There is a good chance that at some point during your lifting lifetime you have come across at least one article about visualization: the concept of visualizing your lift prior to actually taking it in order to improve your chances of making it. There has been a plethora of research studies within the world of sports that have supported the effectiveness of this approach, and many coaches and athletes have capitalized on its benefits.
 
Visualization is not just good for your lifting efficacy. It can also benefit your mood and overall well-being, which also happens to improve your chances of nailing your lifts. It’s this never-ending positive cycle when executed well. So if you’re not already implementing visualization, I strongly recommend it; not only will you double your chances of feeling emotionally better, you’ll increase your odds of having a better day of lifting overall, which I am pretty darn sure is a win in and of itself.
 
How do you implement visualization?
 
Visualization is the use of all five senses to recreate a lift from start to finish without actually physically engaging in the activity. For example, when visualizing a lift, you might imagine what your quads and glutes feel like when you set up over the bar, followed by the pull of the bar on your arms as you head into the first pull, the feeling of your lats engaging as you keep the bar close, and the graze of the bar as it passes through your power position. Or maybe you imagine the feeling of the knurling on your hands and fingers and the pressure of your full-foot contact on the ground. You might see the room where you are lifting - including all of its distractions. You might hear the sound of other athletes’ weights dropping to the floor, your coach routinely shouting cues at you, and the sweet, sweet sound of the plates clanging together on your bar. How about the smell of sweat and chalk (oh, what a heavenly scent) in the air? Hell, you might even taste that last sip of your protein shake or your intraworkout carbs.
 
The more sensations you can tune into while visualizing each step of the lift, the better!
 
What is happening during visualization?
 
The act of visualization via the use of all of your senses stimulates your brain and your muscles, which helps you cognitively encode the movement of the lift without requiring excessive physical effort. Studies have even shown that using visualization works better than if you just watched a video of yourself lifting or— an even more passive approach—just stepped up to the bar and hoped for the best. However, it’s not only about hitting your lifts; visualization has also been found to reduce the likelihood of muscle fatigue, to increase your strength performance, and to improve your motor recovery. So, potentially recover faster and get better at lifts just by using your very own five senses? Yup!
 
But wait, there’s more!
 
In addition to firing your muscle fibers and cerebral neurons, visualization also can mimic mindfulness. Mindfulness is the act of being aware and present in the moment—something most of us are pretty bad at doing this day and age. When people engage in mindfulness often enough, the actual structure of the brain changes, which has been found to improve cognitive functioning and mood.
 
Mindfulness has been found to change the structure of your brain. For example, research has identified that it can increase the thickness of your hippocampus (the area of the brain that impacts learning and memory), slow the aging process of the brain by maintaining grey matter (a part of the brain that processes information that results in muscle control, emotions, memory, and your senses), and decrease the volume of cells in the amygdala (the area of the brain that houses our anxiety and fear) which then changes your perception of your stressors and emotions for the better. Mindfulness can also beneficially change the way your brain operates, such as by improving your attention and concentration and reducing the activity in your default mode network (the area of the brain responsible for mindless thinking when activated, which can cause you to feel unhappy and experience worrisome thoughts/anxiety).
 
All in all, visualization can positively alter the functioning of your brain and your experienced mood. Pretty freaking neat, right!
 
How does an improved mood enhance your lifts?
 
Maybe you’ve gotten to this part of the article and you’re thinking, Thanks, Doc, but I’m not really looking for any psychoeducation about my mood; I’m just looking to lift better. Fair. But here’s the thing: an improved mood can help you lift better.
 
When we experience low moods, positive self-talk is not as easy to generate nor believe. When we don’t have a positive self-perception, we are less likely to experience confidence and determination, which will directly impact our lifts. In addition, the presence of a positive mood has been linked to improved physical functioning and a reduction in pain perception. Therefore, to avoid poor confidence, low determination, decreased physical functioning, and an increased experience in pain, it is best to avoid a poor mood, which is where visualization comes into play.
 
How do you start practicing visualization?
 
You can start practicing visualization at this very second. You don’t need to be standing over your bar or even be near the gym. And actually, the more frequently you can practice, the better. So the next time you’re in the shower, commuting to work, sitting at the dinner table, brushing your teeth, etc., start practicing visualization.
 
At first, you can make it brief. Over time, however, try to lengthen the timeframe. I’m not suggesting making it to a 20 minute meditation (although that would totally be okay), but I am suggesting you don’t rush it by making it a two-second lift in your head. Really visualize the lift; use your five senses as vividly as possible and truly experience your emotions - like a sense of confidence - while taking the lift.
 
Be mindful of the audiotape playing in your head as well. If you’re negatively critiquing yourself along the way in your visualization, start the lift all over again and substitute those thoughts for positive commentaries of the things you did well in the lift—even if can only find one thing. Remember, self-talk directly influences your mood, so negative reviews are not going to help.
 
During visualization, you may also imagine royally screwing something up or even entirely missing the lift. Totally cool. That’s your brain really getting into this whole visualization thing. You’re not always going to be amazing and on-point in real life; your mind is doing you a solid and mimicking real life to help you prep for challenges. So when that happens, thank your brain for doing its job, take a breath, think of one thing you’d like to do differently in your lift, and go right back to visualizing a successful attempt.  
 
You’ve got this!
 
In sum, the next time you go to the gym and notice you’re lifting poorly, experiencing a negative mood, or both, try to be more mindful and begin to implement visualization. Practice this skill often and be kind to yourself while doing it. Bottom line: if your attitude sucks and you are not feeling positive about your capabilities, then you can pretty much be positive that you are not going to have your best training session. Visualization really can help. Give it a go! You have nothing to lose and quite possibly everything to gain. Literally.