How to Use Imagery to Increase Skill, Confidence, Strength, Mobility, and Maybe even muscle mass
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- Опубліковано 13 вер 2024
- It's time we learn about the most powerful form of non-physical training: Imagery. It's so powerful, that not only is it used today, athletes and performers of the highest level have been incorporating imagery into their formal, regular practices, for decades. So why don't you see it more often?
Probably because you don't have a dedicated sports psychologist. If you did, as many olympic and professional teams do, they would have added this to your training years ago. Not in a random and haphazard way either- as a formal, systematic integration- just like you would do a proper strength & conditioning program. But don't worry, I'm here to help.
I've done a lot of digging with the help of my sports psychology professor, Ted Butryn, and I've put together this video to teach you guys both the power of imagery, and how to use it. Hope you enjoy it, and put it into practice!
Leave any questions you have in the comments below or contact us at www.themovementcult.com for online and in-person training inquiries.
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Patreon: / brenveziroglu
Source credit primarily goes to Vealey & Forlenza's book chapter here on imagery. amzn.to/3mlOUqh
I would add that when you really care about what you're learning/creating, this happens sort of automatically (if you let it). I've experienced it with skateboarding, motorcycling, basketball, chess (I was dreaming on-board sequences and positions involuntarily for maybe a year) and just about every other skill I've picked up since I was a teenager. I'm sure you've read The Talent Code; it's a strong basis for these techniques that allow you to train/gain without training (in addition to your training).
"Upgrade the software without [unnecessarily] damaging the hardware" - John Kavanagh
100% :).
This information is worth more than Gold. Thanks for this upload!
Glad it was helpful! :)
I have watched the video twice and I am completely blown away with the information !
I will give an example from my personal experience,
When we see tasty food, saliva is automatically released in mouth which is a hint that digestive system has kicked in ! Although we know that we won't eat it, but a visual stimulus is enough for it to get started. This means that the body functions are very much independent of our thought process and are affected by the external stimulus.
So bren's video further added to this by teaching us how to create a stimulus through imagination so the body responds and we grow in whatever aspect we target.
I don't remember exactly but there was another example of this which i read in history books.
It's amazing how we can make our mind work for us. Thankyou Bren for touching on this topic and explaining it so briefly.
What a wonderful and interesting way to conceptualize this Eshaan! :)
@@BrenVez learning from you 😊
Awesome video Bren!! I have also used imagery on other aspects from physical training with great results. The first one was in Uni where I killed the most difficult exams we had (I was imagining myself passing the exams with great grades on 9 different subjects), and the second and most curious was an injury recovery. I had a back injury and couldn't sit or stand for more than a few hours, and at that time I was exploring the Silva method, which has imagery before you sleep, after you prime yourself in a focused state. I remember doing this every day for 1-2 weeks, and one day I felt like the imagery meditation went really well.. I dreamed of flying (which I extremely rarely dream), had a liberating feeling in my sleep, and next morning my pain went from 90% (if 100% would be the first day of the injury) to 20%. I think this was the most weird/awesome thing I have experienced with imagery, almost illogical.
wow! Very cool :). Pain is an output of the brain and as we say, biopsychosocial in nature, so all sorts of crazy stuff like this can happen (see my first pain science video for more on this ua-cam.com/video/lTeYwfI1O68/v-deo.html).
I actually met Adam Cheyer (inventor of Siri) at a talk he gave a few years back, and he actually talked about and attributed much of his success to imaging Siri being on the front page of the App Store every day (apple later bought his company). They kept working on it, kept working on it, and then one day, it was there :).
This really inspires me to go back into imagery, I have used it alot learning to paint and draw, because I had seen one of my heros saying he worked out his paintings mostly in his head. After hearing you explain it I can't believe I haven't really been doing this for physical stuff
Symbolic imagery is the fundamental thing in all eastern martial arts (maybe all martial arts but I don't know enough about western ones). We researched the neurological adaptations that happen through imagery a while back and it pays to do it. You are reprogramming your brain. Especially with the symbolic imagery that you use while doing an activity.
Totally agree, visualisation is one of the best learnning tool available.
I had a knee injury after a judo throw something like 15years ago. At that I was a blue belt training bjj, judo, MMA and kickboxing. I also recently felt in love with cuban salsa dancing.
I had a plaster for a month and needed months of rehabilitation afterwards. However I kept going to my dancing classes on my clutches (to keep socializing with all these beautiful women ;)).
Everyone was asking me what I was doing there. I simply replied "I am dancing in my head".
After my rehab, during my first return to the dancefloor, all of my female dancing partners were amazed "it feels like you never stopped dancing!".
Actually it was true. Like I told them, I kept dancing in my head all these months.
