This article explains the secret scale elite athletes use to get in the zone, based on activation numbers you can track in real time. Written by mental wellness and mental performance coach Misty Buck, it shows how to recognize when you are under-activated or over-activated, and what to do to get back into your optimal flow state.

An activation number is a simple 1–10 rating of your mental and physical arousal, from flat and unfocused to locked in and ready, to overhyped and tense. Most athletes have felt the zone before, but it can be hard to repeat on demand because the nervous system shifts throughout a game.

The good news is that flow is not random. Athletes can learn their personal “sweet spot,” notice when they drift, and make small adjustments that bring them back. The Activation Scale gives a practical way to do that, before performance slips or emotions take over.

Understanding the Activation Scale in Sports

Every athlete knows the feeling of being “flat” (low energy or motivation) vs being “shaky” (pre-game jitters, overhyped). Both of these, while normal, are risk factors for your energy level and your performance. 

The Activation Scale is commonly referred to in sports psychology as the ideal arousal state (physical and mental energy) for peak performance. It works like this: 

• The 1–3 Zone (Under-Aroused):
  • Feeling: Bored, sleepy, distracted.
  • Result: Slow reaction times and mental “fog.”
• The 4–6 Zone (The Sweet Spot):
  • Feeling: Focused, alert, “anticipating” rather than “reacting.”
  • Result: Fluid movement, high confidence, “The Zone” or “flow state.”
• The 7–10 Zone (Over-Aroused):
  • Feeling: Panic, frantic energy, muscle tension.
  • Result: Choking, “tunnel vision,” and making unforced errors.

The scale is based on a couple of ideologies. For starters, there is the Yerkes-Dodson law, which is a psychological principle that performance and emotions work together as an inverted-U curve where performance improves with arousal up to an optimal point, and then it declines. 

Similarly, in mindfulness, we talk about equanimity or the middle way, which is not being too high or too low. The best mind, body, soul, and emotional state is in the middle, balanced, focused, and centered. 

How Fernando Mendoza Uses The Activation Scale

Before the 2025 College Football National Championship Game, reporter Holly Rowe spoke with the College Gameday Crew about how Heisman-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza says he prepares for games. He told Rowe that after his pregame meals and meetings, he’ll take a 30-60 minute nap, which he learned from sleep scientists at Berkley. When he gets on the bus, he’ll pray a rosary, and when he gets to the stadium, he puts on his contact lenses. But perhaps one of the most important steps comes next. 

Mendoza told Rowe that the last thing he’ll do is meditate for 10 minutes, and when he comes out, he evaluates his activation point. According to Rowe, Mendoza said, “When it’s at a 10, I don’t make good decisions, and I don’t play well.  Those are my worst games of the year. I want to have an activation of 6. That means I’m calm and I’m zen and I’ll perform at my best.”

Of course, we all know Indiana went on to win the National Championship with Mendoza making this legendary play. 

The Activation Quiz: Where is your needle pointing?

Most of us know where we are on this Activation Scale simply by pausing to notice. This is why breathing exercises and meditation can be so useful. In addition to helping you focus, you’re able to check in with yourself. This is important because many times we’re just going from one thing to the next, so we may not fully realize what we’re actually feeling in any given moment on any given day. 

To help you learn how to recognize your own Activation Scale number, take a few deep breaths, letting yourself just be. Settle into your breath. After a few moments of doing this, check in with yourself to see where you are on that 1-10 scale. 

Here are some questions you might want to ask yourself and observe the answer: 

• Check your body: (A) Do you feel heavy and disconnected, (B) light and bouncy, or (C), tight and restless, or bursting with energy?
• Check your focus: (A) Is your mind wandering, (B) locked onto your intent, or (C) jumping from one “what-if” to the next, or overly eager?
• Check your breath: (A) Is it slow and shallow, (B) deep and rhythmic, or (C) high in your chest and fast?
• Check your heart: (A) Do you feel indifferent, (B) quietly ready, or (C) like you’re on the edge of a cliff or overly excited?

If you chose mostly As: You’re in the 1–3 Zone. If you chose mostly Bs: You’re in the 4–6 Zone. If you chose mostly Cs: You’re in the 7–10 Zone. 

Exceptions to the Activation Scale by Sport

For some sports or positions, it’s actually better to have a high Activation Scale number during specific moments. However, it also matters what’s driving the higher number. 

 “Athletic performance depends heavily on cognitive functions and emotional regulation. Activation Theory illustrates how athletes can harness the right level of arousal to boost their performance. Take a basketball player, for instance. During critical moments—like the last few seconds of a close game—heightened arousal can sharpen focus and decisiveness. However, if excitement shifts to anxiety, the player may rush decisions, leading to missed shots or turnovers,” says Dr. Paul McCarthy in an article he wrote on the topic. 

The takeaway is simple: a higher number is not always “bad,” and a lower number is not always “bad.” It depends on the demands of the moment. For example, for quarterbacks, you need to maintain calm and clarity while staying in a “next play mentality,” as Jayden Daniels has spoken about.

