Mental imagery as used by many athletes of the world, works. This skill often referred to as visualization, mental practice, and mental rehearsal skill development. The premise asserts there is a connection between the mind and the subsequent neuromuscular reaction. Taking the thought further this process happens without conscious awareness between the conception and the execution of the act. This concept of the mind muscle connection is evident in the Electromyographic (EMG) analysis of muscle engagement and movement. Four groups of athletes were studied. The first did the task, the second group imagined the task through to completion, the third performed eye movements only while the last passive control subjects received no training at all. After the tests of speed accuracy were completed it was determined that mental training promotes the skill of the visualized physical movement. The research has demonstrated and produced data that shows the brain can initiate motor movement without actually moving muscles. So clearly the link is there. But just what is mental imagery and how can it help you become stronger? Simply put it means using your imagination to create powerfully realistic perfect scenarios of future athletic events as a rehearsal for the actual competition. It can also be used to recreate past successful activities to either promote a higher level of emotional engagement or to lessen prestart energy nervousness. Imagery provides the athlete with extra intensely focused training time-in their head. Your athletes, or maybe even you, probably already use mental imagery. It comes naturally. What doesn't come naturally is doing it in a systematically purposeful fashion. Skills develop through practice by perfecting precise movement patterns. Mental training is much the same. It has to be trained in a systematic and correct manner if it is to become productive. Some athletes shy away from these types of exercises because it's too hard or they don't believe in its effectiveness. Either way these individuals are not living up to their physical potential. Mental imagery training is useful to an athlete in a number of ways: Seeing success
Motivation
Managing energy levels
Learning and perfecting the sport skills
Refocusing
Preparing for an event Seeing success
Perfect visualization of a technique, skill or of achieving goals instills confidence in the person that these are attainable. Expansions of limits and greater expectations of the possibilities that exist are made feasible through the mental pictures. Perceptions of what it feels like to succeed, by executing perfect movements, pre program the brain and neuromuscular apparatus of the organism to then accomplish the tasks. Motivation Long periods of training sometimes induce a lack of motivational intensity within the athlete. Imagining past successes and high level competitive results can be a help in maintaining the persistence to continue the programs present cycle. Managing energy levels Use calming images to relax and high energy ones to raise or psych yourself up. Learning and perfecting the sport skills Perfecting a sport skill through mental imagining allows an additional form of practice and this practice can be made perfect; in your brain. This training helps correct technique mistakes or errors of skill execution during the competition by going over step by step every movement. Reducing these patterns and slowing them down into manageable parts allows analysis and corrections to be made of the various segments. Refocusing Distractions surround an athlete both in training and competition. Minimizing those that come up allows for a more complete focus on the task at hand. Developing a reference point will often get the trainee back on track by gently reminding them of what is important at the moment. Preparing for an event Mental preparation is a vital as the physical conditioning. According to Dariusz Nowicki 'when two athletes of equal physical skill and ability compete with each other, the one who is better mentally prepared is the winner. It even happens that an athlete perfectly prepared physically loses against a physically weaker but mentally stronger opponent'. In the case of preparing for a meet visualization allows the athlete to be in the environment, rehearsing the moves, techniques and skills necessary for success and then reinforcing the key elements that will take place during the contest. Even unexpected situations that may appear in the meet can be prepared for by imagining what to do at these moments to successfully deal with them. Training your visualization skills Find a quiet place to practice, later on you can go into different situations and continue to develop these skills under varying conditions. To begin with follow these suggestions in order to get the most from your mental training sessions. Take these training suggestions one at a time until they become second nature to do. See yourself performing a skill or movement from start to finish in a precise and perfectly clear manner. These images should not be fuzzy or be seen with gaps in the execution of any of the activities. Control the images so they are performing exactly right each time for the entire length of the skill. Doing so helps to 'set' the tone for the visualization to become successful in real time and motion. Engage all of your senses while imagining. The more sensations you are feeling during this session the greater will be the transfer to real live experiences. Feel the knurling on the bar; acknowledge the weight and how it pushes into your palm or shoulders. Can you hear the announcer calling you to the platform, or are you 'in the hole' about ready to lift? How about the smell of the ammonia or the sight of the chalk in the air, on the floor and on the bar when you lift? You can almost taste it if you are in the zone of mental imagining. Premeet jitters or premeet lack of involvement will affect your performance in a negative way. Deal with them in your mind. Practice seeing success by envisioning yourself as being full of energy and lifting to your full capability. If you are a bit nonplussed then imagine something energetic and bring yourself up. Continue to mentally practice your craft at practice and during the meet. Read more here: http://www.explosivelyfit.com/Articles.htm To get strength and power information delivered straight to your computer then sign up for Danny O'Dell's Explosivelyfit Training News at http://www.explosivelyfit.com/ |
