Matching your exercise routine to your personality could be the key to sticking with your workout plan, a new study has found.
The research, led by Prof Flaminia Ronca at the University College London, found that people who enjoy their exercise are more likely to stick with it, meaning personalised fitness plans work better than a one-size-fits-all approach.
“There’s no point prescribing the perfect exercise plan to someone if they won’t follow it,” Ronca told BBC Science Focus.
“Enjoyment is key to behaviour change. If we want to encourage the population to become more active, we should be more strategic in finding activities that they enjoy taking part in, so they keep coming back to them.”
The study investigated how people’s personalities impact the intensity of exercise they prefer.
Researchers categorised people according to the Big 5 personality traits: agreeableness (willingness to cooperate); conscientiousness (self-control and attention to detail); extraversion (how outgoing and social they were); neuroticism (anxiety or moodiness); and openness (willingness to try new things).
They discovered extraverts enjoyed higher-intensity training sessions, suggesting more outgoing people might enjoy energetic, aerobic sessions, particularly with a social element such as a team sport or dance class.
Meanwhile, people who were ranked as being more neurotic preferred their privacy and didn’t like being watched while conducting the 15-minute cycle needed to assess their fitness levels. They were also less likely to monitor their heart rate during training, despite being instructed to.
“This suggests that individuals in this group might appreciate being given space for independence and privacy during an exercise programme," Ronca said. The group generally preferred relaxing exercises, such as stretching, though "high intensity was fine as long as they could take a break."
While all participants who stuck with the programme saw benefits, the more anxious group stood out in one regard.
“These individuals exhibited a particularly strong reduction in stress following the exercise programme,” Ronca said. “It’s fantastic news, as it highlights that those who benefit the most from a reduction in stress respond very well to exercise.”
To find out how personality might predict what exercises people like, the study tasked its participants with following an eight-week at-home fitness course of cycling and strength training.
Their fitness levels were measured at the beginning and end of the course, throughout which they answered questionnaires to assess both their personality type and how they felt about exercise.
Not all personality types had a strong preference – agreeable and open people didn’t favour any one type of exercise.
“However, agreeableness and openness might impact how we engage with health behaviours in other ways, such as which forms of exercise we might be willing to try,” Ronca said.
“It’s okay if we don’t enjoy a particular session,” she concluded. “We can try something else.”
About our expert
Flaminia Ronca is an associate professor at the University College London's Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health. She researches exercise neuroscience, looking at the relationship between exercise and cognition. Ronca also works with the British Police to support the well-being and performance of police officers.
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