Visualisation for Athletes: How to Use Mental Imagery That Works

Before a big race, a lot of athletes say they "visualise". Ask what that means and the answers vary wildly. For some it's a detailed mental run-through of every corner of the course. For others it's a vague image of crossing the line with arms raised, held for a few seconds before they get distracted by their phone.

Only one of those is likely to help. Mental imagery, done properly, is one of the most researched skills in sport psychology, with decades of studies behind it. Done vaguely, it's mostly daydreaming.

This guide explains what imagery is, what happens in the brain when you use it, what the research says about performance, and a practical method for building it into your training so it actually carries over to competition.

What is visualisation in sport?

Sport psychologists usually prefer the term imagery to visualisation, because good imagery uses more than just sight. It means creating or recreating an experience in your mind, using as many senses as you can: what you see, hear and feel in your body, the feel of the ball or the bar, the smell of the pool, the rhythm of your breathing.

Imagery can be used for many things:

• Rehearsing skills: a golf swing, a tennis serve, a gymnastics routine, a penalty kick.
• Rehearsing strategy: race tactics, set plays, how you'll pace a climb.
• Rehearsing situations: the warm-up, the walk to the start line, responding to a mistake.
• Managing arousal: calming down or firing up before competing.
• Building confidence: recalling past performances that went well.
• Staying sharp when injured: keeping skills fresh when you can't practise physically.

What happens in your brain

One reason imagery works is that imagining a movement uses many of the same brain areas as actually doing it. A 2013 meta-analysis of brain-imaging studies by Sébastien Hétu and colleagues found that motor imagery consistently activates a network that overlaps substantially with the one used for real movement, including regions involved in planning and coordinating actions.

The overlap isn't complete. The muscles don't fire in the same way, and some areas are less active. But this "functional equivalence" helps explain why mentally practising a skill can strengthen the neural patterns behind it, and why imagery seems to work best when it's as close as possible to the real thing.

Does visualisation actually improve performance?

Yes, and the evidence goes back a long way.

In 1994, James Driskell and colleagues published a meta-analysis of 35 studies on mental practice. They found that mental practice improved performance compared with no practice, with larger effects for tasks that involve more thinking and decision-making. It was less effective than physical practice, but it clearly helped.

A 2021 meta-analysis focused specifically on sport, by Bianca Simonsmeier and colleagues, pooled many intervention studies and found that imagery interventions improved motor performance, motivation and confidence, and reduced anxiety. The effects on performance were moderate in size.

A 2021 review by Anna Ladda and colleagues on motor imagery practice reached a similar conclusion, adding that combining imagery with physical practice tends to give the best results. Imagery is a supplement to training, not a replacement for it.

What makes imagery effective: the PETTLEP model

In 2001, sport psychologists Paul Holmes and David Collins proposed a framework for making imagery as similar to real performance as possible. It's called PETTLEP, and it's still widely used by sport psychologists. Each letter is one element to match:

You don't need to hit every element every time. But the closer your imagery is to the real experience, the more likely it is to carry over.

First person or third person?

There are two main perspectives:

• Internal (first person): you see through your own eyes, as if you're actually performing. Useful for timing, decisions, reading the game and feeling the movement.
• External (third person): you watch yourself as if on video. Useful for checking body position and form, such as in gymnastics, diving or a golf swing.

Neither is "correct". Many athletes switch between them depending on what they're working on. If you're new to imagery, start with whichever feels more natural.

How to practise visualisation: a step-by-step method

Step 1: pick one specific situation

Don't try to imagine an entire match. Start with one short, specific moment: your first serve, the first 400 metres of a race, taking a penalty, the start of a swim, your opening drive.

Step 2: set the scene

Sit or stand in a position that matches the action if possible. Close your eyes. Take two slow breaths. Then build the environment piece by piece: where you are, the light, the surface under your feet, the sounds around you, the temperature.

Step 3: add your body

Notice what you're wearing, what you're holding, your posture, your breathing, your heart rate. If you'd feel nervous in that moment, let yourself feel nervous.

Step 4: run the action in real time

Go through the skill at normal speed. Feel the movement as well as seeing it. Notice the decision points. Hear the sounds. Finish with the outcome you want, then a second or two after it.

Step 5: repeat, then add a challenge

Repeat three to five times. Once it feels clear, add a complication: a mistake, a strong opponent, bad weather, a fast start from the runner next to you. Rehearse how you respond and recover.

Step 6: keep it short and regular

Five to ten minutes, three or four times a week, is plenty to start. Consistency matters more than session length.

