The Hype Warm-Up: A 5-Minute Routine for Your Mind Before a Game

Right before I step into a big moment — speaking to a room full of women and girls, leading an event, or walking into something that requires my full energy — my nerves always show up first. They don’t ask permission. They don’t knock. They just arrive like, Hey, what if you forget everything you were planning to say?

It’s a ridiculous thought.
It has never actually happened.
But the “what ifs” still show up.

And that’s the part no one tells you: feeling nervous and being unprepared are not the same thing.

Your nerves don’t mean you’re not ready.
Your adrenaline isn’t a warning sign.
It’s your body saying, This matters.

My favorite hype videos are the ones of fighter pilots visualizing their turns in slow motion — hand movements, breath control, eyes locked in, mentally flying the whole mission before they ever leave the ground. They don’t wait to see how the moment feels. They prepare for it.

That’s what the hype warm-up is. A mental flight plan.

Here’s a 5-minute routine you can do before any game, performance, match, meeting, or moment where you need to show up as your full self.

The 5-Minute Hype Warm-Up

1. Deep Breaths (1 minute)

Not the quick kind. Not the shallow kind. The full-lung, slow-release, get-your-body-online kind.

Inhale for four.
Hold for two.
Exhale for six.

This slows your heart.
It tells your brain, “We’re safe.”
It converts the shaky, chaotic part of adrenaline into steady, usable fuel.

This is the reset button.

2. Visualize It (1 minute)

This is where you become your own fighter pilot. Visualize your movement patterns — the way you’ll run, shoot, serve, pass, speak, or step into the moment.

Picture your body doing what it knows how to do.
Don’t visualize perfection — visualize flow.

What it should feel like.
How your body moves through it.
How your energy steadies as you go.

Visualization isn’t magic.
It’s muscle memory in your mind.

3. Review Your Plan (1 minute)

This is where you flip through your notes — literal or mental — and remind yourself:

You know what you’re doing.
You’ve done the work.

If you're speaking, review your opening line.
If you’re competing, review your first play, your first drill, your first footwork pattern.
If you’re performing, review your entrance cue.

This is not about remembering every detail.
It’s about reminding your brain that the structure is already there.

4. Say the Line (30 seconds)

Every athlete, performer, or leader needs a single internal line that snaps them back into readiness.

Yours might be different, but mine is simple.

You’re ready.

Not “You’ve got this.”
Not “Don’t mess up.”
Not “Stay calm.”

Just:

You’re ready.

Nerves don’t cancel readiness.
They often mean the opposite — that your body is gearing up for something important.

5. Channel the Energy (1.5 minutes)

Here’s the truth most girls don’t realize yet: adrenaline isn’t always nerves.

Sometimes it’s excitement.
Sometimes it’s anticipation.
Sometimes it’s your body giving you the extra power you’ll need.

You’re not the only one who feels shaky or buzzy or warm or restless before a big moment.
Everyone gets it.
Every level.
Every age.
Every athlete.
Every leader.

Your job is to learn what to do with that energy — not fear it.

Turn the shake into focus.
Turn the heart rate into forward movement.
Turn the flutter into fire.

That’s the warm-up.

The Message You Need to Remember

Everyone gets nerves.
Everyone gets adrenaline.
Everyone gets the “what ifs.”

You are not alone.
And you are not the only one who feels those sensations before they show up big.

But here’s the part that will change everything:

Figure out your hype plan before the nerves arrive.

When you have a plan, the moment doesn’t control you — you control the moment.

You’re ready.
Now go take the room, the field, the court, or the stage the way only you can.