When I was playing football, more always seemed better. More loud music, more intensity, more work… counterintuitively, my methods did not always lead to more productivity or improved performance. When I started my coaching journey, my worst moments followed a similar path.
I had not yet encountered concepts like the “Inverted ‘U’ Theory“, which identifies that “performance improves with increased arousal up to an optimal point, after which further arousal leads to a decline in performance.” Instead, I used coaching methods that I had experienced as an athlete – but I often turned up the volume on that approach, once again assuming that more was better.
I was regularly in the ‘Go’ phase of the performance funnel described below. But I wasn’t always Ready to be there. In the realm of human development and psychology, a comprehensive approach to performance training often requires a nuanced understanding of the various cognitive, emotional, and physical dimensions that influence success. It can be a lot to navigate. Coaches hoping to improve performance often do so amid a sea of potential inputs and strategies.
One framework that helps explain these phases of development is the “Ready, Set, Go” funnel. This framework – inspired by training efforts in powerlifting, sport psychology, and professional development – presents a tiered structure to performance, highlighting the importance of preparation, emotional regulation, and intention-setting before stepping into the arena for actual performance.
Phase One: Ready – Laying the Foundation
The Ready phase focuses on cultivating awareness and recognition within the athlete. At this stage, athletes learn to tune into their physical, psychological, and emotional states, fostering self-awareness. It sets the foundation for resilience and high performance strategies to come.
The Ready phase is often the most expansive and includes the broadest set of activities and considerations. Just as an athlete embarking on a powerlifting regimen must first assess their strengths and weaknesses across a variety of physical capacities, the Ready phase is about general preparedness. During this time, the scope of training is not narrowly defined. Rather, it seeks to build a robust foundation that can later be honed into more specialized skills.
In the Ready phase, various elements come into play:
- General Physical Preparedness: For a powerlifter, this involves the development of strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular fitness that supports the demands of the sport. The goal is not just to develop the specific muscles required for lifting, but also to enhance overall athleticism and to establish a base level of conditioning. This broad training scope prepares the athlete for the more focused work ahead.
- Capacity Building: This component refers to the process of increasing the body’s physical limits. Powerlifters must increase both their muscular and skeletal strength over time, but capacity building also involves developing mental and emotional resilience. Capacity is about expanding one’s ability to cope with difficulty and to endure physical or mental stress during training and competition.
- Emotional Recognition: Often, emotional aspects are sidelined in physical training, but for peak performance, emotional intelligence is key. During the Ready phase, athletes must learn to recognize and understand their emotions, including fear, doubt, and excitement. These emotions will resurface during the Set and Go phases and must be addressed early on to prevent emotional overwhelm in later stages.
- Holistic Preparation: This phase is also when an athlete must consider various external factors—nutrition, sleep, recovery strategies, and life balance. Effective preparation requires the athlete to consider not just the gym or training regimen, but all elements that contribute to overall well-being.
The Ready phase, therefore, is not simply about physical preparation (thought the physical state always matters), but about mentally and emotionally preparing oneself for the demands ahead. It encourages broad exploration and a strong foundation of knowledge, skills, and resilience.
Phase Two: Set – Intention and Focus
Once an athlete has undergone the broad groundwork of preparation, they move into the Set phase. One will identify intentions and define the goals of their training process, then build skills in alignment with those intentions. Here, the scope narrows. This is where psychological components like emotion regulation, mental focus, and clarity of purpose come into play. The Set phase is about refining direction and committing to a clear path forward.
- Goal Setting and Clear Intentions: Powerlifters, at this stage, must establish clear, measurable, and achievable goals. Whether it’s hitting a new personal record or mastering a particular lift, goal-setting is critical for maintaining focus. This process involves both long-term goals (such as achieving a competitive total) and short-term goals (such as improving technique or mastering a specific movement pattern).
- Emotion Regulation: As the intensity of training increases, so too does the emotional weight of the endeavor. Athletes in the Set phase must refine their ability to regulate their emotions, particularly in response to challenges, setbacks, or moments of self-doubt. They must manage their arousal levels, ensuring that they can maintain focus and avoid emotional overreaction or burnout.
- Focus on the Process: The Set phase is characterized by a shift toward discipline and consistency in direct alignment with goals. It is the phase where an athlete must commit to the daily grind of training, even when motivation wanes. Athletes learn to train with dedication, track their progress, and hold themselves accountable. This phase is marked by routine, repetition, and perseverance.
- Paring Down Variables: By this stage, the athlete has established a training framework, and the number of variables is minimized. This means selecting the most effective exercises, focusing on optimal recovery, and cutting out unnecessary distractions. The attention is refined to the specifics that will support goal achievement.
In essence, the Set phase prepares the athlete to enter the next stage of performance with a clear purpose and a mental framework capable of managing emotional and physical challenges.
Phase Three: Go – Performance and Emotional Mastery
Finally, the Go phase is when all preparation comes to fruition in actual performance. This phase is where the rubber meets the road, and the athlete must execute their plan in a real-world context, whether it’s a powerlifting competition or an intense training session designed to simulate the pressure of a meet. The athlete is prepared, intentions have been set, they are aimed in the right direction and performance is the aim.
- Navigating Performance Anxiety: It is common for athletes to experience anxiety in performance settings, especially under the spotlight of competition. In the Go phase, the athlete must navigate this anxiety—using it as a motivator rather than a barrier. Understanding that anxiety is a natural part of the process allows the athlete to redirect this energy into focus and drive.
- Emotional Direction: In performance situations, emotions can either hinder or fuel success. Athletes in the Go phase learn to harness the energy of fear, excitement, or frustration to enhance their performance rather than allowing these emotions to sabotage them. It’s about transforming emotional states into productive fuel for executing their skills.
- The Arena of Execution: This phase involves the actual application of the physical and mental skills developed during training. Powerlifters must lift under the pressure of competition or self-imposed standards, knowing that they will be judged based on their performance. There is a sense of finality to this phase, as it represents the moment of truth. It is here that athletes face the consequences of all prior preparation.
- Feedback and Reflection: After the performance, the athlete receives invaluable feedback. This feedback can come from coaches, judges, or even their own self-reflection. The Go phase isn’t just about performing; it’s about assessing what worked and what didn’t, adjusting techniques, and improving future performances. Importantly, this feedback loop is essential for future growth and informs the next cycle of training.
The Interconnectedness of “Ready, Set, Go”
The Ready, Set, Go framework emphasizes that the journey to peak performance is not linear. Each phase builds upon the previous one, and only by fully completing one phase can an athlete move on to the next with confidence and clarity. The critical lesson here is that performance is not a singular event, but rather the culmination of a process that demands preparation, focus, emotional regulation, and active engagement with feedback.
In powerlifting, as in many other domains, only when an athlete is truly ready and set can they fully go. Likewise, only by truly going can they assess their performance, adjust their approach, and build toward future success. Thus, the cycle of performance preparation and execution is continuous, with each phase providing essential feedback that drives further growth.
Coaches can guide this process. In doing so, be ready to toggle up and down the funnel as needed. In the ready phase we highlight awareness and capacity. In the set phase we set intentions, identify goals, and build a variety of aligned skills. In the go phase, there is an opportunity to apply total focus and energy to a single task, to perform. This process will allow the athlete to express their full potential. And here is the best part: regardless of the outcome, both coach and athlete will have done something meaningful and life-altering.
The Ready, Set, Go funnel offers a clear and structured approach to achieving performance excellence. By recognizing the importance of each tier and respecting the process of preparation, athletes can cultivate the mental, emotional, and physical skills necessary to thrive in high-stakes environments.
