Mind games: visualize to motivate yourself
Busy Bodies
During the summers I work as an ocean lifeguard in Fenwick Island, Del., and have been able to compete in lifeguard competitions. Being a runner, I compete in the soft sand sprinting events. One of these events is called beach flags, an intense competition where you lie on the sand in a prone position, leap up when the whistle blows and race 25 yards to grab a flag. The lifeguard who does not acquire a flag is out, and this goes on until only one person remains.
In preparation for this event, I began implementing visualization into my training. I would treat a hard training day and sprint workout like it was the actual competition. I would pretend the crowd was watching and making comments and that my competitors were racing next to me. I would anticipate the sound of the whistle, and then I would visualize the movement that I was going to do as if it was a movie being played in my mind.
By treating training exactly like competition, it made the competition seem as comfortable as a training day. After my successful experience with visualization, I began using it when training for other races and eventually used it in my everyday workouts in order to get better results.
A study was done on basketball players to improve their foul line shot. One group actually practiced making the shots while one group did nothing at all. The third group did not practice but visualized themselves improving their shots. When all three groups attempted to shoot from the foul line, the group that visualized made as many baskets just as much as those that actually practiced. While visualization shouldn't replace actual practice, it can be a great training tool that allows you to practice and focus in on your training anytime and anywhere.
Over the summer, when I wasn't saving lives or sprinting up and down the beach, I managed to read a book that discusses the power of the athlete's mind and the effects the mind has on athletics and competition. The Warrior Athlete by Dan Millman discusses the idea of the "natural athlete" and how we have strayed away from that concept.
In preparation for this event, I began implementing visualization into my training. I would treat a hard training day and sprint workout like it was the actual competition. I would pretend the crowd was watching and making comments and that my competitors were racing next to me. I would anticipate the sound of the whistle, and then I would visualize the movement that I was going to do as if it was a movie being played in my mind.
By treating training exactly like competition, it made the competition seem as comfortable as a training day. After my successful experience with visualization, I began using it when training for other races and eventually used it in my everyday workouts in order to get better results.
A study was done on basketball players to improve their foul line shot. One group actually practiced making the shots while one group did nothing at all. The third group did not practice but visualized themselves improving their shots. When all three groups attempted to shoot from the foul line, the group that visualized made as many baskets just as much as those that actually practiced. While visualization shouldn't replace actual practice, it can be a great training tool that allows you to practice and focus in on your training anytime and anywhere.
Over the summer, when I wasn't saving lives or sprinting up and down the beach, I managed to read a book that discusses the power of the athlete's mind and the effects the mind has on athletics and competition. The Warrior Athlete by Dan Millman discusses the idea of the "natural athlete" and how we have strayed away from that concept.
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