HABIT STACKING

The Small Changes That Can Transform Your Training

What if improving your strength, flexibility, technique and even your everyday routine didn’t require finding more time?

What if the secret was simply using the things you already do every day?

Welcome to habit stacking — a simple behaviour-change technique that can help turn good intentions into actions and, eventually, actions into habits.

At Advancing Dance Technique, we talk a lot about consistency. One amazing training session can make you feel fantastic, but it’s what you do regularly that creates long-term change.

And this applies to much more than dance.

It applies to drinking enough water, doing your homework, remembering your exercises, preparing your dance bag, getting enough sleep and looking after your body.

The great news?

You don't have to change everything at once.

You can stack it.

First... what actually is a habit?

A habit is a behaviour that becomes increasingly automatic.

Think about brushing your teeth.

You probably don't wake up every morning and have a lengthy conversation with yourself:

"Should I brush my teeth today? Do I have enough motivation? Perhaps I'll start tomorrow..."

You just do it.

That's because the behaviour has been repeated so many times, usually in a consistent context, that it requires far less conscious thought.

Habit research shows that repeating a behaviour in response to a consistent cue strengthens the association between that cue and the behaviour. Over time, the cue itself can start prompting the action automatically.

And THAT is where habit stacking gets interesting.

So what is Habit Stacking?

Habit stacking means taking a behaviour that you already do regularly and using it as the trigger for a new behaviour that you would like to develop.

The basic formula is:

AFTER I [CURRENT HABIT], I WILL [NEW BEHAVIOUR].

For example:

After I brush my teeth, I will do my ankle-strengthening exercises.

You don't have to remember a completely separate task.

Your existing routine becomes the reminder.

Think of it like attaching one little building block onto another.

🧱 Existing habit

🧱 New behaviour

🧱 Repeat

🧱 New habit

That's your habit stack.

Does it actually work?

The important distinction is that "habit stacking" is a popular name for a technique built around established behaviour-science principles, particularly cue-based habit formation and implementation intentions.

Implementation intentions are specific plans that link a situation with an action:

"When X happens, I will do Y."

A major review of 94 independent studies involving more than 8,000 participants found that making these specific "if-then" plans had a medium-to-large positive effect on achieving goals.

Why?

Because you've already decided when you're going to act.

Instead of relying entirely on motivation or remembering at the right moment, you have created a cue for the behaviour.

For dancers, that's incredibly useful.

Because motivation changes.

Your schedule changes.

Some days you're tired.

Some days you've got homework.

Some days you simply don't feel like training.

A good routine shouldn't depend on feeling motivated every single day.

BUT WAIT... DOESN'T IT TAKE 21 DAYS TO MAKE A HABIT?

You've probably heard this one:

"Do something for 21 days and it becomes a habit."

Unfortunately, it's not that simple.

Research from University College London followed people trying to establish new everyday behaviours over 12 weeks.

The median time for a behaviour to reach a high level of automaticity was approximately:

66 DAYS.

But here's the really important part.

The individual results varied enormously — from around 18 days to 254 days.

So there isn't a magic number.

A simple behaviour may become automatic much more quickly than something more complicated.

And different people develop habits at different speeds.

So if you've done your exercises for three weeks and still have to remind yourself...

YOU HAVEN'T FAILED.

Your brain may simply still be learning the routine.

Keep going.

AND HERE'S SOME EVEN BETTER NEWS...

The same research found that missing one opportunity didn't materially derail the habit-formation process.

Read that again.

Missing one day doesn't mean you're back to Day One.

That matters enormously because people often fall into the "all or nothing" trap.

"I forgot yesterday, so I've ruined it."

No.

You haven't.

Just return to your habit at the next opportunity.

At ADT, we'd much rather see:

small + consistent + sustainable

than:

perfect + intense + impossible to maintain.

LET'S BUILD AN ADT HABIT STACK

Imagine you want stronger ankles.

You could tell yourself:

"I really need to work on my ankles more."

That's a goal.

But there's no plan.

Instead, find something you already do every day.

Perhaps you brush your teeth every evening.

