Mental Rehearsal for Athletes: What the Research Actually Shows

If you have ever replayed a race, a serve, or a routine in your mind the night before a competition, you were already doing something researchers call mental rehearsal. It is a simple idea: you mentally run through a performance without physically moving, and you try to make that mental run-through as vivid and detailed as possible [1]. Stanford researchers have found that mentally running through a routine can improve performance, though exactly how that works is not yet clear [1].

Athletes across many sports use some form of mental rehearsal or imagery as part of their preparation. A growing body of research suggests that the athletes who do this well may enjoy meaningful advantages, from stronger focus to lower anxiety [2]. At the same time, the evidence is not as simple as "mental practice makes you faster," and it helps to understand what the studies actually show before you build a routine around them [3].

This article walks through what peer-reviewed research says about mental rehearsal and sport imagery, how the brain appears to learn from imagined movement, and how you might apply these ideas in your own training. You can also try a guided mental rehearsal session for competition if you want to experience the practice firsthand.

What Mental Rehearsal and Sport Imagery Actually Mean

Mental rehearsal is the practice of mentally simulating a physical task without executing it. You picture the movements, the environment, and the sensations involved, and you try to make the experience feel as close as possible to the real thing [1]. Sport imagery is a closely related concept that researchers use to describe the broader ability to create vivid mental representations of athletic performance, including visual, kinesthetic, and emotional elements [2].

Stanford researchers have reported that the brain can learn physical tasks even in the absence of real-world movement, which helps explain why mentally rehearsing a skill may translate into better physical execution [4]. The exact mechanisms are still being studied, and the researchers note that it is not yet clear how mental rehearsal prepares the mind for action [1]. What is clear is that the practice is widely used and that many athletes find it valuable as a supplement to physical training.

• Mental rehearsal means simulating a task mentally without physically performing it [1].
• Sport imagery includes visual, kinesthetic, and emotional elements of performance [2].
• The brain may learn physical tasks even without real-world movement, though the mechanism is not fully understood [4].

What the Meta-Analysis Found About Imagery and Performance

A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis by Reinebo and colleagues examined the effects of a wide range of psychological interventions on performance in competitive athletes [3]. The researchers screened studies from multiple databases and identified 111 studies that met their inclusion criteria, of which 25 studies with 37 effects could be synthesized into five meta-analyses [3].

One of those meta-analyses focused specifically on imagery compared to control conditions. The researchers found that imagery outperformed controls with a moderate effect size (g = 0.75, 95% confidence interval 0.14–1.36) [3]. Psychological skills training (g = 0.83) and mindfulness- and acceptance-based approaches (g = 0.67) also showed significant moderate effects over controls in their respective analyses [3].

However, the authors noted an important caveat. When they removed non-randomized trials and subjective performance outcomes in sensitivity analyses, the overall estimates of effect size were no longer significant in any of the syntheses [3]. This means that while the initial results are encouraging, the evidence becomes less stable under stricter methodological scrutiny. The authors call for further trials with robust research methodology, such as randomized controlled trials, before drawing firm conclusions [3].

This does not mean mental rehearsal is useless. It means the research community is still working to understand how well it works and under what conditions. For an athlete deciding whether to try it, the existing evidence is promising enough to justify experimentation, especially given that the practice is low-risk and costs nothing but time.

Mental Toughness, Anxiety, and Imagery Ability

A 2025 study by Demir and colleagues examined the relationships between mental toughness, sport imagery, and anxiety in 407 elite athletes aged 19 to 26 [2]. The researchers used structural equation modeling to test a theoretical model of how these characteristics relate to one another [2].

They found that athletes with higher mental toughness had lower levels of anxiety, and that anxiety had a negative effect on sport imagery skills [2]. Athletes with higher mental toughness also showed higher levels of sport imagery abilities [2]. The fit indices of the model gave a good fit, and the coefficients obtained were statistically significant at p <.05 [2].

The study authors suggest that training programs aimed at improving sport imagery skills may also contribute to the development of mental toughness [2]. This is an intriguing finding because it hints at a possible two-way relationship: athletes who practice imagery may strengthen mental qualities that help them manage pressure, and athletes who are mentally tough may find it easier to engage in vivid imagery. The study is correlational, so it cannot prove causation, but the pattern is consistent with the idea that mental and physical preparation are intertwined [2].

Who Tends to Use Imagery Best

A 2025 mixed-methods study by Volgemute and colleagues found that athletes with higher athletic achievement tend to have stronger imagery abilities [5]. This finding does not tell us whether strong imagery causes higher achievement or whether higher-achieving athletes simply develop better imagery through experience, but it does suggest that imagery ability and athletic performance are linked [5].

The same study's results support recent findings that athletes who perform at higher levels tend to report more vivid and controllable mental images of their sport [5]. For athletes at any level, this raises a practical question: can you deliberately improve your imagery ability through practice, and might that translate into better performance over time?

