To elevate athletic performance, the fitness and sporting world continually seeks innovative methods for optimising both training and competition.
Here are six tried and tested strategies that can significantly enhance performance: mental imagery, self-talk, meditation, goal setting, warming up, and cooling down. These integrated approaches address both physical and mental aspects, ensuring athletes are well-prepared for peak performance.
These strategies have been covered in more detail in previous blogs, but for those who may have missed them, here is a general overview and some practical ways to implement these performance improving techniques into game day routines.
Strategy 1: Mental Imagery
Mental imagery – also called visualisation or motor imagery – is when you picture yourself doing an action without actually moving. It engages your senses to form a vivid mental image, allowing your brain to simulate the experience as if you were actually performing the activity.
“Mental rehearsal can significantly enhance both learning and execution of motor skills, particularly in high-performance contexts.” (Desai et al., 2025)
When you imagine an action – like shooting a basketball – your brain activates in similar ways to actually doing it. Movement areas, such as the motor cortex, light up and send signals to your muscles, even though you stay still. This mental practice strengthens the connection between your brain and body, improving coordination, reaction time, and confidence.
It also primes both the body and mind, enhancing readiness and reducing performance anxiety. (Janjigian, 2024).
While mental imagery is not a replacement for physical practice, it can be a powerful tool for elite athletes – especially during injury recovery, on rest days, or before high-pressure moments like competitions.
Strategy 2: Self-Talk
Self-talk during performance refers to the internal dialogue, feedback or response athletes give towards themselves. It can be positive or negative and includes instructional, motivational, and mood-related self-talk. Positive self-talk encourages and improves performance, while negative self-talk can hinder performance.
Self-talk can be given consciously or unconsciously – during training, competition, and reflection. It operates as a powerful cognitive tool, shaping how athletes interpret experiences, regulate emotions, and guide their own behaviour.
Self-talk can be categorised into three main types:
- Instructional Self-Talk – Used to direct attention to technical elements of a task, such as “keep your head down” or “follow through with the swing.”
- Motivational Self-Talk – Aimed at enhancing effort, resilience, or confidence through phrases like “you’ve got this” or “stay strong.”
- Mood-Related (or Emotion-Regulating) Self-Talk – Helps athletes manage stress, anxiety, or frustration, especially under pressure.
When applied “instructional and motivational self-talk enhances goal-directed behavior, particularly in competitive settings where both focus and emotional regulation are essential.”. (Latinjak, Morin, & Brinthaupt, 2023).
Strategy 3: Meditation
Meditation involves practices such as visualisation and mindfulness to enhance mental readiness, reduce anxiety, improve focus, emotional regulation, and as a result athletic performance (Sappington & Longshore, 2015).
Mindfulness-based approaches help athletes shift from reactive thinking to a more attentive and grounded presence, allowing them to respond better under pressure. Meditation doesn’t just calm the mind – it also enhances attentional control, supports faster psychological recovery from mistakes, and reinforces mental resilience.
Strategy 4: Goal Setting
Goal setting is a powerful tool for enhancing performance by providing clear and structured objectives. SMART goals – specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound – are particularly effective. Setting both short-term and long-term goals helps maintain motivation, provides immediate feedback, and offers a vision for future achievements.
Reviewing goals often, such as weekly or biweekly to track progress enhances the effectiveness of goal setting (Pop & Florina, 2021). Regular check-ins keep motivation high and allow timely adjustments.
Strategy 5: Physical Preparation
Warming up prepares both body and mind for intense activity. It raises heart rate, boosts blood flow, and activates muscles. This enhances coordination, joint mobility, and neuromuscular efficiency. “Properly designed warm-up activities can acutely enhance performance, reduce injury risk, and optimise the athlete’s readiness for competition” (Silva et al., 2018).
Dynamic warm-ups are especially effective. They combine movement with sport-specific drills, promoting both physical and psychological readiness. When done consistently, warm-ups can improve performance, reduce early fatigue, and lower the risk of strain or injury.
To boost your performance you can incorporate any of the strategies above into your warm up.
Strategy 6: Recovery
Recovery is essential for restoring physical and mental readiness after intense activity. Immediate post-activity recovery includes:
- Light aerobic activity (e.g., walking or slow cycling) to promote blood flow and support the removal of metabolic waste.
- Cold-water immersion (ice baths) to reduce inflammation, lower muscle soreness, and accelerate muscle recovery (West, 2024).
- Sauna sessions to promote relaxation, enhance circulation, and assist in muscle recovery post-exercise (Bonilla et al., 2024).
However, recovery immediately after exercise is only one part of a broader strategy.
Additional critical areas include:
- Sleep: Adequate, high-quality sleep is essential for muscle repair, hormonal balance, cognitive function, and overall recovery speed (López-Samanes et al., 2024).
- Nutrition: Proper replenishment of fluids, carbohydrates, and protein supports glycogen replenishment and muscle repair after exertion (Bonilla et al., 2024).
- Active Recovery: Low-intensity sessions like swimming, mobility drills, or light rolling the day after intense competition maintain circulation and reduce soreness without adding stress to the system (Polanco, Macdermid, & Berisha, 2025).
How should you train in order to achieve optimum competition performance?
“The timing and magnitude of training loads must be individually tailored. Evidence supports a U-shaped relationship between training load and injury or performance-moderate loads are protective and performance-enhancing, whereas both very low and very high loads carry risk.” (Zemková, Mohr, & Malý, 2024).
The ideal approach is multifactorial. It should be periodised and adjusted to individual needs, with sufficient recovery phases. Strategic variations in training volume and intensity – commonly referred to as load management – are key to optimising performance.
For more accurate guidelines and personalised training schedules you should talk to your coach, trainer and physiotherapist. Physiotherapists and other health professionals are available on the Optimi App to formulate a tailored training plan for you.
