Can Visualization Improve Athletic Performance?

The Science Behind Guided Imagery

Alexander Bain (1818–1903) was the first scientist to theorize how the brain, through images, can build neural patterns to direct physical movement. The science of imagery is called the “psychoneuromuscular theory.” The theory states the mind, brain, and body are interconnected, acting as one unit rather than three separate entities.

Essentially, a mentally rehearsed event is experienced similarly to an actual one. Mentally rehearsed images trigger the same brain and nervous system responses as the physical event.
When an athlete rehearses scenes in their mind, their brain interprets them as if they are performing the action.

In other words, imagery generates similar impulses in the brain and the muscles as if an athlete was performing the action in a competition or training session. Over time, your muscles become trained to perform tasks similar to how you mentally rehearsed those images. This is referred to as “muscle memory.”

Moving Right Along…

Enough of the science, let’s look at a practical example:

Have you ever had a nightmare that someone was chasing you? Suddenly, you awaken with your heart pounding and your body sweating. Was anyone actually chasing you? No, the images tricked your brain into initiating the stress response. That is the power images can have on your physiology.

Nightmares, dreams, and mental rehearsals/ guided mental imagery are mental movies. While dreams are unconscious events, guided imagery is a purposeful, conscious, and active mental exercise. During guided imagery sessions, you are the writer (you create the script), the director (you direct the scene), and the actor (you perform the action). The more you watch the mental movie reruns of an event, the more you embed these images into your brain and biology.

The Benefits of Guided Imagery

Improving concentration.
Building confidence
Managing emotional responses
Acquiring, practising, or fine-tuning your skills.
Coping with pain or injury
Aiding the injury healing process or recovery time
Confidently and successfully returning to competition after injury
Pushing past comfort in training
Dealing with discomfort or tiredness during competitions
Improving sport performance
Increasing strength or physical fitness
Resisting food cravings
Relaxing
Managing anxiety
Preparing to compete
Building mental toughness

Sports Imagery Example

Guided mental imagery is defined as a conscious, purposeful, and specific scene you create in your mind to increase the likelihood of a repeat performance in the physical realm.

For guided imagery to be maximally impactful, you should engage all the senses: olfactory (smelling), gustatory (tasting), auditory (hearing), visual (seeing), kinesthetic (feeling of movement), and tactile (feeling of pressure against the skin).

Here’s a guided imagery example for a swimmer attempting to qualify for the 100-meter freestyle at Olympic Trials. For this swimmer to create a vivid experience, the following ingredients will profoundly stimulate the senses:

Smelling chlorine in the air.
Tasting the sweetness of their energy drink.
Seeing the stands, pool, arena, starting blocks, lighting, backstroke flags, etc.
Feeling their suit and goggles against their body.
Sensing the air and water temperatures.
Hearing the sounds of the crowd, the starting signal, and the rushing of water.
Performing their pre-race routine.
Diving into the pool, feeling their body moving through the water, feeling confident, driving their kick, and turning over their hands fast.
Seeing themselves finishing their race strong, seeing their final time, and realizing they achieved a personal best.
Seeing their teammates and coach cheering loudly.
Feeling excited, exhilarated, and proud.

You won’t always have time to rehearse an entire athletic event mentally. However, you can still benefit from shorter imagery sessions according to your needs.

Guided mental imagery can help improve performance or future responses in countless abbreviated scenarios:

Powering up a 1-max rep in weight training
Sinking a 10-foot putt in golf
Cycling powerfully up a half-mile hill (and, yes, without smoking)
Finishing strong during the last minutes of an intense exercise class
Making a game-winning save in a soccer match
Resisting the urge to eat late-night snacks

Keys to Successful Guided Imagery

Commit – Make a long-term commitment to developing imagery skills.
Practice – Schedule and consistently engage in imagery sessions.
Relax – Use a relaxation strategy to quiet your mind and body before the imagery session.
Be vivid – Utilize all senses to create a visual experience.
Engage emotions – Feel what emotions you would experience after successfully performing an event.
Create a script – Write out an imagery script including all the components of a successful experience. For example, you can use bullet points instead of writing a long narrative.

The research regarding the positive effects of guided imagery is extensive and definitive. Physical training combined with guided imagery sessions produces more significant gains over physical practice alone.

Our human capacity is great, and we are just scratching the surface of our potential. Guided imagery is a powerful tool to help you uncover more of that potential.

“Whatever your mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” ~ Napoleon Hill

Coach Michael

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