mental toughness and personal initiative. He’s active on YouTube and has a daily Work On Your Game Podcast. Sony...
Oct 22, 2021•1 hr 2 min
It IS possible to thrive in motherhood and your career! This is the message that Molly Dickens, co-founder of &Mother actively promotes. &Mother’s vision is a culture where motherhood is not a limiting factor in how women succeed professionally or personally, and where women can openly express their needs and receive support without retribution. It is a working world where mothers are supported as leaders and sought after as employees. Where the value of mothers in the workforce has beco...
Oct 15, 2021•1 hr 2 min
I've spent well over a decade focusing on peak performance- both athletically in my quest to become one of the world's best endurance mountain bikers, but also in business and brainpower. I used to think the key to peak performance was the focus on mastery: putting in the work to acquire the skills and wisdom to be a top performer in a given area. While mastery and work ethic are certainly key components to peak performance, I have learned that there are multiple foundations upon which peak perf...
Oct 08, 2021•24 min
As an endurance athlete, nutrition is a critical piece of success. In this week’s podcast, Sonya sat down with Stevie Lyn Smith, a Registered Dietitian and avid endurance athlete, to talk all things sports nutrition. Stevie Lyn is a sports nutrition specialist, marathon runner, Ironman triathlete and adventurer. She knows a thing or two about preparing your body for an endurance event. She founded Stevie Lyn Smith Nutrition Wellness Consulting, PC, and writes for the wellness company, InsideTrac...
Oct 01, 2021•58 min
What happens when you start running for fun instead of a finish line? In this week’s podcast, Sonya sat down with Tina Muir, CEO of Running for Real, an incredible podcast and the largest global community of socially engaged runners, and talked about learning how to run for enjoyment instead of recognition. Tina hosts the Running for Real Podcast , a collection of podcasts about running, the climate emergency and social justice. She also co-hosts Running Realized with Knox Robinson, exploring ru...
Sep 24, 2021•57 min
Mindset and performance coach Polly Bateman works with clients to recognize negative patterns in behavior and barriers they reinforce for themselves. By facilitating a shift in mindset, Polly helps her clients progress in life to become more fulfilled and happy. Polly believes that we’re our own problem and solution and that everything we need to lead a fulfilling, productive, and happy life is within us. It’s just a matter of moving past our self-imposed limits. Sonya and Polly talk about vulne...
Sep 17, 2021•57 min
Catharine Pendrel, a three-time Olympian and 2016 Bronze medalist mountain biker, became a new mom this year. In this episode, Sonya and Catharine discuss training during pregnancy, process-oriented goals, overcoming adversity during the pandemic, and more. Pendrel grew up riding horses and later bicycles in Canada. In addition to her Olympic appearances, she has two World Championship titles for Canada and 40 World Cup podium finishes. She lives and trains in Kamloops, British Columbia, and rac...
Sep 10, 2021•59 min
How do you feel in your body when you hear the word stress? I'll give you a second to tune in. We spend so much time trying to avoid stress, but what would happen if we leaned into it? What would happen if we allowed ourselves to feel it? How we relate to stress is important to making it work for us in a positive way. Oftentimes, we view stress as a constricting, negative input that we associate with feelings of overwhelm and feelings of being unsettled. Stress can certainly create those feeling...
Sep 02, 2021•21 min
Experiencing the outdoors in Canada is a must. The gorgeous landscape is prime for all kinds of outdoor activities. But the terrain can be tricky, so It’s important to make sure you’re informed, aware and safe when enjoying nature. That’s where AdventureSmart comes in. AdventureSmart is a national program dedicated to encouraging Canadians and its visitors to “get informed and go outdoors,” and offers educational programs, community outreach and special events to help reduce the number (and seve...
Aug 27, 2021•1 hr 5 min
Leidy Klotz is a professor at the University of Virginia, studying how we transform things from how they are to how we want them to be. He co-founded and co-directs the Convergent Behavioral Science Initiative (CBSI) at the University of Virginia. CBSI works to address climate change, systemic inequality, and other issues that combine the understanding of human behavior and the systems that this behavior creates. He has also authored over 80 research articles and has appeared in Nature and Scien...
Aug 20, 2021•57 min
Have you heard of Lifestyle Medicine before? Lifestyle Medicine focuses on chronic disease prevention and possibly chronic disease reversal - things like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Lifestyle medicine uses six pillars in order to help patients and individuals optimize their health. The six pillars include: nutrition, movement, sleep, avoidance of risky behaviors, managing stress, and role of social connection. We dive into these topics and more with Dr. Melissa Sundermann...
Aug 13, 2021•1 hr 3 min
Picture this- you just gave a presentation on a topic you're proud of... the hours of preparation and practice that went into creating the presentation, the nerves you had to overcome to stand up and actually give the presentation, and the relief of having it done. In some cases, maybe you felt that generally it well overall. If you tend to be more self-critical, maybe you're focused on the one thing that didn't go well instead of the hundreds of things that did go well. Let's take it a step fur...
Aug 06, 2021•16 min
Neal Henderson doesn’t believe FTP-based workouts are enough to train effectively. So what should you do instead? Coach Neal relies on 4-D Power. Want to learn more about what this looks like? Take a listen to this podcast! Neal Henderson began coaching endurance sport athletes in the early 1990’s and founded APEX Coaching in 1999. He has coached several national champions, multiple world champions, and several Olympians. Neal raced triathlon professionally from 2000-2003. He is an Elite USA Tri...
Jul 30, 2021•59 min
We’re big fans of NoMeatAthlete on this show. Sonya recently had the chance to interview No Meat Athlete Founder Matt Frazier ( you can listen here ) and this week, she sat down with CEO Matt Tullman. Not only is Matt the CEO of NoMeatAthlete, he’s also the co-founder and CEO of 80/20 Plants , Complement , and Plant Bites . His career focus is nutrition-first health companies and driving the movement for plant-based lifestyles. Prior to his nutrition-based companies, Matt founded The Digital Edu...
Jul 22, 2021•52 min
How do you prepare for an Olympics thats already been postponed and still surrounded with so much uncertainty? Sonya and Leah tackle that, as well as Leah's path to cycling, confidence, motivation, nutrition and more, in this week's podcast. Leah Kirchmann is a professional cyclist from Winnipeg, who races for Team DSM and the Canadian National Cycling team. She represented Team Canada at the 2016 Olympic Games and is training for the upcoming 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo. In addition to Leah’s s...
Jul 16, 2021•54 min
