Does Your Personality Type Influence Workout Habits?

(Photo: Ayana Underwood/Canva)

Pilates is making a comeback. Strength training continues to grow in popularity. You probably know at least one person preparing to run a marathon. But what if you don’t like small group classes where you’re being closely watched, big, intense movements, or long sustained bouts of exercise? With so many factors going into whether you find a workout enjoyable, how can you find the one you’ll actually stick to?

Personality Traits May Influence Exercise Choices, According to New Study

A group of researchers in the UK recently released the findings of a study published in Frontiers in Psychology, designed to determine whether your personality can influence the enjoyment of exercise. They began by recruiting 132 study subjects and assessing them to find out which of the Big Five personality traits (Extroversion, Neuroticism/Emotional Stability, Conscientiousness, Openness, and Agreeableness) best described them.

Next, they tested their baseline fitness, then put them on an eight-week cycling and strength training program that included easy long rides, threshold rides, HIIT rides, and bodyweight strength moves. In the end, they learned that your core personality trait might help determine what kind of exercise you’ll enjoy most.

The Big Five Personality Traits

In psychological research, personality traits are broken up into five broad categories:

1. Extroversion: talkativeness, high energy, outgoingness, and assertiveness
2. Neuroticism/Emotional Stability: describes people who have the propensity to exhibit traits like anger, moodiness, and anxiety
3. Conscientiousness: these are the Type A folks—organized, tidy, good planners
4. Openness: a tendency to be imaginative, curious, and insightful
5. Agreeableness: more agreeable people—those who give Golden Retriever energy—they’re affectionate, kind, and sympathetic

At the end of the eight-week exercise period, researchers found that fitness levels improved among all 86 participants who completed the study.

The Study’s Extroverts Preferred High-Intensity Exercise

Those who scored high on extroversion at the start of the study preferred the highest intensity sessions, which correlates with the biological theory of arousal, suggesting that extroverts have a lower state of arousal and therefore tend to seek greater stimulation.

Subjects Prone to Anxiety Opted for Home Workouts

Participants scoring high on neuroticism preferred sessions done at home rather than in the lab, where they were being monitored. The authors suggested that members of this group might prefer shorter, more intense workouts because “anxiety, worry, and negative self-talk are more likely to impact performance” in longer sessions, they wrote.  Notably, this group was also the only one to show a decrease in stress levels at the end of the study.

The Conscientiousness Subjects Didn’t Seem to Have Preferred Workout Type

The conscientiousness group was the only one to show no preference for a specific type of workout. This may be because they are more motivated by health or performance outcomes than enjoyment, the researchers noted in the study.

People in the Study Who Were More Open Didn’t Enjoy Intense Exercise as Much

The “openness” group showed a lower preference for strenuous exercise, which contradicted previous research suggesting that this trait does not influence exercise preferences.

The Study Participants Who Were Agreeable Did Not Exhibit Any Exercise Preference

Lastly, the study found no correlation between agreeableness and exercise preference or adherence.

Limitations of the Study

While the results are illuminating, the study has some limitations. First, the sample size is small. Next, because the call for participants mentioned a lab test element and an exercise program, some personality traits were less likely to volunteer. More than 70 percent of the participants were identified as being open-minded, conscientious, and emotionally stable. Participants were not asked about their motivation to exercise prior to the study. Additionally, sub-traits like grit and anxiety were not considered, and the study notes that these additional traits “may be relevant in the context of physical activity and are worth future research.”

What Does This Mean for You?

It can be compelling to take results like these at face value and run with them, booking a front-row bike at your next spin class if you’re an extrovert, retreating into an at-home routine if you identify as more neurotic, or trying to write your own exercise program if you score high on conscientiousness. But to really find the workout you’ll connect with for longer, you have to take a few other factors into account.

At a basic level, knowing yourself and your preferences can work as an intuitive guide for making most kinds of decisions. But “everyone’s got a constellation of traits and behaviors,” said Dana Sinclair, a performance psychologist who works with professional athletes across most major leagues and sports. “Nobody is in one box.”

For example, if you’re an extrovert, you might assume you should choose a group activity or team sport. But if you’re an extrovert who is also more passive, you may not like joining a group of strangers, says Sinclair. Someone who is more introverted but who feels they have some competence in one kind of exercise might be more likely to go against type and join a group workout as long as they aren’t worried about a high chance of failure. People identifying with any of the five personality traits might also enjoy variety and be more likely to stick to an exercise regimen that allows for different workouts on different days.

“Of course, your personality shapes how you work out and what you get out of it, but not in this rigid, expected way,” says Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, a group fitness instructor and author of Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America’s Exercise Obsession. 

Petrzela teaches a class called IntenSati, during which participants learn and then execute a series of choreographed exercises while simultaneously repeating short affirmations. On the surface, a workout like that might only appeal to extroverts who love the chance to be “unapologetically loud and unrestrained,” Petrzela says. But she also spots members of the other Big Five, those who require constant direction and those who enjoy blending in among a crowd of up to 50 people. “You’re being told what to do,” she says. “Everybody’s moving together. You don’t worry about doing a move incorrectly or having to program your own workout.”

How to Find the Workout That Fits Your Personality

If you’re just trying to find an entry point into getting active, using The Big Five as a guide can be a great start. If you consider your primary trait to be extroversion, try a group class and see if it’s a fit. If you tend to be more neurotic, start with an at-home workout and consider whether you prefer being alone or would benefit more from exercising in a public space. If you’re more open, a more challenging workout like strength training or HIIT might be a better match.

Once you start experimenting, consider the rest of your personality traits as well. Does the chance to explore outside of your comfort zone intrigue you? Try something new. Do you prefer working closely with one person? Personal training might be a good fit. Do you tend to be detail-oriented enough to follow a program on your own? You may enjoy at-home workouts that follow a written program. Do you prefer to be led step-by-step? An in-person or virtual class led by an instructor may be the best option for you.

If you try one type of workout and find it’s not for you, keep experimenting. “No one wants to do something they’re terrible at,” says Sinclair. In fact, whether you feel good about yourself and see the potential for growth can also help predict your likelihood of sticking with a particular type of exercise, says Sinclair. A 2021 study of novice exercisers backs that up: it found that feelings of enjoyment and self-efficacy were the primary reasons new members stuck to an exercise program. “Part of good mental health is feeling good about your competence or your improvement level,” Sinclair adds.

You may not find the Goldilocks of workouts right away, and that’s OK. Both Petrzela and Sinclair agreed: a lot of this is trial and error.

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