SPORT PSYCHOLOGY
It’s so irritating! You are committed to training regularly, you work hard at drills, and you put in lots of effort every time you swim. You have set yourself a goal of wanting to improve your technique; you have watched videos, listened to your coach, asked fellow swimmers for their advice, yet it just doesn’t seem to be happening… you are getting increasingly frustrated and feeling demoralised. Why is getting technique right so hard?!
When you are physically working hard on drills to improve technique in the water and whatever you try isn’t working, it is worth considering a psychological technique to help you make improvements. It really is worth it, as if used effectively, this psychological tool has consistently given good results for athletes in a wide range of sports, including swimming. Using visualisation to help get that tricky element of your technique right can be really powerful. Visualisation is when you use your senses to recreate or create an experience in your mind. The power of visualisation allows you to practise an element of your technique without physically having to get in water. Evidence says that the brain cannot distinguish between an actual event and one that we visualise, so if you know how you want your technique to be, you can train your brain for successful outcomes.