Pre-lift nerves are not weakness — a Super Bowl champion threw up before games
In short
Lane Johnson, the two-time Super Bowl champion offensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles, has dealt with performance anxiety since college, and it worsened across his NFL career. For an 8 p.m. game he would wake at 5:30 a.m. and vomit, and his teammates dry heaved before games too. The cause he names is not poor preparation but temperament — most football players are perfectionists. What changed things was not a training adjustment either: it was talking with MMA fighters who described the same experience, which reframed the anxiety as human rather than as a personal defect.
Lane Johnson is considered one of the strongest men in football. This summer he invited World's Strongest Man Mitchell Hooper to train with him, and he helped deliver titles in 2017 and 2024. Here is what that same athlete says about game days: “A lot of us would dry heave before games. We would wake up early, and it was like a mini panic attack for us.”
Why do the best-prepared athletes shake the most?
Johnson points at temperament. Most football players are perfectionists, and perfectionism means running the odds of a mistake in advance. When that calculation turns into arousal, the body starts responding as though the game has already begun — hours early. Waking at 5:30 a.m. and throwing up before an 8 p.m. kickoff is not a sign of being underprepared; it is a sign that the readiness response switched on far too soon. Johnson says he did not understand what his body was doing at first.
What actually changed it?
Not a program. Johnson says the shift came from finding common ground with MMA fighters who described the same pre-fight collapse. Once he knew athletes in other sports went through it, he began seeing the anxiety as part of being human rather than a flaw of his own. He believes the conversation itself is the obstacle: “A lot of people are scared to have the conversation. At the same time, I know a lot of my teammates may be struggling with this.”
How does this apply to a max attempt?
- Do not try to erase the arousal — a true max needs some of it. The problem is not arousal, it is arousal firing hours early.
- Fix the time of the attempt — when the body knows when to switch on, it has less reason to stay on all day. That is the practical case for setting a time to test your max.
- Drop the load in the final week — leftover fatigue means no confidence in your readiness, and no confidence feeds the nerves. Tapering is psychological preparation as much as physical.
- Do not do it alone — Johnson's fix was ultimately to talk. Telling a training partner what you plan to attempt changes the character of the hours before it.
On fairlift a max lift feeds straight into your Muscle Index, and a number other people can see is itself a source of pressure. So plan for the night-before nerves as the default state, not the exception. Postponing an attempt when the day is clearly not there is part of that plan — a missed attempt leaves nothing in your log, but it does leave something in your recovery debt.
If the anxiety is not confined to competition day and starts disrupting sleep, eating, or work, that is not a training problem to program around. Johnson's account shows that talking helps; it is not a substitute for professional care.
Frequently asked questions
Is feeling sick before a competition or a max attempt normal?
It is not unusual. NFL offensive tackle Lane Johnson says he and his teammates dry heaved before games, and that he would wake early and vomit ahead of a night kickoff. It reflects a readiness response firing too early rather than poor preparation.
Why does performance anxiety hit well-trained athletes?
Johnson points to perfectionism. Most football players are perfectionists, and the habit of calculating every possible mistake in advance pulls the arousal response hours ahead of the event.
How did Lane Johnson deal with it?
Not by changing his training. He found common ground with MMA fighters who had the same pre-fight experience, and once he knew other athletes went through it he began treating the anxiety as human rather than as a personal flaw.
What can you adjust to reduce nerves before a PR attempt?
Manage when the arousal switches on rather than trying to remove it. Fix the time of the attempt in advance, lower the load in the final week so you trust your readiness, and tell a training partner what you intend to lift.
Is it acceptable to postpone an attempt because of nerves?
Yes. A missed attempt records nothing but still costs recovery. If the day is not there, moving the attempt to the next session is a legitimate part of the plan.
Source: Men's Health