Guided Visualizations for the 2018 CrossFit Open
Written by C.J. Martin
Are you looking for the final edge in athletic performance?
Visualizations and meditation have always been components of every elite athlete’s performance toolbox, but it can be intimidating and difficult to create your own. For the last several years, Invictus athletes have been aided by guided visualizations to prepare them for competition.
What Exactly Is Guided Visualization?
Similar to guided meditations, our guided visualizations are audio-based training sessions that guide you through a practice run of each week’s event utilizing your own mental imagery.
How Does It Work?
Mental imagery and visualization have been used for decades to achieve peak performance in sports and assist many in turning the impossible into the possible. The Russians and East Germans have been using these techniques for decades with outstanding results. It’s not the physical skill alone that separates athletes, it’s the psychological soundness and resilience that makes a champion rise above the rest.
Mental imagery is said to affect a multitude of cognitive processes in the brain such as motor control, attention, perception, planning, and memory. Visualization is a means for training the mind in preparation for the actual performance of the event. Imagine if you could have a dozen “practice runs” for each of the Open events where you could perfect your pacing, timing, strategy, transitions, and anticipate any issues before setting foot in the gym. That’s the power of guided visualization.
Research has found that mental practice can enhance motivation, increase self-confidence, improve motor performance, prime your brain for success, and increase states of flow. These states of flow and confidence can also be transferred to creating a sense of wellness and optimal healing in the body to help optimize your recovery. Other research in performance psychology has shown that your brain doesn’t distinguish between mental and physical rehearsal therefore you can literally train for precision without the physical demands on the body.
Benefits of Visualization Include:
- Boost your immune system by reducing cortisol.
- Engage the parasympathetic nervous system to induce extreme relaxation.
- Boost confidence and release stress.
- Improve athletic performance.
Often your mental pathways are so fixed that you can accidentally reinforce bad habits. One of the best ways to break those habits and achieve peak performance in visualization is to allow a professional to guide you through it. Join world-class mental toughness coach Heidi Fearon on a custom tailored guided visualization recording for each of the 2018 CrossFit Open workouts.
Heidi has an incredible background as an athlete having swam for the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis (setting 14 records during her time there, 1 of which still stands 15 years later) as well as competing in adventure races, the Ironman, and being very active in the CrossFit community. Combine that with a graduate program in acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and thousands of hours of practice around the world studying abroad in China, India, and Nepal as well as at home in San Diego and you’re putting yourself in the very best hands possible to guide you through an apex level visualization. Heidi is a certified Theta practitioner and yoga instructor and puts together the best and most effective visualizations you can find.
If you enjoyed the guided visualization included with “The Invictus Mindset: An Athlete’s Guide To Mental Toughness“, you’ll love Heidi’s visualizations created specifically for the Open.We’ve put together 4 bundles of our top-selling and most requested items so you can fully prepare for the 2018 CrossFit Open. Formerly only available to our private coaching athletes, Heidi’s guided visualizations are now accessible each week for download. You’ll be able to purchase each visualization individually for only $5.99 each, or you can purchase all 5 visualizations (a $29.95 value) for only $19.97 in the “Invictus 2018 Open Guided Visualization Bundle”. We also now have the “Ultimate CrossFit Open Preparation Bundle“, our most valuable package includes two of our top-selling eBooks, “The Invictus Mindset: An Athlete’s Guide To Mental Toughness eBook (PDF format)” and “Post Workout Supplementation eBook (with Audiobook included)”, as well as custom visualizations for each week of the 2018 Open, and the “Mental Prep for the CrossFit Open” bundle, which includes our best-selling eBook, “The Invictus Mindset: An Athlete’s Guide To Mental Toughness eBook (PDF format)”, as well as custom visualizations for each week of the 2018 Open workouts.
Download yours today and get prepared even before the announcement of 18.1!
References:
Borysenko. J, Minding the Body, Mending the Mind. MA: Addison-Wesley, 1987.
Descarte, Rene (1960). Discourse on Method and Meditations. Laurence J. Lafleur (trans). New York: The Liberal Arts Press. ISBN 0-672-60278-4.
Levan, Angie., https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/flourish/200912/seeing-is-believing-the-power-visualization.
Maddison R, Prapavessis H, Clatworthy M, Hall C, Foley L, Harper T, Cupal D, Brewer B.
Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2012 Dec;22(6):816-21. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2011.01325.x. Epub 2011, May 12.
Miller, Emmett Dr., http://drmiller.com/learning-center/guidedimagery.