Exercise feels better when it's matched to your personality

Finding motivation to exercise can be the greatest challenge in working out. This might be part of the reason why less than a quarter of people achieve the activity goals recommended by the World Health Organization.

Yet new evidence shows that if we choose routines tailored to who we are, moving our bodies can feel less like a chore and more like fun.

A research team at University College London (UCL), working with the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health and the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, has now examined this connection in detail.

Their study followed adults through an eight-week home program of cycling and strength training and compared them with a control group who stuck to stretching.

The scientists combined laboratory fitness tests with personality surveys and weekly enjoyment ratings to see how the Big Five traits – extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, and openness – shape experience.

Joy depends on personality

But what if exercise could be more enjoyable? One way of achieving this could be opting for types of exercise that fit our personalities. That suggestion proved correct.

“We found that our personality can influence how we engage with exercise, and particularly which forms of exercise we enjoy the most,” said study lead author Flaminia Ronca from UCL’s 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,” added senior author Paul Burgess, a scientist at the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience.

The team recruited 132 volunteers aged between their twenties and late fifties. Half received a structured plan with four sessions per week that blended easy long rides, threshold training, high-intensity intervals, and bodyweight strength work.

Each session was guided by heart-rate measurements taken in the lab. Everyone logged how much they enjoyed each session on a seven-point scale.

Personality guides workout choices

“Our brains are wired in different ways, which drives our behaviors and how we interact with our environment,” said Ronca. “So it’s not surprising that personality would also influence how we respond to different intensities of exercise.”

The data confirmed that everyday intuition. Participants high in extraversion flocked to the hardest rides and reported the greatest pleasure during maximal lab tests, mirroring earlier findings that sensation seekers chase bigger stimulation.

Contrary, people scoring high on neuroticism preferred private workouts. While they are fine with high intensity, they need short breaks in between.

Others who scored high on conscientiousness and openness exercised consistently, either out of discipline or curiosity, regardless of enjoyment.

Personality links to performance

The numbers behind those preferences were striking. Extraversion predicted a higher baseline aerobic capacity and peak cycling power. This suggests that outgoing personalities may already gravitate to vigorous activities and build fitness through them.

Conscientiousness predicted more weekly activity and leaner body composition, echoing the idea that disciplined people keep health promises even when motivation dips.

Neuroticism, often linked with anxiety, showed a different pattern: these participants liked gentle sessions conducted at home and were less consistent in uploading heart-rate data, but they still completed the program.

Exercise soothes anxious minds

What was particularly interesting was the relationship between personality, changes in fitness, and stress, the researchers said.

Before the intervention, the stress levels of both groups were similar. After the intervention, however, especially people who scored high in neuroticism showed a strong reduction in stress.

“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 drop did not depend on how much their aerobic capacity improved, hinting that simply sticking with an activity they could manage was enough to calm the mind.

Follow your fitness instinct

The authors stress that enjoyment, not willpower alone, keeps people moving. The most important part of exercising is choosing something we enjoy and staying motivated even if we don’t find it right away.

“It’s okay 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 added. “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,” he said. “But for some reason, many of us humans seem poor at picking up on these messages it is sending to our brain.”

Tailored exercise plans stick better

Taken together, the findings argue for personalized coaching. Intense workouts may suit gregarious gym lovers, while introverted or anxious individuals could thrive on solo sessions that build intensity in short bursts.

Coaches might offer conscientious clients clear long-term goals, and give open types novel routines to satisfy curiosity. By aligning activity with personality, programs may boost adherence and health in populations where finding motivation to exercise is challenging.

The study isn’t the final word – its sample skewed toward educated Londoners and relied on self-reported enjoyment. But it still shows how psychological insight can turn exercise from an obligation into a reward.

Whether you relish the roar of a spin class or the quiet rhythm of a living-room workout, the lesson is the same: when the workout fits the person, the mind as well as the body stands to gain.

The study is published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology

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