This is your best so far, i already know about this but this analysis is very helpful and help me to have it present and work on it
Thank you Rax, Susan and I put a ton of work into this one, so I'm glad you appreciate it and find it helpful :).
really interesting, I will try it for my golfers elbow injury. Thank you
yesss excellent. Really good for injuries I think- I wanted to talk about that more in the video to be honest but didn't get to it for this one
Thank you, this is something i will play around with for my other practices. during rock climbing i will do alot of imagery before the climb to see what the optimal route might be before i even try it.
i will start doing the same with my jiu jitsu.
Excellent. Imagery before will be good, but I suspect imagery after 'movement bouts' will be even more effective.
I.e. you're working a bouldering problem- image-> do it-> image (and adjust imagery)- >do it (aim to implement the refined solution) -> repeat. You'll need to rest anyway, might as well add some imagery during it and be more effective.
and then say you still can't quite 'send it', you go home, before you go to sleep, keep imaging and trying to solve the problem with imagery. I find the most effective imagery is the ones where I'm working on the problem (and often failing) rather than just imaging myself doing something perfectly/successfully/magically. When I was doing the Imagery of BJJ with those friends- I kept imaging myself over and over trying to pass their guard, and I was actually just failing over and over and working out how I would respond to what they would do- I didn't just image myself magically doing a torreando (my favorite pass) that worked perfectly ya know?
I see you train with Greg Souders. I was wondering if you still use imagery while training in ecological approach? I guess when you recorded this film, you wasn't yet training bjj at Standard. does imagery still applies to this, or it works more for IP learning style?
Bro, this is my second video of yours I am watching, not fully finished man you got a new sub. My kind of videos especially as a jiu-jitsu competitor
Thank you Bren, I think I will benefit a lot from imagery practice. Thank you for sharing this with us and I wish you the best
you're welcome Jimmy! you too! :)
Amazing content
Thanks Chris! :)
Great video! High quality content. Keep it up 😁👏👏👏
Thanks Pedro! :)
@2:44 Wow! Are you walking your cat? He is so handsome and talented! You are soooo lucky to be the owner of such a magnificent beast!!! 😸 Please put him in all your future videos. Wow! Wow! Subscribed for more cat content.
10 reasons to admire Bren
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@@eshaansharma280 ahahah you goon
@@BrenVez 😂😂😂
Awesome video! Thank you for this information!
Imagery is also great for postural alignment and dynamics within dance.
Weightlifting House told an amazing story about Yurik Vardanyan challenged to snatch 160 kg cold by his teammates, and he squatted down, grabbed the bar, closed his eyes and starting warming up in his mind. Empty bar, 40 kg, 60 kg and so on. He started sweating and after a minute or so he opened his eyes and snatched the 160 kg.
In the art of learning Joshua waitzkin tells of a similar story (regarding preserving muscle mass through injury via visualisation)
In some internal Styles of Kung fu we use imagery for enhancing steenght, for example think that there Is more resistance for that push up, you are pushing a Mountain , not Only your body.
Just wanted to state that although this practice is a powerful tool, the gain in muscle mass is more likely caused of normal muscle training.
There are a handful of studies that show that training one side of the body also affects the other.
The skill of imagining your task is still extremely helpful and can lead imo to better strentgh gain.
This is great content Bren. How did you come across these modalities?
awesome vid, would love to see a video on food and nutrition etc by you!
Ok so no one is going to talk about him going for a walk with his cat ?
Ps: can you make a video about supplements pls !!
ua-cam.com/video/Wxz7sQagqQs/v-deo.html
Yes. That cat is incredible.
lol. finally someone noticed! ahah. yes I'll do my best to get to that when I get a chance :)
Thank you.
Great video. Can I ask a question about the benefits of breath holding other than it could come in handy during emergencies? Am aware of the benefits of letting all the air out and using breath holds to measure the oxygen levels in the blood, just curious about filling the lungs. Thanks
Relates to dating too. It's crazy
Would you consider imagery as a form of meditation? Excellent video!
Yes totally. In traditional yoga/meditation, imagery is used to target the intelligence within. I have personally seen the healing effects in cases of skin allergies.
@@eshaansharma280 That's interesting! Thank you!
@@masterisaac2252 checkout "yoga nidra healing". It is a sort of imagery where you redirect energies to heal a certain part of your body in a mixed state of sleep and full consciousness. It is best done under able guidance, my uncle helped me through it and it relived me from urticaria upto much extent.
@@eshaansharma280 I will! Thanks!
@@masterisaac2252 welcome 😊
Can we have a video about walking your cat?🐈… I got really hung up on that part
I’ll just say that I’ve found DXA to not be super precise for lean mass measurements. It’s much too influenced by hydration. That said - I still think the visualization you’re talking about is super useful 😊
Hi, I don't think you covered it in the video but what would be the time required to do the visualizations? Do you have to go through an entire workout? Thanks! (I assume you do)
thank you fro the effort you put into this video.
spiritual people call this manifestation and visualisation is applicable to you bank account too :D
16:23 I would be thinking that is you made a script like that for jiu-jitsu. Lol basketball well thats a nice cute sport 😂 jk great video. Have you heard and or studied neuro-linguistic programming?
