Research recently published in Frontiers in Psychology suggests that matching your workouts to your personality could make exercising more enjoyable and help you achieve better results. The paper describes how people with certain personality traits may benefit from certain types of workouts more than others, and that some people may particularly benefit from the stress-relieving effects of physical activity.
Do Something That You Enjoy
Many people struggle to find motivation to exercise; this may be why less than one quarter of all people fail to reach recommended activity goals. But exercise does not have to be boring; why not try to have fun and do something that you enjoy?
This study explored this question by examining how personality affects what types of exercise we prefer, our commitment, as well as engagement with them. The personality traits examined in the study included extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, and openness.
“We found that our personality can influence how we engage with exercise, and particularly which forms of exercise we enjoy the most,” said first author Dr Flaminia Ronca from University College London’s (UCL) Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health.
“Understanding personality factors in designing and recommending physical activity programs is likely to be very important in determining how successful a program is, and whether people will stick with it and become fitter,” added senior author Prof Paul Burgess from the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience.
Different Strokes for Different Folks
Participants were tested for baseline fitness at enrollment and split into two groups: one group, serving as the intervention group, was provided an 8-week home-based fitness plan made up of cycling and strength training, while the other group, serving as the control group, continued their usual lifestyle and workouts.
During enrollment, the first week of intervention, and after intervention, all of the participants completed questionnaires on how much they enjoyed each session.
“Our brains are wired in different ways, which drives our behaviors and how we interact with our environment,” Ronca explained. “So it’s not surprising that personality would also influence how we respond to different intensities of exercise.”
According to the researchers, those scoring high on extraversion enjoyed high-intensity workouts with others around, including team sports. Those scoring high on neuroticism preferred private workouts and were fine with high-intensity workouts, but they needed short breaks while doing so. Those scoring high on consciousness enjoyed engaging in exercise regardless of whether they enjoyed it, and those who scored high on openness were driven by curiosity.
Workouts = Less Stress
It was also noted that before the intervention, stress levels of both groups were similar; however, after the intervention, there was a strong reduction in stress levels, especially among those who scored high in neuroticism.
“It’s fantastic news, as it highlights that those who benefit the most from a reduction in stress respond very well to exercise,” Ronca said.
The researchers suggest that the most important part of exercising is finding something that we enjoy doing, and keeping trying until we find something that we like. “It’s ok if we don’t enjoy a particular session,” Ronca said. “We can try something else.”
“We hope that if people can find physical activities that they enjoy they will more readily choose to do them,” Burgess concluded. “After all, we don’t have to nag dogs to go for a walk: being so physically inactive that we start to feel miserable might be a peculiarly human thing to do. In effect, our body punishes us by making us miserable. But for some reason, many of us humans seem poor at picking up on these messages it is sending to our brain.”
This article was created at the WHN News Desk.
As with anything you read on the internet, this article should not be construed as medical advice; please talk to your doctor or primary care provider before changing your wellness routine. WHN does not agree or disagree with any of the materials posted. This article is not intended to provide a medical diagnosis, recommendation, treatment, or endorsement. Additionally, it is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
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References/Sources/Materials provided by:
https://frontiersin.org/news/2025/07/08/matching-workouts-to-personality-enjoyable-better-results