If your sport (or position) requires fine motor control and precision, a 7–10 can quickly turn into tension. Think free throws, putting, penalty kicks, pitching accuracy, serving in tennis, or a gymnast sticking a landing. If your moment requires explosive output or controlled aggression, you may perform better closer to the upper end, as long as the energy is focused, not frantic.

A better way to say it is this: The goal is the right kind of energy for the job where you’re locked in and in flow.

How to Use Activation Theory to Help You Get in The Zone

As we already established, the zone can feel elusive because you cannot force flow. However, what you can do is set up the conditions for it. Activation Theory gives you a simple way to do that by helping you notice your current state, identify your best performance state, and make small adjustments to close the gap. 

The practical application is simple: You have to train for it. For starters, in practice, build a few moments that feel like game pressure, whether that’s time constraints, score situations, competition, or consequences. Then notice what number you’re at, what number you play best at, and what throws you off balance. 

For example, in a mental health podcast that I co-host called Bailey and Buck Unplugged, my co-host Robert Bailey told us a story about how his former University of Miami Coach Jimmy Johnson would call for “sudden change” in the middle of training camp. The idea was that when the team turned the ball over or something bad happened, Coach Johnson wanted the team to be prepared to face that adversity. 

“It created this alertness in our minds. As soon as they took the ball, it was, ‘Don’t let the momentum go to the other team.’ That ‘sudden change’ mindset made us go out and play the next few snaps like our job was to stop their momentum. We played at a higher level because the whole staff was screaming, ‘Sudden change! Sudden change!’ and it got in us,” said Bailey. “Later, I realized he had created something in us during training camp, and we didn’t even know what he was doing. Once we understood what ‘sudden change’ meant to us, it helped us win a national championship because we didn’t let teams use a turnover to build momentum.”

Secondly, mental conditioning for self-regulation is key. Work with a mental performance coach to create a personalized set of tools that help you relax and lock in. These often include breathing techniques, meditation, self-talk, affirmations, etc. You can also use tools like apps such as Zenletes for daily mental conditioning training guidance.

Have one or two strategies that reliably settle your body when you feel rushed, tight, or shaky, and one or two that reliably raise your energy when you feel flat or disconnected. Pair each tool with a quick check-in: “What number am I at right now, and what would move me one point closer to my best number?” The more often you practice these small shifts in training, the more automatic they become on game day.

Pregame Routine: Your On-Ramp To Flow

The zone can feel elusive because it is not a switch you flip. Flow is a state your nervous system allows when the conditions are right.

A pregame routine helps you create those conditions on purpose, while your activation number tells you which part of the routine you need most. The more you know yourself and practice what works for you, the more often you’re likely to reach this optimal state. 

The more you track your numbers and test what works, the more patterns you’ll notice:

• What number do you start games at?
• What number do you play best at?
• What triggers push you too high or too low?
• What brings you back to your best state?

Use the Activation Scale to choose the right routine on gameday

Some athletes, like Mendoza, have very specific gameday routines. Even so, we’re all humans, so sometimes those routines may not go as planned. In either case, start by checking in to see where you’re at. 

Before warmups, check your number.

• If you’re a 1–3 (flat): your routine should wake up the body and sharpen attention.
  
• If you’re a 7–10 (overhyped): your routine should slow your internal speed and soften tension.
  
• If you’re a 4–6 (sweet spot): your routine should protect that state and keep it steady.
  

Sample Pregame Routines

Routine A: Dial it up (for the 1–3 athlete)

Time: 3–5 minutes

1. Movement (60 seconds): quick feet, skips, light jumps, or a short build-up sprint. (Movement is important here because it has been repeatedly shown that effort creates more energy.)
2. Breath (60 seconds): inhale 4, exhale 2, repeat.
3. Cue phrase (30 seconds): one short line that gives you direction (example: “Start fast” or “Attack the next play”).
4. One clear image (30 seconds): picture the first play done well.
   

Routine B: Dial it down (for the 7–10 athlete)

Time: 3–5 minutes

1. Release tension (30 seconds): drop your shoulders, unclench your jaw, relax your hands.
2. Breath (90 seconds): inhale 4, exhale 6, repeat.
3. Widen your focus (30 seconds): soften your gaze and notice what’s around you.
4. One job (30 seconds): pick one simple focus for the first few minutes of play (example: “See it early” or “Next rep”).
   

Routine C: Protect the sweet spot (for the 4–6 athlete)

Time: 2–3 minutes

1. Breath (60 seconds): inhale 4, exhale 4.
2. Lock in your cues (30 seconds): one technical cue + one mindset cue.
3. Commit (10 seconds): decide how you will respond if something goes wrong early.

Clearly, training using Activation Theory and knowing your Activation Scale number can give athletes a tremendous mental and physical edge. It transforms “the zone” from a mysterious, random occurrence into a manageable destination. By treating your mental state with the same precision you treat your physical reps, you stop leaving your performance to chance. 

You don’t need to wait for the perfect feeling to strike; you simply need to check your needle, adjust your dial, and trust the process. Whether you are stepping onto a national championship field or a local court, remember that peak performance is finding your personal flow state triggers and recognizing when you’re off. Find your number, protect your peace, and the flow will follow.

Want to chat more about this and other mental wellness and mental performance strategies? Let’s connect.

Photo by gaspar zaldo on Unsplash