The PGA Masters was just this past weekend and it’s always a great event to watch, regardless of who wins.

One of the best to play the Masters was Jack Nicklaus.  He once said “Before every shot, I go to the movies inside my head.”

What the heck is he talking about?

To answer the question, follow along with the following exercise.  Then we’ll discuss what it is and how you can purposely use the skill to enhance your athletic performance.  The example I’m going to use relates to golf and this skill is applicable to any sport or athletic pursuit so simply substitute the appropriate sport terminology.

You’re going have to read this all the way first, then come back…close your eyes and perform the exercise.

Take a minute and think back to your best round of golf…your best whole.  It could have been yesterday, least week, or months ago, simply bring to mind the best round and the best hole in that round.

With your eyes shut, mentally look at a take in all the surroundings as you stand near the tee.  See yourself approach the tee…see what you saw when you looked down the fairway….feel what your felt when you took your practice swing….hear what you heard…that “ping” when the club connected with the ball.  Feel what you felt when you KNEW it as a great shot.  See the ball flying down the fairway…see it land….hear the others in the foursome as they explode with enthusiasm.  Now continue on to the next shot and finally on to the green.  See the hole in front of you…see the line of the put you’re about to take…feel the putter in your hands….feel yourself shifting your weight…feel the club swing back and connect with the ball…see the clubface hit the ball….watch the ball travel towards the hole and then hear the “clunk” as the ball goes into the hole.  We experience in your mind the shots you took to get the ball from the tea into the whole.  How effortless it felt!

The skill you just used was to re-experience playing a great whole of golf.  This is the same skill Jack Nicholas was referring to…it is visualization.  Some call it imagery or mental rehearsal, and actually all are shorthand for an internal representation.

Visualization can be defined as creating or re-creating a sensory rich experience in one’s mind, is a mental strength skill that is used by almost all elite athletes to enhance their athletic performance.

Visualization is a critical and extremely valuable mental training skill that can serve many purposes related to enhancing athletic and personal performance.  Visualization can be used to:

• Build confidence by seeing past and future success
• Prepare for competition through mental rehearsal of various situations
• Motivate by imaging past and future competitions and competitors
• Learn and perfect skills through technique mental rehearsal

As an amateur or even semi-pro athlete you’re tasked with trying to balance family, career, and other pursuits in addition to your athletic goals.  Visualization can be a valuable tool and asset for you.

Unlike collegiate or professional athletes who are able to dedicate their entire day to training, you have a limited amount of time to devote to your sport.  But through the use of imagery, you can supplement your physical training with mental training; view imagery as an additional form practice.  Instead of accepting your skill level as it is, because you don’t have time to dedicate physical practice, learn how you can use visualization to further improve your physical skills, also there are tremendous other benefits of using imagery as well.

First, a few keys points to using visualization:

• Most people think of visualization, especially when it’s called imagery, as limited to a picture in one’s mind eye.  But, to truly create and re-create an experience, you need to tap into all your senses:
  • Visual – seeing. Creating a movie of what you saw or will see.
  • Auditory – hearing.  Hearing everything thing that you did hear or  would hear during a specific event.
  • Kinesthetic – feeling.  Feeling your emotions as well as external feeling of the club, ball, etc.
  • Olfactory – smell.  Yes, smell what you did smell or will smell during a specific event.
  • Gustatory – taste.  Taste what you did or will taste.  This could be as simple and the taste of licking your lips before you through the pitch.
• Use dual perspectives
  • 1^st person, i.e. internal – experiencing the event through your own eyes and body.
  • 2^nd person, i.e. external – experience the event as if you are watching a movie.
  • Both have there benefits and I coach around using 1^st person as the primary means of enhancing sport specific skills.
• Athletes often find it helpful to incorporate some movement when using imagery-not necessarily a full swing but slight movement in the muscle involved in the swing.  This is especially helpful during practice.  Use visualization before you execute the desired skill, i.e. shooting a free throw, then after the visualization perform the skill – shoot the shot.  Then notice and acknowledge when the visualization works. This will train your unconsciousness to continue with the good work.
• If you haven’t used visualization consciously, begin by practicing with something small… something not related to your sport, i.e. an inanimate object like a lemon – see, feel, smell a lemon in your mind, slice it open an put a piece in your moth…then observe what happens to your saliva level.  Then move on to more complex scenes such as relaxing on the beach or walking in the woods.  Finally practice your sport specific skill(s).

How to Use Visualization

Start with 10-15 minutes a day.  Pick one topic that you want to work on.  If you have graduated from the lemon and beach scene I would suggest visualizing a past success.  This will train your mind and soon you’ll be able to work with future. Focus on correct specific techniques, i.e. see the correct swing, shot, hit etc. Note what it feels like; attend to ALL the specific aspect of your sport skill.

Use the same physical space/location to do your visualization.  This will train your mind that when you are in this space/location that it’s to get down to business.  After awhile you’ll find it easier and easier to get “into state.”

Incorporate visualization into your practice and pre-game routine.  Begin by imagining, seeing and feeling, the upcoming technique.  Next, take a practice swing, or what ever specific skill you are working on, to physically rehearse what you just imagined.  Finally, get ready to perform for real and replicate what you have just practiced mentally and physically.

Simply right?

With practice absolutely!  The more you practice the better you’ll get at…and the more your athletic permanence will improve.  Visualization works in ANY sport from golf to basketball…from equestrian events to MMA.  In any sport that requires you to be a part of it, visualization is a key mental strength tool to achieve peak athletic and personal performance.

If you’d like more on this and other sport related mental strength skills, pick up “Mental Strength in Athletic Performance”, today.

OK…what are your thoughts?  Please let me know in the comments below.

Related articles

• Mental Strength Diet for Peak Athletic Performance (warriormindcoach.com)
• Practicing Mental Strength For Peak Personal Performance (warriormindcoach.com)
• Eliminating Anxiety for Peak Performance (warriormindcoach.com)
• Visualization For Peak Performance (warriormindcoach.com)
• Energy Management and Athletic Performance (warriormindcoach.com)

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