Visualization IS worth your time.
Mind you, that's something I wouldn't have said when I was in my twenties—but, hey, we can all change.
When I first began rowing, the idea of visualization would’ve been politely considered hooey—and thus, I wasn’t interested. In my second go-round as a coach, I began looking for any and every stone to turn over—what else can make us faster? When I came across an article outlining the research regarding the potential benefits of mentally rehearsing the outcomes we were in pursuit of, I reconsidered.
After a few years of utilizing this practice with teenage athletes, both girls and boys, I realized there was more to it than my earlier dismissive assessment. I remember one athlete describing it as an opportunity to lock in—his chosen words—the exact process of what he was striving for in an upcoming race. “Now, there’s nothing left to do but to let the race unfold exactly as I’ve imagined.”
I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a hint of regret regarding what I had missed out on because of the tough-guy paradigm I had bought into. Clearly, there was something here to explore. If a teenage boy can find the opportunity available to him to embrace this practice, then maybe the least I can do as a coach is be fully open to the benefits on offer.
The final straw was when one of our athletes wore a heart rate monitor during a visualization session at the Junior World Championships in 2005. Much to his and my amazement, his body reacted on a physiological level to what he was thinking or rehearsing. Wild! Ever since then, I’ve been sold. Now, it’s a practice I incorporate whenever possible.