Fitness Friday
Each Friday, we send out “Fitness Friday” tips for fitness and nutrition in the weekly digest email that goes out to the membership. If you have any Fitness thoughts or suggestions for the Club, please email your input to: fitness@irvingtonclub.com. Let’s get fit!
FITNESS FRIDAY - December 12th, 2025
Using the Strategy of Pairing to Improve Your Fitness
Is there a fitness activity that you know you should do but keep putting off? Gretchen Rubin, a best-selling author, podcaster, and expert in happiness and human nature recommends people try the “Strategy of Pairing”. This is where you combine a task that you don’t enjoy with a task that you want to do to make the former more palatable. When you link two activities, it can be an easy way to create a habit. The key is to consistently pair the two activities. Over time, you will associate the desired activity with the enjoyable one. Performing an activity a little each or most days can go a long way. Here are several examples:
While the coffee, tea, or espresso is brewing, hold the plank position on the counter or ground, perform squats, or stretch.
While brushing your teeth, carefully practice balancing on one leg. If that is too easy, perform a standing one-legged quad stretch or calf raises on one leg. If you perform a balance activity on one leg alternating after a minute, you will accumulate 4 minutes a day for 365 days or 24 hours of balance exercises in one year. Balance creates stability and helps with injury prevention, improved athletic performance, and increased confidence in movement.
While listening to your favorite podcast, walk up and down stairs, perform your physical therapy exercises, or try the Japanese Walking Technique. The method is simple - walk at a leisurely pace for 3 minutes then alternate at a brisk pace for another 3 minutes, repeating 5 times for a 30-minute workout.
While watching TV or streaming, give yourself a mini massage by using a foam roller for myofascial release or by rolling a golf ball or tennis ball under the ball of your bare foot.
Before playing tennis, perform 10 minutes of dynamic stretching. If you play tennis 5 or 6 days a week, this equates to 48 hours of training per year. Dynamic stretching is an active form of stretching where your muscles and joints move through a full range of motion. Performing a dynamic warmup is a great way to curb or lessen injuries and improve your performance on the court. (More on this in future Fitness Friday articles!)
After playing tennis, perform 10 minutes of static stretching. For best results, perform static stretching after your muscles are warmed up. Gently move your muscles in a lengthened position and hold the position for about 30 to 60 seconds without bouncing or contracting. A calm, steady hold can help improve your body’s flexibility, release tension, and support better posture.
Do you have any questions, comments, or recommendations for future articles? If so, please contact Becky at bchasse@irvingtonclub.com or the Fitness Committee at fitness@irvingtonclub.com