How imagery works

The body-mind connection

When an individual imagines performing an activity, their mind sends electrical signals to the affected portions of the body in the same manner as if the activity had actually been physically performed. This remarkable finding has been validated by several research articles and studies, a few of which I have included on this page. Athletes have the option of creating an image which they view from their own eyes (Internal imagery) or visualize the image as a spectator from the stands (external imagery).

It is common for imagery to be part of a relaxation process where athletes close their eyes, breathe deeply, and attempt to relax. As a team activity this can be done in group or with individual athletes. Like most skills, the more practice, the more proficient the athlete becomes with the skill.

Maximizing performance

In a Swim Swam video, Oliver Poirier-Leroy, a former national level swimmer based out of Victoria British Columbia, describes how visualization helps top athletes swim to their maximum their performance. He shares Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Muhammad Ali, and Michael Phelps shared imagery as one of their most important tools to aid in their performance. He lays out the process of visualization, or mental imagery, as sitting down, closing eyes, and daydreaming yourself achieving your goal. Practicing this regularly can help “hard-wire” a good performance into the mind, helping athletes go into autopilot.

He shares evidence of effectiveness of imagery by citing research done on powerlifters brain patterns during lifting and imagining weightlifting. The scans were almost identical. Doing both the activity and imagining it in this study was more effective on performance than simply doing the activity. In order to make the most out of this skill, Poirier-Leroy emphasized the following: have a specific outcome, make the outcome positive, imaging calmly dealing with setbacks, when noticing wandering stop reset and start again, the more details the better, and the more you practice it the better you will become at using imagery.

The impact of imagery

In Psychology Today, psychologist Jim Taylor, asserts that out of all the mental skills tools one can use, mental imagery has the greatest impact on sport performance. Dr. Taylor shares that imagery brought his competitive skiing to the next level when he incorporated imagery into a final project in college. In his own words he, “turned his doubts to confidence, distraction to focus, anxiety to intensity, timidness to aggressiveness, and decent results to outstanding results.” In graduate school, Dr. Taylor learned that virtually all great athletes use imagery and research has shown that the combination of practice with imagery improves performance than just practice alone.

Imagery can impact individuals psychologically, emotionally physically, technically, and tactically. This mental skill is a tool that Dr. Taylor has emphasized for over 25 years working with professional, Olympic, collegiate, and junior elite athletes to help them reach their goals. Dr. Taylor concludes the article with four keys to impact the quality of imagery: perspective being internal or external, controlling what is being created, multiple senses being incorporated, and speed being adjustable in your image. Dr. Taylor offers some additional suggestions to make the most of imagery:

Develop an off-sport imagery program (consistency is key)
Set imagery goals (be specific)
Climb imagery ladder (increase the difficulty of imagery scenarios as you advance)
Training and Competitive Specific Imagery (practice and competitive situations)
Imagery Content (use both pre-performance routine and the performance)
Imagery Sessions (three to four per week)
Imagery Journal (log key aspects of imagery, quality of imagined performance, feelings that occurred, and what needs to be worked on next time)

In this SwimSwam article, Oliver Poirier-Leroy, a former national level swimmer based out of Victoria British Columbia, describes how visualization helps top athletes swim to their maximum their performance. He shares Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Muhammad Ali, and Michael Phelps shared imagery as one of their most important tools to aid in their performance. He lays out the process of visualization, or mental imagery, as sitting down, closing eyes, and daydreaming yourself achieving your goal. Practicing this regularly can help “hard-wire” a good performance into the mind, helping athletes go into autopilot. He shares evidence of effectiveness of imagery by citing research done on powerlifters brain patterns during lifting and imagining weightlifting. The scans were almost identical. Doing both the activity and imagining it in this study was more effective on performance than simply doing the activity. In order to make the most out of this skill, Poirier-Leroy emphasized the following: have a specific outcome, make the outcome positive, imaging calmly dealing with setbacks, when noticing wandering stop reset and start again, the more details the better, and the more you practice it the better you will become at using imagery.

Dr. Jim Taylor, current University of San Francisco professor and psychology specialist, in this Psychology Today article asserts that out of all the mental skills tools one can use, mental imagery has the greatest impact on sport performance. Dr. Taylor shares that imagery brought his competitive skiing to the next level when he incorporated imagery into a final project in college. In his own words he, “turned his doubts to confidence, distraction to focus, anxiety to intensity, timidness to aggressiveness, and decent results to outstanding results.” In graduate school, Dr. Taylor learned that virtually all great athletes use imagery and research has shown that the combination of practice with imagery improves performance than just practice alone.

Develop an off-sport imagery program (consistency is key)
Set imagery goals (be specific)
Climb imagery ladder (increase the difficulty of imagery scenarios as you advance)
Training and Competitive Specific Imagery (practice and competitive situations)
Imagery Content (use both pre-performance routine and the performance)
Imagery Sessions (three to four per week)
Imagery Journal (log key aspects of imagery, quality of imagined performance, feelings that occurred, and what needs to be worked on next time)

Former Army officer and Olympic Psychologist Charlie Unwin articulates how elite performers use imagery to help reach their goals in this Ted Talk. Unwin states that an overwhelming majority of elite performers use visualization, also known as imagery or mental rehearsal, to help them learn skills quicker and with greater precision. This mental skill guides their focus and control in almost all activities. This is a skill that Unwin points out is natural in most children. Unwin states that the more conscious an individual is at performing visualization the more effective it is. When performing visualization, an individual uses the same neuropathways as when they actually physically perform the action. Performing the visualization in real time and incorporating as many senses as possible makes it most effective. Unwin states that visualization allows individuals to

Learn and reproduce skills more quickly, accurately, and smoothly
Manage expectations and emotions more effectively
Avoid repeating the same mistakes
Maintain presence of mind in high pressure situations
Experience greater commitment and motivation
Experience more confidence in our own abilities

If one believes in Ericson’s 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become masters of a skill, Unwin states visualization can become essential to training because it makes reaching this amount of time quicker and safer to accomplish. Additionally, Unwin cited a study that stated those that visualized regularly had greater blood flow to the areas of the brain responsible for decision making, problem solving, and general positive action. These individuals in the study were more resilient under threats in day-to-day life.

Unwin states the biggest obstacle for those that choose not to use visualization is that, “they are too busy.” This is because, in Unwin’s words, visualization requires us to slow things down and deepen our focus. This is the opposite of what are brain does when it is put under pressure. Elite performers recognize this and intentionally plan it into their days schedule. The second big obstacle Unwin states is a statement, “success removes the need to get better.” In Unwin’s own words, “Visualization is something that we once did when we were learning and getting better and something that we had allowed ourselves to believe that we had made it.”