Struggling to stick to a workout routine? You might be going about it all wrong. The secret to making exercise a lasting habit could be as simple as tailoring it to your personality type.
Adopting new habits is notoriously difficult. It requires mental effort, consistent practice, and patience. But recent research suggests that aligning your workouts with your personality traits can make exercise feel less like a chore and more like a natural part of your lifestyle.
How the study was conducted
A team of British researchers wanted to explore whether certain personality traits influence how people enjoy or respond to different exercise intensities. Published in Frontiers in Psychology, the study began with 132 participants from the general public, 86 of whom completed the full protocol.
Participants first completed an online questionnaire covering demographics, perceived stress, and a modified version of the Big Five Inventory (BFI-10), which measures five core traits : extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness. Emotional stability is essentially the opposite of neuroticism—people with higher stability scores tend to be calm, resilient, and positive, while those with lower scores may be more anxious, irritable, or sensitive to stress.
After the online assessments, participants underwent basic fitness tests in a laboratory. These included body composition (lean mass versus fat mass), strength exercises such as push-ups, planks, and standing jumps, as well as aerobic testing on a stationary bike. Low-intensity rides were followed by high-intensity efforts to measure VO2peak, which reflects the body’s maximum oxygen usage during intense exercise. Participants rated their enjoyment of each session on a scale from 1 (no enjoyment) to 7 (extreme enjoyment).
Exercise programs tailored to participants
Participants were randomly assigned to either a control or intervention group. The control group maintained their usual routines, receiving only a 10-minute weekly stretching program.
The intervention group, however, received a heart rate monitor and an eight-week home exercise program combining cycling and bodyweight training. Their cycling workouts included three different intensity levels : low, threshold, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Each intensity was performed once a week, totaling three sessions weekly, with intensity increasing gradually over the eight weeks. Strength sessions included squats, lunges, push-ups, ab exercises, calf raises, and glute bridges, with participants recording enjoyment scores for each session.
Personality predicts fitness and enjoyment
Before the intervention, the study found clear patterns :
- Extraversion predicted higher VO2peak, anaerobic threshold, and maximum power output.
- Conscientiousness correlated with more push-ups, longer planks, greater weekly physical activity, and lower body fat.
- Neuroticism predicted slower heart rate recovery, regardless of fitness level.
- Participants in endurance clubs tended to be more extraverted and conscientious.
When it came to enjoyment :
- High-neuroticism participants enjoyed low-intensity and threshold workouts less.
- Extraverts reported higher enjoyment during VO2peak testing and HIIT sessions.
- Openness and agreeableness predicted greater enjoyment of long, easy workouts.
Regarding adherence :
- High-neuroticism participants were less consistent with heart rate tracking over eight weeks.
- Extraverts were less likely to participate in post-intervention tests.
- Those high in openness were more likely to complete post-intervention assessments.
Results of the eight-week intervention
After eight weeks, the intervention showed that :
- Neurotic participants were the only group to report reduced stress after the program.
- All intervention participants increased their weekly exercise hours, VO2peak, maximum output, push-ups, and plank duration, regardless of personality traits.
- Conscientious participants showed smaller improvements in maximum output.
- Extraverts experienced greater increases in RERpeak (a measure of effort intensity during testing).
The study had limitations : 70% of participants were open, conscientious, and emotionally stable, creating potential bias. Sub-traits like determination or anxiety weren’t considered, and the study focused solely on cycling and bodyweight exercises. If you dislike cycling, for instance, you might not enjoy varying intensities on a bike either.
What this study highlights is that understanding your personality can be a powerful tool for developing a sustainable exercise habit. By aligning the type and intensity of your workouts with your natural tendencies, you’re more likely to enjoy exercise—and enjoy sticking with it.
If you’ve ever struggled to maintain a consistent fitness routine, take a moment to reflect : are you exercising in a way that suits your personality, or are you forcing yourself into a one-size-fits-all plan ? Finding what feels good for you might be the missing piece to making exercise a lifelong habit.
What’s your personality-driven workout ? Share your experiences, favorite exercises, or tips in the comments below—we’d love to hear how you make fitness fit your life.
