Why Do I Freeze Under Pressure When I’m Prepared?

Freezing under pressure when prepared: the scenarios are so familiar they are clichés.

A 90% free-throw shooter misses two free throws during crunch time.

A coach blanks on a play he’s drawn up hundreds of times in the final seconds of a game.

A well-practiced presentation goes astray.

These moments feel confusing because the preparation was there. The reps were there. The capability was there.

It’s common to be impacted by pressure. Everyone is. What stands out is performing far below your normal level when the moment matters most. That drop is not subtle. It feels like access to your ability disappears.

In sports and performance psychology, that experience is called choking.

To reduce these moments, we have to understand what actually changes inside the brain and body when pressure rises. In simple terms, we need to understand how choking is created.

What is Choking?

We all recognize a choke when we see one.

In sports, it often shows up as a favored athlete or team losing a game they were expected to win, or giving away a large lead late. Competition always includes winners and losers, so outcome alone does not define choking.

Choking is about expectations and capability. It is about how pressure affects performance, not whether someone succeeds or fails.

You can lose a competition and still perform to your standard. You can deliver a strong interview and still not get the job. Choking describes a performance drop relative to what you are capable of doing.

Choking only occurs when someone wants to perform well and has already demonstrated the ability to do so consistently.

A weekend golfer who misses a three-foot putt with friends is simply missing a putt unless they normally make it. Scottie Scheffler makes that same putt nearly every time. When he misses it, the performance falls well below his established standard. 

That is why it is considered a choke.

What Causes Athletes to Choke in Big Moments?

Think of performance as a system.

Performance System = Physiological Response (Body) + Psychological Response (Thoughts) + Behavior (Response)

These elements always work together. A shift in one affects the others. A change in the body alters thinking. A change in thinking alters movement and decision-making.

Think about a moment that stirred strong emotion. The physical response showed up first or almost immediately. Heart rate changed. Breathing shifted. Muscle tension followed. Decisions felt different right away.

Performing under pressure requires managing this system as a whole. That means guiding the body, organizing attention, and responding in ways that match the skills you already have.

The first shift usually happens in the body. I call this shift the body buzz.

The body buzz shows up as a faster heart rate, quicker breathing, and a surge of energy moving through the system. Stress hormones rise. Muscles prepare. Attention sharpens. Your body recognizes that something meaningful is happening and signals, “This matters.”

This response exists to help you. It mobilizes energy and narrows focus so you can act with purpose.

Performance gets disrupted when the body buzz rises faster than the rest of the system can organize around it. When heart rate jumps quickly, breathing shortens, and muscles tighten all at once, attention often turns inward. Thinking becomes rigid. Movements lose rhythm.

Access to well-learned skills becomes harder to reach.

The body buzz itself is not the issue. The challenge appears when the system has not practiced operating inside that state.

Practical Tools to Retrain Your Performance System

The goal is not to remove the body buzz. The goal is to train your system to stay organized while it is present.

That starts with awareness. You need to identify which part of your performance system loses coordination first.

Does a surge of adrenaline cause your thoughts to race?

Do racing thoughts tighten your body?

Do both happen together?

Does neither feel obvious at first?

This awareness matters because different tools target different parts of the system. What helps the body may not help attention. What helps attention may not change posture or movement.

This is why having multiple strategies available is useful. You test, notice, and adjust based on what works best for you.

Below are tools I teach athletes to bring the performance system back online.

Physiological Response (Body):

Breathing Techniques

When the body escalates quickly, thinking often follows. Breathing gives you a direct way to influence the nervous system.

The physiological sigh is one of the most effective tools for this. It reduces stress by clearing carbon dioxide from the lungs and reopening air sacs, which helps slow heart rate and breathing rhythm.

How to Do the Physiological Sigh

1. Inhale deeply through your nose.

2. Take a second quick inhale through your nose to fully fill the lungs.

3. Exhale slowly through your mouth, making the exhale longer than the inhale. Imagine cooling a hot drink.

4. Repeat two to three times for a quick reset, or several rounds for deeper calming.

This technique creates space before the body pulls the rest of the system with it.

