Visualize it, Feel it

One of the best ways to become a better mover is to increase your visualization capabilities. To make squats or push ups or an Olympic lift look and feel seamless, you need to have a mental model of what exactly it feels and looks like. 

Visualization is tricky though. My junior year of college I was having a hard time whenever I touched the puck. I would freeze up and not know what to do as soon as that little black disc touched my stick. I became a liability on the ice and my nervousness about a potential screw up only made it worse. When a coach first approached me about visualization, I was hesitant. I had been trying but the only outcome was visualizing bad outcomes. It actually got so bad I started having a recurring dream of ringing a puck off the crossbar while on a breakaway.

My visualization was focused on how things could do wrong. My coach set me on a better course by getting me to visualize was it was going to feel like to success, not just what it would look like from a bird’s eye view. I started focusing on what my stick would feel like in my hands with the puck, what the cool air of the rink felt like and the sounds of skates cutting into the ice. 

When you’re doing a squat, focus in on what it feels like not just what it’s supposed to look like. That’s why we don’t have mirrors in here, by the way. Where do you feel a stretch? Where’s the pressure on your feet? What happens when you squeeze your butt at the top of the rep? What’s it feel like to brace your abs and hold that heavy heavy kettlebell? 

Visualization is just as much about feel as it is looks. Give it a shot! 

Justin Miner

@justinminergain