You probably start your day with something automatic, like making a cup of coffee or taking a morning walk. Those habits don’t require motivation. They just happen because they’re part of your daily routine.

Habit stacking is the practice of adding a new, beneficial behavior onto these existing habits, so the change feels seamless, not forced.

It’s not about adding unattainable “healthy” habits on top of a busy schedule, but about helping your clients do more of what already works—for example, pairing a glass of water with that first cup of coffee, or adding breathwork right after a workout cooldown.

And it works: a 2025 study in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that habit stacking boosted habit adoption by 64% compared to starting from scratch.

Trainers are using habit stacking to help clients stay consistent, layer in small wins, and make routines stick. With tools like ABC Trainerize, you can track those habits, add reminders, and support the process every step of the way.

We’ll walk through exactly how to do that.

What Is Habit Stacking?

Habit stacking is a behavioral technique where a new habit is paired, or “stacked,” onto an existing habit, using the daily routine as a cue to trigger the new behavior. This reduces the need for extra effort or decision-making because the new action simply piggybacks on what you already do.

James Clear popularized the concept in his book Atomic Habits. Based on scientific research, he positions habit stacking as a simple way to build new behaviors into your day by anchoring them to habits that already exist.

👉 Read More: How to Build and Sell Low-Touch Habit Programs with ABC Trainerize 

How Does Habit Stacking Work?

The key to stacking habits is anchoring them to something your client already does without thinking. That’s where you come in, helping them identify those existing habits and pairing them with meaningful, goal-aligned actions.

Here are a few real-world habit stacking examples to use with clients:

• Adding quick and simple fitness exercises to the beginning or end of daily routines
• Aligning meal habits and nutrition practices with specific workouts or plans
• Kickstarting a morning with new early practices to support health
• Pairing entertainment with fitness practices to make the most of time
• Adding meditations to nighttime routines 

👉 Read More: Goals and Niche: How to Motivate All Types of Clients 

How to Use Habit Stacking Techniques as a Fitness Coach

Most lifestyle changes fail because we try to change too much, too fast. Clients often decide that starting Monday, everything changes. But it rarely sticks. 

Habit stacking flips that script and presents a different alternative to positive changes in their lives. The slight shift makes change feel natural, not forced, and helps clients build consistency without burnout. 

Follow this simple four-step framework to start adding habit coaching in your practice:

#1: Educate your clients on habit stacking

The first step is an educational conversation to introduce the concept to your client and check whether they’ve heard of it.

Some clients may already know which habits they want to add. Others might need guidance. For habit stacking to work, clients need to understand how it fits into their daily life. 

This might also open up a conversation around mindset: are they open to trying this? Do they want something low-pressure but effective?

👉 Check Out ABC Trainerize’s Habit Coaching features.

For hybrid or online clients, stacking also creates structure. When clients aren’t seeing you in person, small stackable habits give them something to stick to, even between check-ins.

Make sure to explain that stacking isn’t about adding more work; it’s about making change feel easier.

Use simple, real-life examples (like drinking water before coffee or stretching after a workout) to explain how stacking fits into what they’re already doing. When clients see that this approach is realistic and built around their lives, they’re far more likely to stick with it.

Introduce books, or ideas from James Clear or others like Habit Stacking: 97 Small Life Changes That Take Five Minutes or Less, which shows how stacking 97 small life habits can create momentum without overhauling your entire routine.

Let them take it in. Keep the conversation open and low-pressure.

👉 Read More: Habit Coaching: A Guide to Transforming Lives 

#2: Identify and map their existing habits

Before your clients can start building new habits, they need to recognize the ones they already do, automatically, without effort. These are their anchor habits. Your role is to help bring them to the surface through conversation, observation, and reflection.

Ask them to walk you through a typical weekday. You’re not looking for “good” habits, you’re listening for what’s consistent. To make this easier, break it down into three buckets:

• Time-based anchors: What happens at the same time every day? (e.g., When is their lunch break, and what do they do?)
• Place-based anchors: What happens when they enter or leave a specific location? (e.g., What do they do in their living room when they’re unwinding after work?)
• Energy-based anchors: What happens when they feel a certain way: alert, tired, restless? (How is their morning routine?)

These aren’t just routines; they’re behavioral cues, often tied to how clients cope or move through their day. You’re not acting on them yet, just noticing what’s already there and what triggers them.

