Mental Imagery

Mental Imagery
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There is interesting research about mental imagery and sports performance [1]. By visualizing yourself performing a certain movement before actually doing it, you can mentally practice the motor skills involved in a certain lift.
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Let’s take the squat, for example. Instead of just putting a bar on your back and lifting the weight up/down, you can benefit from actively thinking about “how” you will squat. Visualize the way you unrack the bar, how you will go down, essentially walking through your desired squat form in your mind.
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Visualizing how you will perform a movement likely will help you master the form better. Since you may have improved technique when making use of mental imagery, your lifts are also more efficient and this can benefit strength performance. As an example, in a 2012 study, researchers found that mental imagery helps improve leg press performance [2].
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Now, to make the mental imagery effective, it is a good idea to mimic the conditions you are in when performing a task. So you can practice mental imagery in between sets and/or during your warm-up to mentally prep yourself for lifting weights.
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References:
1. Richter, J., Gilbert, J. N., & Baldis, M. (2012). Maximizing strength training performance using mental imagery. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 34(5), 65-69.
2. Lebon, F., Collet, C., & Guillot, A. (2010). Benefits of motor imagery training on muscle strength. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 24(6), 1680-1687.