The research so far suggests it is plausible but not yet proven. The meta-analysis by Reinebo and colleagues found moderate effects for imagery interventions, but those effects became non-significant under stricter analysis [3]. The Demir study found that imagery ability correlates with mental toughness and lower anxiety, which are themselves associated with better performance [2]. Taken together, these findings suggest that imagery is worth practicing, especially as part of a broader mental skills routine.

How to Start a Simple Mental Rehearsal Routine

If you are curious about adding mental rehearsal to your training, the research suggests a few practical starting points. The goal is not to replace physical practice but to complement it with structured mental repetition that engages the same skills in a different way [1].

First, find a quiet space where you will not be interrupted. Close your eyes and mentally walk through your performance step by step, from the starting position to the finish. Include as much sensory detail as you can: what you see, what you hear, what your body feels like during each phase of the movement [1].

Second, rehearse both the ideal performance and the challenges you might face. If you know a particular transition or moment tends to trip you up, spend extra mental time on that section. The Stanford research suggests the brain can learn from imagined movement, so rehearsing difficult moments may help you respond more effectively when they happen in real life [4].

Third, combine mental rehearsal with physical practice. The research does not suggest that mental rehearsal alone is a substitute for physical training; rather, it appears to work best as a supplement that reinforces what you learn in your body [1]. You might spend five to ten minutes on mental rehearsal before or after a physical session, or on rest days when you cannot train physically.

Fourth, keep a loose log of what you notice. You do not need to track every session, but jotting down a sentence or two about what felt clear or unclear in your imagery can help you refine the practice over time. This is a personal process, and what works for one athlete may not work for another.

• Find a quiet space and mentally walk through your performance with full sensory detail [1].
• Spend extra time on the moments that tend to challenge you most [4].
• Use mental rehearsal as a supplement to physical training, not a replacement for it [1].
• Keep a brief log of what you notice so you can refine your practice over time.

What the Evidence Does and Does Not Tell Us

It is worth being honest about the limits of the current evidence. The meta-analysis by Reinebo and colleagues found that imagery interventions showed moderate effects initially, but those effects were not stable when the analysis was restricted to randomized trials with objective performance outcomes [3]. This means we cannot say with confidence that imagery reliably improves competitive performance across all athletes and sports.

At the same time, the correlational findings from Demir and colleagues suggest that imagery ability is linked with mental toughness and lower anxiety, both of which are associated with better athletic performance [2]. And the mixed-methods study by Volgemute and colleagues found that higher-achieving athletes tend to have stronger imagery abilities [5]. These findings do not prove causation, but they paint a consistent picture: imagery is part of the toolkit that many successful athletes use.

Mental rehearsal has also been studied outside of sport. A systematic review by Gabbott and colleagues found that mental rehearsal was effective in improving non-technical skills in surgical teams, though the practices used were varied and often poorly defined [6]. This suggests that the benefits of mental rehearsal may extend beyond physical athletic performance to teamwork, communication, and decision-making under pressure.

For athletes, the takeaway is not that mental rehearsal guarantees results. It is that mental rehearsal is a low-cost, low-risk practice with enough supportive evidence to be worth trying. If it helps you feel more prepared, more focused, and less anxious before competition, that alone may be valuable regardless of whether it directly changes your finishing time.

Key takeaways

• Mental rehearsal means mentally simulating a performance with vivid sensory detail, and the brain may learn from it even without physical movement [1][4].
• A meta-analysis found moderate effects for imagery on athletic performance, but those effects were not stable under stricter methodological scrutiny [3].
• Athletes with higher mental toughness tend to have stronger imagery abilities and lower anxiety, and imagery training may support mental toughness development [2].
• Higher-achieving athletes tend to report stronger imagery abilities, suggesting a link between imagery and performance [5].
• Use mental rehearsal as a supplement to physical training, not a replacement, and keep a brief log to refine your practice over time [1].

If you want to experience mental rehearsal for yourself, try a guided session designed to walk you through your performance step by step. Try a mental rehearsal session for competition

Sources & Further Reading

1. Mental rehearsal might prepare our minds for action. news.stanford.edu. https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2018/02/mental-rehearsal-might-prepare-minds-action
2. Demir GT, Namlı S, Çakır E et al. (2025). The role of mental toughness, sport imagery and anxiety in athletic performance: structural equation modelling analysis. BMC psychology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-03250-6
3. Reinebo G, Alfonsson S, Jansson-Fröjmark M et al. (2024). Effects of Psychological Interventions to Enhance Athletic Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-023-01931-z
4. Mental rehearsal prepares our minds for real-world action. med.stanford.edu. https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2018/02/mental-rehearsal-prepares-our-minds-for-real-world-action.html
5. Volgemute K, Vazne Z, Malinauskas R (2025). The benefits of guided imagery on athletic performance: a mixed-methods approach. Frontiers in psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1500194
6. Gabbott B, Tennent D, Snelgrove H (2020). Effect of mental rehearsal on team performance and non-technical skills in surgical teams: systematic review. BJS open. https://doi.org/10.1002/bjs5.50343