Hi Reader,
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You know that moment right before the start of an event when your hands won't stop shaking and your brain is running a hundred miles an hour?
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Or the opposite, when you show up feeling like you left your race-day energy in the parking lot, mentally checked out, and somehow already tired?
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A lot of athletes seem to bounce between these two extremes and assume something is wrong with them. Nothing is.
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The real issue is that nobody taught us to approach pre-competition energy like a dimmer switch instead of an on-off button.

The physical sensations we label as anxiety, racing heart, quick breath, tight muscles, overlap almost completely with excitement. In other words, your body isn't betraying you. It's simply speaking a language nobody taught you to translate. Researchers have found that when people reappraise that arousal as excitement rather than trying to force calm, they tend to perform better.
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So what do you actually do with that?!
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If you're too revved up before competition 🤯:
​👉 Try low and slow breathing for sixty seconds.
​Place one hand on your chest, one on your belly, and simply slow the exhale until you feel the lower hand doing more of the work. Your brain follows your breath. When you breathe like someone who is safe and ready, your nervous system gets the message.
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If you're too “meh” before competition 😣:
​👉 Move first and let motivation catch up.
​A brisk dynamic warm-up, loud music, or even thirty seconds of jumping in place sends a signal to your brain that it's go-time. Your body leads, and your energy follows.
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Rate your energy from 1 to 10 before you compete. Afterward, note how you performed. Do this across several events and you'll start to see your personal sweet spot, because there is no universal right setting, only yours.
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These tools work best when you practice them in training so they feel automatic when the pressure hits. If you want help building a personalized pre-competition routine matched to your sport and personality, our team is here for it.
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I went deep on the science, the breathing technique, and how to build a full pre-performance routine in this week's blog post.

🎧 Catch Avery on the Raising Athletes Podcast!
​Avery joined the Raising Athletes podcast for an honest conversation about the mental side of sport: the pressure, the self-criticism, and what it actually takes to be vulnerable as an athlete. Tune in here! ​

The Strength to Be Vulnerabl... Sep 22 · Raising Athletes 59:15   ​

A quick question for you: What's your go-to pre-race ritual? The one thing you do no matter what? Hit reply and let me know.
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Til next time,
Dr. A

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