Habit-Stack Your Way to More Movement

We know what you’re thinking — what is habit stacking?

The idea behind habit stacking is simple: add a new behavior to your daily schedule by “stacking it” on top of an existing habit. The concept of habit stacking was pioneered by James Clear, author of the New York Times bestseller, Atomic Habits, and it is designed to help individuals incorporate more healthy behaviors into their lives without disrupting their normal routine. Seamlessly incorporating physical activity throughout the day can lead to weight loss and reduced instances of chronic illnesses such as diabetes or hypertension.

For example, many of us make coffee in the morning, and, whether you’re using a drip pot or French press, the brewing process takes between 5 – 10 minutes. During the time you wait for your coffee, you can easily add a new better-for-you behavior into your schedule, such as a few sets of high knees or a light jog-in-place.

By stacking enough of these habits, you’ll effectively incorporate a surprising amount of extra physical activity into your daily routine without even realizing it.

Coffee’s brewing: Run in place

Coffee takes between 5 – 10 minutes to brew, so put that time to good use every morning with some running in place. A brief aerobic workout — whether it’s walking, jogging, or running — can improve your endurance, lung capacity, circulation, and weight management.

Shower’s getting warm: Do calf raises

It takes a few minutes for the shower to warm up, but in that short amount of time, before stepping into the shower, you can be adding definition and strength to your calves. Calf raises improve strength and stability, making it easier to avoid injuries like a sprain or rolled ankle. A calf raise is easy to do and requires little room, just stand up straight and push through the balls of your feet until you are standing on your toes; if you feel like you’re off-balance, try holding on to a ledge or counter to stabilize yourself. Then slowly lower your feet back to the starting position.

Oatmeal’s in the microwave: Do countertop pushups

Oatmeal is just one example of a breakfast food that requires a little bit of time to prepare. While you’re waiting for the water to boil (or whole grain bread to toast), try doing some countertop pushups to strengthen your upper body. To do the exercise, face the countertop and place hands on the edge, around shoulder-width apart. Step your feet backward and lift your heels up so your body is in a plank position. Slowly lower your chest toward the counter, keeping your forearms parallel to each other; press your body back to the starting position and repeat. If countertop pushups are too strenuous, try a modified wall push-up instead.

Your favorite news show is on: Try a sun salutation

Watching television can be relaxing in itself, but adding a sun salutation into the mix will relieve both your body and mind. Serving as the backbone of many yoga traditions, the sun salutation is a simple yet powerful sequence of movements that stretches every part of the body. Check out our sun salutation infographic to see how to properly perform each step.

Working on your laptop: Stretch your shoulders

Many of us use a laptop for work and recreation, but time spent sitting at your computer can also be used as a chance to stretch out your chests and shoulders. For the stretch, lock your fingers behind your head and push your elbows backwards while squeezing with your upper back until you feel a stretch in your chest near your underarms. Hold for 20–30 seconds and repeat.

Brushing your teeth: Walk around the house

When it comes to brushing your teeth, dentists recommend the 2-2 rule: brush your teeth twice a day for two minutes each time — that’s four minutes of just staring at the mirror! Put that time to good use and walk around the house as you brush. It may not seem like a lot, but a couple minutes of walking can help with your balance, flexibility, and range of motion. For an added burn, turn your mini walks into hikes by going up and down the stairs.

5 Simple Bodyweight Exercises You Can Do Anywhere

Your most useful piece of fitness equipment is always close by. Yes, we’re talking about your body. Bodyweight exercises, also known as calisthenics, are beneficial to people of all ability levels.

First off, they’re free and convenient, so you can save the roughly $500-$1000 you’d be paying in yearly gym fees, while also being able to work out whenever you want. Second, calisthenics are incredibly effective forms of exercise, and you’ll start seeing results from only a few short sessions. Using bodyweight improves both your endurance and strength, making these exercises a cross between strength-training and cardio. Finally, the versatility and flexibility of calisthenics means you can target a variety of different muscle groups in a matter of moments.

This Monday, try to boost your fitness routine with these 5 simple bodyweight exercises you can do anywhere.

Arm Circles

A simple way to warm up your arms and shoulders, and improve flexibility and range of motion.

1. Stand with your arms extended by your sides, perpendicular to your torso.
2. Slowly move your arms in clockwise circles about 1 foot in diameter for 20—30 seconds.
3. After, reverse the movement, going counterclockwise.
4. Make bigger or smaller circles to target different areas of your shoulders, triceps, and biceps

Calf Raises

One of the most convenient exercises, calf raises can help strengthen and tone your calf muscles with minimal effort.

1. From a standing position, raise yourself up on your toes, making sure to keep your heels on the floor.
2. When your toes are fully extended, hold for a second before returning to the starting position.
3. Repeat the motion until you start feeling a warmth in your calves.

Squats

The squat targets the lower-body muscle groups, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, and glutes.