Now stack your training onto it:

🪥 After I brush my teeth...

🩰 I will complete my ADT ankle-strengthening exercises.

Now your toothbrush has effectively become your training reminder!

Or perhaps flexibility is your focus:

🎒 After I put my school bag down...

🧘 I will complete 5 minutes of mobility.

Want to improve your feet?

📺 Before I watch my favourite programme...

🦶 I will complete my foot-strengthening exercises.

Need to remember to practise?

🍽️ After dinner...

🩰 I will practise one exercise from class.

Suddenly, training doesn't need its own enormous space in your day.

It becomes attached to something that's already there.

Habit Stacking Isn't Just For Dance

This is something we really want our ADT dancers to understand.

The skills you develop through dance training can help you far beyond the studio.

Habit stacking can help with everyday life too.

MORNING STACK ☀️

After I get out of bed → I drink a glass of water.

After I drink my water → I do 2 minutes of mobility.

After my mobility → I get ready for school.

AFTER-SCHOOL STACK 🎒

When I get home → I put my dance bag in its correct place.

After I put my bag away → I refill my water bottle.

After I refill my bottle → I do 5 minutes of ADT training.

Then homework, dinner or relaxation can follow.

BEDTIME STACK 🌙

After I brush my teeth → I do my gentle stretches.

After stretching → I prepare my dance/school things for tomorrow.

After preparing everything → phone away.

Now you've created a routine that supports your training, organisation and wellbeing.

START RIDICULOUSLY SMALL

Here's where people often go wrong.

They decide:

"From Monday I'm going to stretch for 45 minutes every day, strengthen my feet, work my core, drink two litres of water, practise my turns AND go to bed at 9pm."

Monday: AMAZING.

Tuesday: pretty good.

Wednesday: school was busy.

Thursday: exhausted.

Friday: forgotten.

😂 Sound familiar?

Instead, make the new behaviour so manageable that it's difficult to find an excuse not to do it.

Rather than:

❌ "After dinner I'll do an hour of conditioning."

Try:

✅ "After dinner I'll do one ADT exercise."

You can always do more.

But the first goal is simply:

SHOW UP.

Because repetition builds the association.

And association helps build the habit.

THE ADT 66-DAY CHALLENGE

Here's something we'd love our ADT dancers — and parents! — to try.

Choose ONE small behaviour you'd like to make part of your life.

Not five.

Not ten.

ONE.

Then complete this sentence:

AFTER I __________________________

I WILL __________________________

Examples:

After I brush my teeth, I will do 10 controlled heel raises.

After I get home from school, I will drink a glass of water.

After I finish my homework, I will do 5 minutes of mobility.

After I put my dance shoes on, I will activate my feet.

After I finish class, I will write down one correction I want to remember.

After I get into bed, I will put my phone away.

Then give yourself time.

Don't expect magic in 21 days.

Think about the 66-day benchmark as encouragement rather than a deadline. Your habit may form sooner. It may take considerably longer.

What matters is the repetition.

DANCERS: IMAGINE WHERE THIS COULD TAKE YOU

Five minutes doesn't sound like much.

Ten controlled repetitions don't sound revolutionary.

One small action doesn't feel particularly impressive.

But repeated consistently?

That's where things become powerful.

Imagine doing just five minutes of focused training most days for two months.

That's hours of additional purposeful practice accumulated from tiny pockets of time.

And because you're attaching that practice to something you already do, you don't necessarily need to "find" another huge block in your diary.

You're simply making better use of the routines you already have.

YOUR ADT TAKEAWAY

You don't always need more motivation.

Sometimes you simply need a better cue.

Choose something you already do.

Attach one positive behaviour to it.

Keep the action small.

Repeat it consistently.

Don't panic if you miss a day.

Then give your brain time to turn that repeated action into something that begins to feel automatic.

Because progress isn't always created by doing something enormous.

Sometimes it's created by doing something small... again and again and again.

SMALL HABITS.

STRONGER DANCERS.

BIGGER RESULTS.

What will you stack today?

💚 Advancing Dance Technique

Train smarter. Move stronger. Build habits that last.