The concept of habit stacking is simple — stack up tiny little habits on top of existing practices until they become powerful routines. Behavioral scientist B.J Fogg, Ph. D., and New York Times best-selling author of Atomic Habits, James Clear, regard it as one of the best ways to build a new routine without making major life changes all at once.
If you are feeling stuck in your fitness journey or are a beginner looking for the simplest way to incorporate fitness into your day, this approach is for you.
In this article, we’ll be looking at how to habit-stack your way to fitness.
You’ll also learn simple exercises that can fit into your day without altering your regular schedule.
Habit Stacking Helps Build Consistency in Fitness Routine
There’s no fixed timeframe for habit formation. One person might form a new habit in 13 days, while it may take as long as 254 days in some others. However, on average, it takes about 66 days to form a new habit. At that point, your brain has developed a strong neural connection with the new activity. It requires little or no mental assistance to get started.
In your fitness journey, you will need a great deal of dedication, self-motivation, and discipline to reach that average threshold. However, you can take small, consistent steps towards fitness rather than struggle through your routine.
Habit stacking focuses on consistency more than impact.
It helps you take tiny steps daily toward your goal until you eventually make a significant impact. A study published in the British Journal of General Practice in 2012 revealed that even the mere repetition of a simple action could lead to solid habit formation.
For example, instead of starting your fitness journey with a 2-hour workout session, you’d be more successful doing a 10-minute session regularly. You can then build up your routine from there. As you stack up small doses of physical activities daily, you will eventually incorporate many exercises into your routine without hassle!
3 Successful Tips for Building Better Fitness Habits
Now that you know why it is essential to start small in your fitness journey, here are some tips to get started.
1 — Build on a Strong Foundation
Habit stacking is a unique technique to form habits because it leverages your brain's connection with existing behaviors. So choose something you do every day and exercise before, during, or after the activity.
An example is when you vacuum your carpets or sweep the floors. You can turn on some energetic music and dance while at it. With that, you have seamlessly incorporated some vigorous body movement into your day (and made the task a bit more fun!).
2 — Set Achievable Fitness Goals
Remember that consistency supersedes sudden impact when setting your fitness goals using the habit stacking technique. If you are out of shape, it is unrealistic to expect to do 50 push-ups during your lunch hour without starting small and building it up to that level.
So, in the beginning, you'd want to focus on consistently dancing while vacuuming, using the stairs instead of the elevator, or brisk walking to the bus station before moving on to more challenging activities.
3 — Understand that Fitness Is More than a Habit; It’s a Lifestyle
As you habit stack your way to fitness, you’d also want to complement your new practices with a healthier lifestyle, and you can always start small there, too. For example, "Once I turn off my alarm in the morning, I will have a glass of water." Another is, "After I sit at my desk in the office in the morning, I will have an apple." As you pair your daily exercises with other healthy activities, you'll be well on your way to a fitter year!
6 Simple Exercises to Stack on Your Regular Routines
Year after year, people join a gym as their New Year's resolution. But shockingly, 90% of them stopped going after three months. There are many reasons for this; one is because, for many, adding this "big, brand new" routine is too much, too fast. If you are someone who joined a gym for the first time, increase your chances of success by stacking the times you go to something else you already do.
Not ready to join a gym?
Here are some easy exercises you can add to your day with "no sweat."
1 — Run in Place as Your Coffee Brews
If you always make a cup of coffee every morning, it would be a good anchor habit to stack up another one. Usually, it takes 5 to 10 minutes for coffee to brew. So instead of doing nothing as you wait, you can do a quick aerobic workout to get yourself pumped up for the day.
Running in place would be ideal, but you can also walk around your yard, jog or do some jumping jacks. These exercises will help you increase your lung capacity, improve circulation, and speed up weight loss.
2 — Push Ups On the Countertop As You Await Your Meal In The Microwave
Whether making oatmeal in the morning or heating some leftovers in the microwave, you can fill that waiting period with strength exercises. Balance your hands on the edge of the countertop, move your feet backward and your heels up, so your body is in a vertical plank position, then hit a few reps.
You can do your push-ups until you hear a ding in the microwave, but it helps to have a figure in mind — 5 reps are an excellent way to start!
3 — Stretch After You Close Your Work Laptop
If you work on a computer, shutting down for the day could be a good anchor point to incorporate deep stretching exercises. Not only does it help relieve cramps caused by bad posture, but it also improves circulation, reduces stress, and helps your muscles in the long run.
To do the stretch, interlock your fingers behind your head, and pop your elbows backward as you slowly chest out. Hold this stance for 30 seconds, then relax. Repeat up to 3 times.
4 — Do Calf Raises As Your Shower Warms Up
It takes a while for the shower to warm up, so you can do quick calf raises while waiting. To do the exercise, stand erect, lift your heels until you stand on your tiptoes, return to your position, and repeat. Doing this exercise a few times daily strengthens your calves and reduces the chances of an ankle sprain.
Remember to apply safety precautions while at it. Avoid doing it in slippery areas, on loose rugs, or grip the countertop for more stamina.
5 — Do a Yoga Pose as You Watch Your Favorite Show
If you watch TV daily, you can add a relaxing yoga pose (e.g., sun salutation) to the routine. Staying in a sun salutation pose for up to four minutes helps you improve circulation.
You can also do more strenuous yoga moves or other exercises during the commercials instead of skipping them. Streaming? Take a 5-minute movement break between episodes!
6 — Be Mindful of Your Movements
While the goal of habit stacking is to help you build fitness habits in an easy-to-do manner, ensure that you are mindful of your movement throughout the day. Please pay attention to your stretches, jogging, and walking routines, and ensure that you are doing them right.
Another simple tip is to be more mindful of your posture as you walk, sit at your desk, lift heavy items, and go about your daily work routines.
Build a Healthier Life One Step at a Time
Adding more movement to your life is a simple habit to improve your fitness and overall well-being. Each time you add more steps into your routine, you are moving towards a healthier you. On top of that, exercise also helps to reduce stress, prevent burnout, and increase productivity.
It's one of many easy habits you can add to enhance your physical health and mental well-being.
