After carrying out the exercise, there was a significant difference between performance time and imagery performance time. The imagery time that one takes to complete the exercise tends to be less than the time that one takes when performing a similar activity. When an athlete uses imagery, he/she prepares the body both physically and psychologically to face the action and, in the end, enhancing the performance. Imagery is one of the powerful tools that significantly impact athletes' performance because it extensively builds their strength and eliminates the existing weaknesses. During a competition or exercise, imagery enables athletes to regulate their anxiety level and help them stay confident, focused, and resilient. Different studies prove that regular imagery improves muscle memory and skills specific to sports faster than the actual training process.
When athletes engage in imagery exercise, it enhances motor skills and muscle memory and motivates them to perform exemplary activities. Research indicates that a mere visualization of muscle movement in an individual's mind creates electrical activity in the muscle even though there is no actual movement in the muscle itself (Lebon, Collet, & Guillot, 2010). The patterns of electrical activity that the muscle movement visualization generates resembles that seen during actual movement. Furthermore, targeted and controlled imagery enables an athlete to stimulate electrical activation in relevant muscles in preparation for subsequent physical activity. With the appropriate application of imagery, one can maintain or improve physical skills, which are also essential in enhancing the performance in field activities. The combination of imagery and other physical practice techniques yields better results compared to physical practice alone. Indeed, imagery plays a crucial role in enhancing the performance of athletes because it enhances their confidence and regulates their anxiety they experience during competition or exercise.
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Reference
Lebon, F., Collet, C., & Guillot, A. (2010). Benefits of motor imagery training on muscle strength. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 24(6) , 1680-1687.