Psychological Response (Thoughts):

Cue Words or Phrases

A cue phrase is a short, personalized phrase that directs attention to one controllable action. It reduces mental noise and organizes focus.

Cue words work because they simplify thinking. Attention returns to execution instead of outcomes.

Examples include:

“Finish high”

“Soft hands”

“Snap the wrist”

“See the read”

“Smooth and steady”

A good cue phrase tells your body what to do next and gives your mind a clear place to focus.

Behavior:

Forward Center of Mass

Forward center of mass refers to a posture of readiness and engagement.

When pressure rises, posture often shifts backward. Weight settles into the heels. Shoulders drop. Eyes lower. These positions signal hesitation to the body.

I call the corrective movement the Power Hop.

Take two or three small hops in place. This naturally brings weight forward onto the toes, lifts the chest and eyes, and places the body in a responsive position.

Movement shapes perception. When the body organizes forward, readiness and confidence tend to follow.

Coach VJ Takeaways

TL;DR: What to Know and What to Do

What’s happening

• Pressure changes how your body, thoughts, and behavior work together

• Choking happens when that system loses coordination

• Skill does not disappear. Access does

What to focus on

• Notice which part of your system reacts first

• Body, thoughts, or behavior

What to do

• Calm the body with the physiological sigh

• Direct attention with a simple cue phrase

• Reset posture and readiness with the Power Hop

The big idea

Train your performance system the same way you train skills.

Pressure does not need to be removed. It needs to be practiced.

Train pressure the way you train skills. Mental strength is built through repetition and awareness. Download my Pressure Reframes and start filling the gaps exposed by pressure.

FAQ: Freezing and Choking Under Pressure

Why do I freeze under pressure even when I am prepared?

Freezing happens when pressure disrupts your performance system. Your body, thoughts, and behavior stop working together. Even though the skill is well learned, your system struggles to access it when the moment becomes meaningful and time feels compressed.

What does it mean to choke in sports or performance?

Choking is performing well below your normal capability in a high-pressure situation. It only applies when you care about the outcome and already have the ability to perform the task consistently. Choking describes how pressure affects performance, not whether you win or lose.

Is choking about confidence or skill?

Choking is not about a lack of skill. It happens when pressure interferes with how your body and brain access skills you already have. The ability exists. The system struggles to deliver it under stress.

Why does pressure change how my body feels?

Pressure signals to your body that something important requires attention. Heart rate increases, breathing speeds up, and stress hormones rise. This body buzz narrows attention and changes how you think and move.

What is the performance system?

The performance system is how your body, thoughts, and behavior work together.

Performance System = Physiological Response + Psychological Response + Behavior

Each part influences the others. A change in your body affects your thoughts. A change in your thoughts affects how you move and act.

How does pressure disrupt performance?

Pressure disrupts performance when one part of the system goes offline. A racing heart can tighten thinking. Rigid thinking can interfere with movement. When the system loses coordination, execution becomes difficult.

How do I know which part of my system is causing the problem?

Start by noticing what shows up first. Does your body react before your thoughts speed up? Do your thoughts race before your body tightens? Awareness helps you choose the right tool.

What is the physiological sigh and why does it work?

The physiological sigh is a breathing technique that quickly settles the nervous system. It clears carbon dioxide from the lungs and helps slow heart rate and breathing. This creates space for clearer thinking and better movement.

How do cue words help under pressure?

Cue words direct attention to one controllable action. They simplify thinking and reduce overload. A short phrase helps your brain focus on execution instead of outcomes.

What is the Power Hop and how does it help performance?

The Power Hop is a brief movement that shifts posture into readiness. Small hops bring your weight forward, lift your eyes and shoulders, and signal engagement. This posture supports confidence and responsiveness.

Can choking be trained out?

Yes. Training the performance system under pressure helps the body and brain learn how to stay coordinated when stakes rise. Exposure, awareness, and recovery tools build access to skills in meaningful moments.