You can also zoom out and explore wellness habits beyond training. Ask about sleep patterns, evening rituals, screen-time routines, and how they decompress. These are often overlooked but highly stackable once identified.

Most clients will surface 3–5 strong anchors this way. That’s all you need to move forward, because now, you’re working with their real life, not some idealized version of it.

👉 Read More: Habit Coaching with ABC Trainerize: Prioritize Your Clients’ Self-Care 

#3: Find and introduce their new habits

With your client’s anchor habits mapped, it’s time to choose one new habit to stack. The key here is clarity and simplicity, just one action that aligns with their goal and fits naturally into their daily routine.

Help your client reflect on their priorities. Ask:

• What’s one small habit that would move you forward right now?
• Which anchor from your day does that pair with best?
• When do you have the energy to actually follow through?

What you’re looking for is the path of least resistance, a stack that fits so naturally it doesn’t feel like a stretch.

Avoid the temptation to build a perfect routine all at once. Skip the three-step morning ritual or multi-part evening flow. Pick one stack that makes sense now, based on where they’re at and what they’re likely to succeed with this week.

This is the idea behind “shrink the stack” from the Tiny Habits book: more minor changes are more likely to stick.

Most importantly, let the client decide; it’s their habit. Your job is to guide, not prescribe or change their life routine. When the stack comes from them, it’s far more likely to stick. You can always adjust later, but the first win matters most.

This kind of habit pairing is a form of implementation intention; it connects a new behavior to a specific moment, making it easier to follow through.

👉 Start coaching habits that lead to real, lasting change. Grab your free guide now!

4: Track their results

Your phone, smartwatch, or AI assistant already knows a lot about how you live. It tracks your sleep, movement, screen time, appointments, and daily patterns. 

That information isn’t just helpful for looking back; it’s what makes habit stacking work better.

Technology builds stronger habits and also helps track them:

• Send reminders at the right time
• Suggest habits based on location or time of day
• Notice when something’s off and prompt a reset
• Help your client reflect when a habit slips or breaks

When used this way, the device becomes part of the habit, not just the thing that logs it. It helps your client follow through, adjust when needed, and stay aware of what’s working. If the stack is not working, you need to either change the anchor, simplify, or reinforce in a better way.

This is what makes stacking sustainable: when it’s built around real behavior, supported by real tools, and able to shift as life changes.

👉 Read More: Habit Coaching Tips to Empower Your Coaching Business

Trainer Takeaway 2025: Making Habit Stacking Work Inside ABC Trainerize

Environmental cues make or break the stack. Research on contextual cueing shows that when a habit is tied to something visible or consistent, follow-through goes up. 

For your clients, the app you use becomes part of the cue, part of their habit formation process. Each reminder, check-in, or notification inside ABC Trainerize reinforces the stack and keeps clients moving forward.

Here’s how to apply it in practice:

• Track core habits: Use habit coaching in ABC Trainerize to follow simple actions like water, sleep, and steps. Each stack you assign comes with progress you can see and discuss.
• Connect food and fitness: With the Smart Meal Planner, help clients pair grocery planning with their workout schedule. This turns meal prep into part of the same routine as training.
• Use reminders as anchors. Push notifications act as triggers. A sleep reminder can cue stretching or journaling; a hydration prompt can cue a quick posture reset.

FAQ

• What is habit stacking in fitness coaching?

Habit stacking is a strategy where you help clients add a new behavior to something they already do regularly, like stretching after a walk or drinking water after coffee.

• Does habit stacking work for beginners?

Yes, habit stacking is a great behavioral change protocol, especially effective for beginners because it removes friction. Instead of creating an entirely new routine, you’re upgrading what’s already familiar.

1. How can trainers track client habits effectively?

Start with a small number of habits tied to clear anchors. Use habit tracking tools, smart devices, or AI-powered apps to monitor consistency, spot breakdowns, and know when to adjust. Coaching platforms like ABC Trainerize also help via their wearable tech integration capabilities, or journaling apps to track progress, spot breakdowns, and know when to adjust. 

What are the best apps for habit stacking in 2025?

The best apps combine habit tracking with smart prompts, client visibility, and built-in coaching tools. ABC Trainerize is built specifically for fitness coaches and includes habit tracking, reminders, and progress visibility, all in one place. It works especially well alongside smartwatches or digital journals for a complete view of your client’s day.

Start building stronger habits (and stronger client results) today with a free 30-day trial!