Visualization Part 1
In my Strength Within class, one of the preparation processes that we go through is a visualization practice. Visualization, or mental practice, is a powerful tool and have played a huge role in some of the world's best athletes. There have been many studies conducted to test this. One of the more popular studies is by Dr. Biasiotto from the University of Chicago. Below is a brief summary of the experiment:
Dr. Biasiotto had three test groups. Each group was tested on how many free throws they could make.
After establishing a baseline, he then had the first group practice shooting free throws every day for an hour for 30 days.
He had the second group mentally practice, or visualized themselves shooting free throws every day for an hour.
The third group was the control group; they did NOT practice free throw shooting of any sort.
After 30 days, the three groups were tested again on their free throws.
The first group improved by 24%.
The second group improved by 23%! And they didn't even touch a basketball for 30 days!
As expected, the third group had no improvement.
Pretty cool, huh?
The thing about the mind is that it can easily mistake what is made up in our head versus what is actually real. Visualization practice capitalizes on this essence of the mind and uses it to our benefit. If we visualize a movement in our head with as much detail as possible, the mind can think that we're actually doing it.
The beauty of mental practice is that we can practice each movement with perfection. Because why not? It's our head, it's our visualization. If we can internally see and feel ourselves performing the movement perfectly, it is more likely that we actualize it externally.
When practicing physically, mistakes can be made. And if we practice with these mistakes over and over again, bad habits can be created. Now I'm not saying to ditch physical practice and practice visualization only. One needs to be well-versed in the movement to make visualization practice really work. The key is in the details. If we can visualize the movement, knowing exactly how it feels, what each inch of the movement looks like, the more "real" it will become in the mind. And thus, the more likely it will transfer into actuality.
Source:
https://digital.library.txstate.edu/bitstream/handle/10877/5548/EKEOCHA-THESIS-2015.pdf?sequence=1