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart (a little wider is okay, too).
2. Slowly crouch by bending your knees until your thighs are nearly parallel to the floor.
3. Remember to keep your heels firmly on the ground, and make sure they do not rise off the floor.
4. Push through using your heels to return to standing position.

Plank

Strengthen your abdominal muscles and improve your balance with this classic core-building exercise.

1. Lay on your stomach with forearms on the floor in front of you.
2. Extend your legs behind you and raise your body so that you’re supported by your toes and forearms.
3. Keeping your body straight, tighten your abdominal muscles and hold the position for 30-60 seconds.
4. Each day you do the plank position, aim to extend the length of your hold.

Push-up

With proper form, the classic push-up hits nearly every muscle above the waist. There are many different variations on the push-up, so do the one that is right for you.

1. Start in a plank position: both hands on the floor shoulder-width apart, arms locked at the elbow, back straight and aligned with hips, and feet shoulder-width apart. Try to think of the body as one giant line.
2. Your chest/nipple should be directly over your thumb nail. Fingers should be splayed, and your hands should be in a comfortable position on the floor.
3. Inhale as you slowly lower your chest down to the floor, and exhale as you push the palms of your hands into the floor, bringing your torso, thighs, and chest off the ground.
4. Return to starting plank position and pause a second before the next repetition. Aim for 3-4 sets of 15 reps.

5 Healthy Reward Ideas for Exercise Well Done!

Healthy Fitness Reward Ideas

You’ve stuck with it and now it’s time for you to enjoy a well-earned exercise reward in celebration of keeping up your physical activity routine. Pick Monday to give yourself the gift of self-care.

It’s time for reflection. Take a moment to contemplate how far you’ve come in your fitness journey. Have you gotten stronger, made and achieved fitness goals, achieved a healthy weight, or done all four?  It’s definitely time for an exercise reward – so treat yourself with some modest and affordable indulgences today!

When you take good care of yourself, you nourish your body and soul. Here are some low-cost fitness reward ideas to help you get started:

• Bubbles Galore! – Take a nice hot bath and mix it up with some fun bubbles.
• Visit a Museum – Exercise your mind! Take in some ancient history or modern art.
• Restorative Yoga – Take twenty minutes and stretch it all out.
• Whip up a Spread – Make something delicious and healthy.
• All Hands on Deck – Book a massage to relax your hard-working muscles.

Exercise rewards in the form of self-care are a great way to thank yourself for all of the hard work you do. Use Monday as a way of acknowledging your accomplishments and being grateful for all that you’ve been able to achieve.

5 Fitness Challenges to Get the Whole Family Moving

There’s nothing like a little friendly competition to bring the family closer. So why not turn your plain-old, ordinary exercises into a family fitness challenge.

Experts recommend individuals spend at least 150 minutes per week exercising or being active, so we’ve compiled a list of exercises that can easily be converted into fitness challenges for you and the whole family to do together. Completing one or two of these challenges a week will help you satisfy that weekly workout requirement. Group challenges inevitably motivate you to push yourself a harder, and they can even help you squeeze out an extra rep (or two or three).

The cherry on top is that these fitness challenges don’t require any hardcore workout equipment; all you need is maybe a few chairs, some floor space, and a few willing participants. Below are five of our favorite:

Mountain Climbers:

Begin in plank position, hands under your shoulders, arms straight, head looking forward. Keeping your back straight, bring one knee to your chest, then back to plank. Repeat with the other leg, increasing speed as you go. See who can last the longest!

Jabs:

A great way to get out frustration and pent up energy, jabs are a good workout for even the most devout pacifist. To start, get into a “fighting stance” — abs tight, hands in fists guarding your chin, shoulders relaxed, hips should-width apart. On an exhale, punch straight with one arm without locking the elbow. Return to starting position and repeat. Who will get tired first?

Bicycle Crunches:

This one will have everyone feeling the burn. Tighten up those abs with this grueling bicycle crunch challenge. Lie on your back with your feet on the floor, knees bent, hands behind your ears. Press your lower back into the floor, engage your abs, and lift you head, shoulders and upper back. At the same time, twist to bring your right elbow to your left knee while simultaneously straightening your right leg. It’s like peddling a bike… only worse. First to 100 crunches wins!

Monday Mile:

Who will reach the finish line first? Speed walk, jog, run — it doesn’t matter how your family chooses to complete the task. Map out a cool trail through town or some other more rural paths. Along with your weekly Monday Mile, look for any charity walks or runs raising money for a cause that you and your family support.

Push-Up and Rotation:

If misery loves company, you’ll want the whole family here for this one. The push-up and rotation targets your abs, triceps, upper back, chest, and shoulders, making it a complete upper-body and core workout. Begin in a push-up position with your body off the floor. After one push-up, twist your body to the right and raise your right arm to the ceiling, into a side plank. Return to start and repeat on the other side. Set a timer for three minutes – who can do the most?