How do I organise it when there's a lot of things I want to improve on? Do I just imagine skill after skill (let's say around 5 skills) or like a skill per "session"?
well, it depends on all of the enormous number of variables that all effect your training and what is best for you- these are the questions that people hire me to solve for you.
But let's set that aside and divide imagery sessions into 2 broad categories: times when you can do the physical training, and times when you can't (say you're on a flight, or in the car).
when you can do the physical training, organize the training by the physical stuff, and work the imagery in between in your rest periods, or after, focusing on the skills you're about to work on, or (my general preference) the skills you just worked.
when you can't, based on the literature, I would cycle through the skills if you're working on a closed skill, or cycle within different sections of the skill if it's an open skill. Again, the beautiful thing about imagery is it sure seems like you can do as much as you want everyday with no physical fatigue whatsoever.
14:30
This is incredible, I never thought the visualization my mom has always been telling me about was actually efficient. It reminds me of when I used to play a tennis videogame, and I'd imagine hours of matches in my head, with the AI I was playing against doing everything I'd ever seen it do. Maybe that explains why I was so good at it xD.
Also,
In your video about Ido Portal, you mentioned that it makes sense to use a lot of volume to improve adaptation and increase work capacity. However, I've seen some research on how excessive volume can drive muscle fiber changes - from fast-twitch to more fatigue-resistant slow twitch. Is that something you're ever concerned about, and if so, how do you work around it?
Yep, 100% explains it. I used to do that for smash bros too actually, but only just a bit as I had no knowledge of imagery at the time. There was a paper a long time ago that suggested it's less effective for novices as compared to intermediate/advanced practitioners (to the sport/discipline in question), but I believe that would be washed out within a few months or even weeks of good regular practice, and the trend overall is that it's an incredibly powerful tool.
Great question. I'd love to see that paper if you can send it, but I can totally see that happening if you do high volume in a particular way- like the John broz story from the video doing 3000 snatches and cleans every day. I never really train like that- so I wouldn't be concerned with this.
For instance, imagine I'm doing (for simplicity's sake) 2-3 hours of BJJ every day and an hour of powerlifting/olympic weightlifting on top- I wouldn't ever be worried about losing my fast twitch fibers or having them take on more slow twitch characteristics
@@BrenVez Thanks for the reply! I definitely have to figure out how to implement imagery into my own routine now haha.
So I managed to find the book that this was from - it's called the "Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning" (4th edition) by Gregory Haff and Travis Triplett. This bit is in the 5th chaper, on page 95.
It references three papers, of which I found 2:
Muscular adaptations in response to three different resistance-training
regimens: specificity of repetition maximum training zones - Campos et al, 2002
Skeletal muscle adaptations during early phase
of heavy-resistance training in men and women
- Staron et al, 1993
Unfortunately both of these papers only go over the reverse transition - of fibers that are in the middle between Type I and II transitioning to become more fast-twitch than before. Hopefully you can explain this to me, I'm only a statistics major :')
@@skair5425 Excellent find. I actually have that book at my parents house- I'll be looking forward to finding this page. and digging in a bit. When you actually look into references like this, you find surprisingly often that the authors have overextended themselves and their claims- and their references don't really support it. I'll try to hunt down that 3rd reference to be sure anyway.
Muscle fiber types, like many things actually get fairly complex when you actually get deep into it. The basics are this: there are 3 general categories of skeletal muscle fiber types: type 1, type 2a, and type 2x. type 1 is the slow twitch, these fibers are smaller, slower to contract, and they're primarily aerobic oxidative and fatigue resistant. If you've read born to run, you'll know that we have more type 1a than most other animals (if not all) which gives us a competitive advantage in running them down over long distances. If you haven't read it yet, highly recommended!
type 2x are fast twitch, bigger, produce more force, but they're primarily glycolytic (much less energy efficient, but can produce energy much more quickly than the oxidative systems) and therefore fatigue quickly. type 2a are often the most interesting ones- as they're the hybrid in between. They twitch faster than the 1a, but produce less force than the 2x, and resist fatigue similarly to 1a but not to the same extent. Often when we talk about changing fiber types we're not really changing fiber types, but we're adding more oxidative or glycolytic ability to those type 2a 'hybrid' fibers, so that they take on a role that's more similar to 1a or 2x. Very normal process and part of adaptation to any training.
@@BrenVez Thanks for the detailed response, it's incredible how the body can adapt on even a tissue level to the type of training that you do 😮
@@BrenVez Got my hands on Born to Run, would love to see a video on book recommendations :0
DUDE WHY YOU PUT AN AD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EXERCISE, I was concentrating 😭😭
lol. 'ad' was before the exercise- the stuff before was explanation of the concepts. good to hear you were concentrating though :)
wow baki logic work irl . who would know?
crazy
Imagine some dude that you used to smash then he disappears from training and he is every night visualizing a roll with you...kind of creepy.
crappy in what way?
@@eveziroglu i mean creepy :)