New Science Reveals How Visualization Makes You Stronger

For decades, elite athletes, including bodybuilders and lifters, have sworn by visualization for enhancing their performance. Visualization works, and the evidence  in favor of visualization is not just anecdotal. Study after study has confirmed that mental imagery improves strength gains, accelerates recovery, enhances sports skills, and helps break through performance plateaus.

Yet skepticism persists. Many people still dismiss visualization as “woo-woo” or new age nonsense, and that’s understandable. After all, how could simply imagining yourself performing better actually make you perform better in real life? That’s the exact question I want to answer for you today.

Thanks to groundbreaking research, including a recent study published in the scientific journal NeuroImage, we now have a much clearer picture of exactly what happens in your brain during visualization. We also know why it produces real, measurable physical results.

The Scientific Breakthrough

Researchers at the University of Lyon used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to observe brain activity in athletes during visualization exercises. What they discovered was remarkable.

The study revealed that when athletes vividly imagined performing their sport, nearly identical neural pathways were activated as when they physically performed the movements. The primary motor cortex, supplementary motor area, and cerebellum (which are brain regions critical for movement), all lit up during effective visualization.

Most importantly, the researchers found out what separates effective visualization from ineffective daydreaming. That is, the activation of the basal ganglia, a region that helps convert intentions into actions.

Lead researcher Dr. Martin Fournier explained:

“The participants who showed the greatest performance improvements were those whose basal ganglia activated most strongly during visualization. This suggests that effective visualization isn’t just about seeing yourself succeed – it’s about creating neural patterns that your brain can later use during actual physical performance.”

Beyond Just “Seeing It”

The findings confirm what top coaches have known for years – effective visualization is multi-sensory. The most powerful results came when participants not only visualized the movement, but also:

• Felt the muscle contractions and physical sensations
• Heard the sounds associated with the activity
• Experienced the emotions of successful performance
• Mentally rehearsed overcoming obstacles or challenges

The recent research showed that this comprehensive approach creates stronger neural connections than visualization that focuses only on visual elements.

Make a special note of the last item on that list. A lot of people who are into positive psychology and optimistic thinking believe that intentionally visualizing obstacles in their way would be a bad thing.

After all, most self-help and personal development experts tell us that we should set goals for what we want, not for what we want to avoid, write affirmations in the positive tense, visualize ourselves reaching our goals.

But this study and many other lines of psychology research have shown us that if we don’t anticipate obstacles and how we will overcome them, then when we do encounter them we are blindsided and have no plan ready to work through it. (Also see my post on the “implementation intentions” technique).

Measurable Physical Benefits

This new understanding we have of the neural mechanisms behind visualization helps explain the numerous performance benefits previous studies have documented:

1. Strength increases: A 2015 study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research showed that weightlifters who incorporated visualization between sets increased their maximum lifts by an additional 8% compared to control groups.

2. Enhanced recovery: Research from the International Journal of Sports Medicine demonstrated that visualization sessions during recovery periods reduced inflammation markers by up to 13% and accelerated return-to-performance timelines.

3. Breaking plateaus: A study of competitive powerlifters found that those who used guided visualization protocols overcame performance plateaus more quickly than those using physical training modifications alone.

4. Improved technique: Sports scientists at the University of Chicago documented that visualization improved movement efficiency and biomechanical form, reducing injury risk while enhancing performance.

How To Apply This Science To Your Training

Based on this new research, here’s how to incorporate effective visualization into your fitness routine:

Schedule dedicated visualization time: Spend 5-10 minutes daily imagining successful training or competition. The research indicates that consistency matters more than duration.

Use multi-sensory imagery: This part is important. Remember, don’t just “see” yourself succeeding – feel the muscle contractions, hear the sounds of the gym, experience the emotions of success.

Visualize between sets: During rest periods between sets, mentally rehearse your next set with perfect form and maximum effort. The 2019 study showed this technique provides immediate neural benefits.

Create a pre-performance routine: Elite athletes use visualization immediately before competition. Apply this by taking 30 seconds before challenging lifts to visualize successful completion.

Practice visualization during recovery: The research suggests that visualization during recovery periods (rest intervals between sets) can maintain neural pathways and reduce detraining effects when you’re injured or taking scheduled rest.

Overcoming Skepticism

If you’re still skeptical, consider this: The 2019 study demonstrated that even participants who were initially doubtful showed the same neural activation patterns and performance improvements as true believers.

In other words, visualization works whether you believe in it or not. The brain doesn’t distinguish between skepticism and faith – it responds to the practice itself.

That said, there’s an interesting layer to this finding: while the neural pathways activate regardless of belief, research in other psychological domains suggests that belief might amplify these effects. Those who fully embrace visualization techniques may experience additional benefits through increased motivation, better adherence to practice, and reduced performance anxiety. The technique works at a neurological level for everyone, but belief might provide an extra boost.

As Dr. Nate Zinsser, Director of the Performance Psychology Program at West Point and author of The Confident Mind explains:

“The brain doesn’t really distinguish between a vivid imagination and actual experience. That’s why visualization works. Your nervous system can be trained to perform skills through mental rehearsal just as it can through physical rehearsal. It’s not magic – it’s neuroscience.”

I think these research findings combined with the endorsements of some of the top sports psychologists in the world are pretty convincing. But you don’t have to “buy into” the concept of visualization at first. You simply need to perform the mental exercises consistently and with focus. Your brain will do the rest, regardless of your beliefs about the process. Once you see the results, believe me, you’ll be onboard, because the proof is in the pudding.

The Bottom Line

With this new understanding of visualization’s neural mechanisms, we now know that mental imagery isn’t just a psychological trick or motivational tool. It’s a physiological training technique that creates and strengthens the same neural pathways used during physical performance.

In a very real sense, effective visualization is not separate from physical training – it’s an extension of it, working on the neural components while physical training addresses the muscular elements.

So if you’ve been guilty of neglecting the mental side of your training, this new research gives some strong reasons to incorporate visualization into your routine. Your nervous system – and ultimately, your performance – will thank you.

Train hard, visualize, and expect success!

Tom Venuto, author of,
Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle print audiobook

PS. Want to learn the most basic mental training techniques everyone needs to know to enhance your physical results? My book Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle has an entire chapter dedicated to these powerful methods. Pick it up at Amazon here

Scientific Reference:
Fournier, M. et al, Neural networks underlying effective mental imagery in motor performance enhancement: An fMRI study. NeuroImage, 189, 116-127, 2019.