It’s not quite the luxury wellness regime you might expect from the iconic WAG. It doesn’t involve expensive memberships, personal trainers or sci-fi equipment. Instead, says Coleen Rooney, ‘I do squats in the shower every morning’.

‘Even if I’m rushing about, I will find a time throughout the day where I’ve got to do them,’ she told Stylist this summer. ‘Otherwise it plays on my mind that I haven’t done my squats. They are my non-negotiables.’

Nor is this the first time she’s extolled the virtues of this budget fitness fix. ‘I do squats in the shower every morning, and people say, “Why do you do them in the shower?” It’s because that’s the only time I have for me, and I know I’ve a few minutes to get a few squats in,’ she told The Standard earlier this year.

The science of habit-stacking

‘Habit stacking is a technique popularised by writer James Clear in his bestselling book Atomic Habits,’ explains GH household advice writer Ella Duggan. ‘The idea is simple: you attach a new habit you want to build to an existing habit you already do consistently. Over time, the two become mentally linked, creating behaviour that feels subconscious, rather than forced. Because the original habit is already ingrained, the new one has a much better chance of sticking.’

For Coleen, this means adding a simple squat routine to her daily shower habit. Ella, too, has been using habit stacking in her own life to build healthier routines – ‘most notably, trying (and often failing) to go to the gym more,’ she says. ‘I started stacking gym visits on to my walk home from work, telling myself, ‘Every time I walk this route, I go into the gym on the way.’ Now, on certain days, I do it without even thinking. Going to the gym genuinely feels like part of my journey home, rather than a decision I have to wrestle with.’

The science behind bodyweight squats

‘Squats are simple but powerful,’ says Kate Rowe Ham, leading women’s health and fitness coach. They are, she explains, one of the key exercises to prioritise if you have an eye on healthy aging, but also on the clock. ‘By bending your knees and pushing your hips back, you engage your quads, hamstrings and glutes,’ she explains. ‘Strong legs support everyday activities like standing up from a chair or climbing stairs, while protecting the knees and hips. Squats also maintain joint health and bone strength, key elements for independence and vitality.’

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How to start squatting

New to squats? Physiotherapist Sam Bhide suggests starting with a ‘sit-to-stand’ modification:

  • Find a comfortable, stable chair.
  • Square your hips and sit down on the edge of the chair before standing back up (this is known as a ‘bottom touch’).
  • If you need extra support, start by holding on to the chair, but aim to use your legs as much as possible and, eventually, stop using your arms at all.
  • Start with a single set of 10 repetitions. Then, as your strength and confidence grow, progress to three sets of 10 reps throughout the day.

‘As your strength improves, you can progress to free squats without the use of a chair,’ says Sam. ‘You can even add a resistance band above the knees, or incorporate upper-body arm raises with dumbbells or a bottle of water for a full-body, cardiovascular benefit.’