Use Visualization to Perform Challenging Workouts
Mentally rehearsing difficult moments in training or competition can be a useful tool to overcome these obstacles when you face them in real life. Here’s a formula to help you create an effective scenario for visualizing success.
Researcher Mary Quinton writes that the key elements of visualization can be summarized by the acronym PETTLEP:
- The physical elements of your image, including the clothes and equipment you will be wearing.
- The environment in which you visualize this in as much detail as possible.
- Details of the Task you are trying to complete. Include your mental state with all the things you will be paying attention to at the moment, and make sure that by doing the task in your mind, you are doing it at a realistic level. In other words, don’t imagine how an elite athlete will catch this ball; imagine how you could do it on your best day.
- Timing the Right Way – Live images work well, but you can also play back a mental video in slow motion to break up the movement you’re trying to master.
- Reflect your learning in your image. As you get better, your imaginary self should also get better.
- Include whatever emotions you want to experience. Don’t imagine yourself disappointed; instead, imagine that when you face failure, you feel confident that you will overcome it.
- The correct perspective – a first person perspective – is a natural choice, but in some cases a third person perspective can give a clearer idea, such as your position in relation to your teammates.
Once you’ve created the perfect visualization scenario, you can do it anytime you want: from the comfort of your couch or standing to the side in front of the game. Then, when you face an obstacle that you mentally trained, overcome it with the same confidence and skill that you dreamed of.
Image in Sports: Examples of Elite Athletes and the PETTLEP Model | Sports Psychology Through Roller Derby Athletics