What if you were able to get more reps in without additional stress on your body? What if there was a way to increase your confidence in your performance without more time in the gym? What if there was a tool you could use from your bed that would give you an edge on your competitors? These were the questions we asked our gymnasts this month in mental training. Their eyes lit up and their minds began to piece together this puzzle. After a few minutes of brainstorming and guessing, we revealed this month's tool: visualization.
Visualization is the practice of using mental imagery to achieve goals and prepare for success. When visualization becomes a regular part of an athlete’s week it helps them to build confidence, overcome mental blocks and improve performance. The power of visualization lies in the fact that our brains do not know the difference between our imagination and reality. When an athlete imagines doing a skill through visualization, the brain fires the same signals as if she were actually doing the skill. The firing of the signal reinforces the pathway of the brain and body connection. That reinforcement mimics the same signals that are sent down the same pathway that is followed when the gymnasts actually do the skill.
This realization led us to do some mental strength math. If a gymnast is able to get 10 reps of a skill done in each practice and she practices 3 days per week, that is 30 reps per week. If she chooses to add visualization to her training plan, she is able to visualize 10 reps of the same skill up to 7 days a week. That is 70 repetitions. That is seventy times the brain fires the signal for the skill to the body and assumes successful completion of the skill. Add the physical reps to the visualization reps and you get 100 reps in a week!
We then asked the question “Would I be more confident going into competition if I have done 70 extra reps the week leading into the meet?”. The resounding answer was “yes!”. Visualization not only helps the body to remember the neurological pathways, it also helps us to focus better, reduce stress and increase confidence. This resulted in tackling one last question - “when do we have time to visualize?”.
The conversation on when we have time to visualize quickly turned into a strategy session about habit stacking and prioritization. This resulted in mutual agreement that doing our visualization before or after a habit that already exists was a great idea. Most of our gymnasts agreed that they could visualize at night before falling asleep or in the morning after brushing their teeth. This gave them a set time each day to build the habit of visualization into their routine. Being willing to take on this experiment demonstrates our gymnasts ability to use a growth mindset and strive to be their best.
This weekend, we will see the results of our visualization experiment. Gymnasts will compete and our goal is that they will use their visualization tool to maximize their experience. We will then gather next week to discuss how it went, what they noticed and hopefully fine tune the practice even further. Incorporating visualization in competition prep and as a regular training habit will allow our athletes to achieve their goals and give them the agency to improve their own performance with the power of their mind. That is a lesson they can carry with them throughout their lives.
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