Within the world of applied sport psychology there are various highly effective techniques that help build our confidence and motivate us to improve. One such technique is imagery. Imagery is defined as a process in which we are able to consciously mimic a real life experience within our own minds (Richardson, 1969), effectively preparing our brains to deal with exercise and competition. There are two main types of Imagery but the one we are going to focus on within this article is known as internal imagery, with a more specific focus on what is referred to as mental rehearsal. As the name suggests mental rehearsal is a process used before exercise and as such is a great tool for providing us with the confidence and motivation to engage in regular exercise as well as preparing our brains and bodies of what to expect during this exercise.

Using imagery is very simple, as it merely requires our own imagination to create vivid images of our exercise behaviour. A simple task to introduce this is to just take 5 minutes to yourself to sit down, close your eyes and create an image in your mind of you exercising. This may be difficult at first, but with practice you will start to see more vivid images of your exercise. This task can then be adapted to various exercise behaviours from running, to swimming, to yoga – anything at all.

The use of imagery is relatively new to exercise but research has shown that combining the use of mental imagery with physical exercise helps to increase the likelihood of participation of exercise (Duncan, Hall, Wilson & Rodgers, 2012), providing us with the motivation to continue exercising on a more regular basis. Ultimately imagery helps to reinforce our own self-motivation to engage in regular exercise and with it being a simple technique to use, it is highly recommended that using mental imagery can aid the sustainability of our own exercise behaviour. Below is a brief example outlining the use of imagery (the example is based on running and I encourage you to develop your own personal imagery, as the more focused it is on yourself, the more successful it will become) -

Imagery Example:

Close your eyes and take a deep breath, clear your mind of thoughts and focus on your next run. Think about where you’re running, the environment you’re in and your breathing. See yourself during the first mile, focus on how you feel during that mile and then proceed to do the same through the 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th miles and so on for as long as you plan to run.

The whole process should roughly take about 5-10 minutes and you’re highly encouraged to make mental notes on how you feel (your pace, breathing, etc.) during each part of your run. The major point of mental rehearsal is to make sure that your imagery is positively focused, i.e. visualise faster times or longer distances and how your body feels during these times. This will focus your brain and mentally prepare you for when your body is undertaking physical exercise, providing you with confidence to improve and regularly engage in physical exercise.

If you can see it, then you can achieve it.

Thomas Buck (Research Assistant, Rescon)