Imagery for different sports

Team sports

Rehearse specific moments: receiving the ball under pressure, set plays, defensive positioning, a penalty or free throw. Include teammates, opponents and crowd noise. Imagery of decisions ("if the full-back steps up, I play it in behind") can be as useful as imagery of technique.

Endurance sports

Rehearse the course, pacing, fuelling and the hard moments. Imagine the point in the race where it starts to hurt and practise how you'll respond: cue words, relaxing your face and shoulders, focusing on the next landmark.

Precision sports

Golf, archery, shooting, darts and gymnastics all benefit from detailed technical imagery and pre-shot routines. Rehearse the routine as well as the shot, including the final focus on the target.

Skill learning and injury

When you're injured, imagery can help keep skills and confidence ticking over. It's also useful for learning new skills, by mentally rehearsing a movement between physical attempts.

Using imagery to manage nerves

Imagery can make competition feel familiar. If you've mentally rehearsed the venue, the warm-up, the waiting and the first few minutes many times, the real thing feels less like a step into the unknown.

It also lets you practise performing while nervous. Include the feelings of pressure in your imagery and rehearse what you'll do with them: a breath, a cue word, a focus on the first task. Our guide to pre-game nerves explains these techniques in more detail.

Imagery for confidence

Imagery isn't only about rehearsing what's coming. Recalling your best performances in detail can build confidence before competition. Pick a session or event where everything went well. Replay it from the start: how you felt warming up, the moment you knew it was going well, the feeling at the end. Notice what you did, not just what happened.

This kind of "highlight reel" works well the night before or the morning of an event. It reminds you that you've done it before, which is one of the most reliable sources of confidence.

Imagery during injury

Injured athletes often lose confidence as well as fitness. Imagery can help with both the physical and the emotional side of rehab:

• Keeping skills sharp: rehearse technical skills you can't currently practise.
• Rehearsing the comeback: imagine your first session back, your first match, your first hard effort, feeling strong and controlled.
• Reducing fear: if you're anxious about re-injury, rehearse the movement that worries you, done well and without pain.
• Supporting rehab: imagine the injured area healing and getting stronger as you do your exercises. Many athletes find this helps motivation, even if the physical effect is uncertain.

Using video to sharpen your imagery

If you find it hard to create clear images, video helps. Watch a short clip of yourself performing a skill well, or of an athlete with similar technique, then close your eyes and replay it in your mind. Switch from watching (external view) to seeing it through your own eyes (internal view). Repeat a few times.

Video of the venue or course also helps with the environment part of PETTLEP. Many race courses and stadiums have online videos you can use before you get there.

How good is your imagery?

Imagery ability varies between people and improves with practice. A simple self-check after each session: rate from 1 to 5 how clearly you could see the scene, how well you could feel the movement, and how easily you could control the image (for example, slowing it down or changing what happens). Track these scores over a few weeks. Most people find they improve quickly once they practise regularly.

For coaches and parents

• Keep it short with young athletes: one to three minutes, focused on one skill.
• Use guided scripts: read a short script while athletes close their eyes, then let them run it on their own.
• Build it into practice: a quick imagery rep before a set piece or a free throw takes seconds.
• Ask what they "see" and "feel": talking about imagery helps athletes make it more detailed.

A four-week imagery plan

Common mistakes

• Only imagining the result. Picturing the trophy doesn't rehearse anything. Focus on the actions that lead to the result.
• Imagining perfection only. Real competition includes errors. Rehearse your response to them.
• Slow motion all the time. It's useful for learning details, but real-time imagery transfers better to performance.
• Imagining a level you can't reach. Imagery should match your current ability, adjusted as you improve.
• Starting the night before the final. Like any skill, imagery needs practice before it works under pressure.

The bottom line

Visualisation works best when it isn't really visualisation at all, but a detailed, realistic, multi-sensory rehearsal of what you're about to do. The research supports it, the brain science helps explain it, and it costs nothing but a few minutes a week.

Start small. Pick one moment from your sport, rehearse it for five minutes three times this week, and make it as real as you can. Then build from there.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and further reading

1. Holmes PS, Collins DJ. The PETTLEP Approach to Motor Imagery: A Functional Equivalence Model for Sport Psychologists. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 2001;13(1):60-83. DOI
2. Driskell JE, et al. Does mental practice enhance performance? Journal of Applied Psychology, 1994;79(4):481-492. DOI
3. Simonsmeier BA, et al. The effects of imagery interventions in sports: a meta-analysis. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2021;14(1):186-207. DOI
4. Hétu S, et al. The neural network of motor imagery: an ALE meta-analysis. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 2013;37(5):930-49. DOI PubMed
5. Ladda AM, et al. Using motor imagery practice for improving motor performance - A review. Brain and Cognition, 2021;150:105705. DOI PubMed