Habit Stacking for Lower Extremity
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a large impact on our daily routines, especially when it comes to movement. Over the last 15+ months most of us have not been as mobile in our daily lives as we once were. With fewer occasions to leave the house, we’ve had fewer opportunities for routine tasks that keep us moving on our feet; i.e. walks with friends, taking public transit, or going up and down stairs. Our joints need movement and load to maintain stability and strength. As a result of our reduced activity, lower extremity injuries are becoming more prevalent.
With many individuals continuing to work from home even after broader reopening, it is important to start incorporating daily lower leg conditioning. You might be surprised how easy it is to add some simple exercises into your other daily routines. This idea of adding new practices onto existing routines is called “Habit Stacking”. With this idea, we can make it easier to form new habits and make our goals more attainable.
Try some of these ideas out!
- Balance on one leg while brushing your teeth. Switch legs halfway through.
- Do calf raises while standing at the kitchen counter (eg. while your morning coffee is brewing, or your lunch is heating up in the microwave).
- Do some foot doming while you shower.
For even more lower leg activity, try setting a timer at your desk while you work. Every hour, get up and walk around for two minutes. If you have stairs in your home, climb up and down the stairs instead.
It is important to keep exercising our legs and feet throughout the day, and we can do it with “habit stacking” simple habits like these onto our daily routines.
Have questions about how Pilates can help you get stronger? I’d love to hear from you, send me an email to lily.mcevenue@striveto.ca and let’s connect!