By Andy Newell
The concept of focused visualization training to increase performance is now widely used across all elite sports. We know there is a powerful link between the mind and body, but what is the best way to train these neural pathways?
In my experience, a lot of athletes misinterpret what visualization practice is supposed to be. The most common misconception is that we use visualization to picture ourselves achieving our greatest accomplishments and BIG goals. Picturing ourselves winning that gold medal will help it become reality! Yes, we want to dream big, but visualizing goes beyond a ski season's big performance and we can visualize everyday performances as well. In fact, visualizing practice scenarios such as interval days, speed sessions, etc can improve our brains ability to use visualization effectively.
This is a theory I learned from a sports psychologist I worked with for many years, Dr. Jon Hammermeister. Jon encouraged me to use a more practical approach to visualization and not just visualize race performances, rather use this visualization on a weekly basis to help refine what he referred to as 'neural pathways'.
I like the term neural pathways because you can almost picture a forest with a winding trail network with pathways intertwined throughout the trees. Each pathway leads to the final destination but by using a unique route. The more these pathways are used, the more packed down they get. The easier they are to navigate and the smoother they are to travel on. Thinking of our mental neural pathways this way is helpful. We can't expect ourselves to 'bushwhack' through the forrest on race day and be successful, we want smooth pathways. We need to train our minds and engrain a wide variety of neural pathways so that when we are actually in a racing scenario we can be mentally stronger.
This is why it's crucial for athletes to visualize practices in addition to races. In fact, it might be more beneficial to visualize training sessions in order to refine these neural pathways. For someone looking to increase their mental game I recommend using imagery before any interval session. Visualize yourself going through the motions of the workout, visualize yourself performing, visualize yourself using cue words and self talk (See Cue Words) , and visualize yourself overcoming obstacles. What do you do when your skis feel slow? What do you do when you crash? What do you do if you get passed by another teammate during intervals? These are all opportunities to develop your neural pathways so you can succeed on race day.
Attached is a video with an audio track that was supplied by the US Olympic Committee over 15 years ago, but I still think it's a great imagery track because its simple, generic, and can be used in a quick 5 minute visualization session before practices and races.
So how do you use it?
This can be left up to personal preference, but in the past I have used this track for a short 5 minute visualization session in the morning before any hard interval session.
I recommend getting in the habit of using this visualization track in the morning before interval sessions and continue the same routine on race days. Remember to picture yourself performing your best and really think about how it FEELS technically and physically, but also leave time to picture yourself overcoming an obstacle. Above all stay positive and calm and you will be surprised how this will improve the quality of your interval days and help you bring a stronger mental performance on race days.
