Using Imagery in Strength and Conditioning

Mental training involves the use of skills that research has shown to be present in the training of successful athletes compared to less successful ones (Gould et.al., 2002 ; Weinberg et.al., 1994). Those skills, rather than innate characteristics, can be developed through formal training  (Durand-Bush et.al., 2002 ; Gould et.al., 2002). As athletes spend a good deal of their training time in the weight room it would be a good place to integrate mental skill training as performers using mental skills were more successful when they use them both in training and competition (Frey et.al., 2003 ; Thomas et.al., 1999). Psychological skills like goal setting, confidence building, seem to be more widely used by strength coaches, whereas more complex cognitive skills such as imagery seem to be use considerably less (Radcliffe et.al., 2015). Mental imagery can be very beneficial to athlete for motor learning, as it activates the muscles that are going to work during the real movement. Jody et.al. (1990) showed that the same muscles used for juggling are activated in the same sequence when visualizing the movement. Your brain is literally practicing the skill or movement you imagine. Imagery can also lead to improvement in strength. Lebon et.al. (2010) showed that imagery training, performed during a rest period, improved maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), which is the capacity to actively contract your muscle, a higher MVC indicate that you can activate more motor unit in your muscles and therefore produce more force. 

In the weight room context where complex movement requiring focus, good technical skills and strong muscle contraction, visualization can be very helpful. The first step is to prepare for visualization by relaxing and clearing your mind. Simple breathing routine can help to achieve this state and training make it more effective and faster (Nideffer, 1979). Then the athlete only have to imagine the movement he want to perform (like a squat), the strength coach role is simply to guide the imagery to relevant cues : « push through the heels », « chest up » etc. There are 3 important elements to effective visualization : Clarity, control and positivity (Weinberg & Gould, 2007). A simple way to help athletes progressively become better at visualization is to ask them how clear or in control their visualization was (out of 5 using fingers in a group setting work well). You  can also help the athlete get better at a specific element, for clarity give them progressively more details to imagine. For control, guide them to do specific part of the movement, like taking a pause in a squat or feeling stronger through the push. Finally, positivity of the image is very important as Murphy et.al. (1988) showed that visualizing with fear, anger or relaxation lead to lower strength level. It is essential to visualize what you want as an outcome. Key words can be use as a reminder when you are about to start visualizing such as « Strong core » « Stiff legs », to keep the focus toward the outcome : getting stronger.

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