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Improving Your Game with Your Mind There are many ways athletes work to improve their performance. Training, appropriate rest and cross training are all ways to improve your body’s performance. However, there are ways to improve your athletic performance using just your mind, too. One of the most effective ways is the use of visualization or imagery. Visualization or imagery involves using your senses to create an experience in your mind, to help improve the performance in this activity the next time it is performed in reality. For instance, you "see yourself winning the race", or "see yourself beating your best time ever". Or, you may just visualize yourself performing the skill correctly, with no specified outcome. You mentally visualize making the movements and taking the required steps make the event happen in reality. Research has shown that visualization is very effective at improving performance. There are two schools of thought on visualization and its ability to help you improve performance in any area of your life. They are Psychoneuromuscular and inflow/outflow theory – These theories suggest that thinking about a skill leads you to create a muscular pattern of the physical skill that flows into the central nervous system. Once in the central nervous system, your body is able to produce a central motor program regarding the skill, or strengthen one that already exists. The outflow portion of this theory adds to the other parts by suggesting that any program ingrained into the central nervous system will flow out of the body more naturally, producing better performance. The Symbolic learning theory supposes that visualization aids in performance by helping athletes develop a pattern for the muscular movements required by the sport. This helps the required movements become more familiar and automatic. To practice visual imagery, you’ll need to employ at least one of three types of imagery activities. These are: External perspective exercises - this approach includes visualizing the desired result as an observer - like watching a movie of yourself performing. It can be especially effective Internal perspective exercises – with this approach, you see the activity you’re your perspective when you are performing. You see the finish line in front of you, for example, and imagine crossing it. Or you see your body moving exactly in the proper motion to perform the activity correctly. Kinesthetic exercises – with this approach, you focus on how your body feels when executing the movements required in your sport. When you’re ready to practice, it’s helpful to go to a quiet place where you can close your eyes and relax. These techniques are much like those of meditation, and are most effective when you can devote some uninterrupted time to practice. |