This is the exercise that best suits you, according to a new study

Making exercise enjoyable involves adapting it to your personality, not to generic tendencies. This is the main conclusion of a recent study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology and developed by researchers at University College London (UCL), in collaboration with the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health and the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience. In essence, each personality trait fits better with a very specific type of physical training ; not everyone is suited to the same type of exercise, and if we find the one that suits us, the activity that truly motivates us, we will find multiple benefits (such as not giving up at the first opportunity).

Finding the right motivation to exercise can be the biggest challenge of all. But new evidence shows that if we choose a routine tailored to our unique needs, moving our bodies can go from feeling like an obligation to something fun.

For eight weeks, one group of adults alternated between cycling and strength training sessions at home, while another group focused on stretching. Researchers combined performance tests, personality questionnaires, and weekly enjoyment ratings to discover how the "Big Five" traits—extroversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism , and openness—influence motivation and enjoyment of exercise.

“We found clear links between personality traits and the type of exercise participants most enjoyed,” said Flaminia Ronca, study author and associate professor at University College London, in the press release. “We could use this knowledge to tailor physical activity recommendations to each individual and, hopefully, help them become and stay more active.”

Exercise and personality

The study recruited 132 volunteers of varying fitness levels , splitting them between an eight-week home cycling and strength training program and a control group dedicated only to stretching. At the start and end, they measured strength (push-ups, planks, and jumps), cardiovascular endurance (VO₂max after a low-intensity cycle), and perceived stress, and underwent a personality profile using the Big 5 model . Each session was guided by heart rate measurements taken in the lab. Everyone recorded how much they enjoyed each session on a seven-point scale.

The results? What your intuition is telling you right now . Of the 132 participants, 86 completed the program, and all of them improved their fitness and strength, regardless of their dominant trait, because their workouts were tailored to their personality.

It seems that more extroverted people, for example, prefer high-intensity training sessions with others, such as team sports, while those who scored high on "neuroticism" (associated with anxiety ), a metric that measures a person's emotional instability, preferred private, unsupervised workouts with short breaks. While they were the least consistent, they stuck with the program. Others with high levels of conscientiousness and openness exercised consistently, either out of discipline or curiosity, regardless of enjoyment.

“Our brains are wired in different ways, which drives our behaviors and how we interact with our environment. Therefore, it's not surprising that personality also influences how we respond to different exercise intensities,” the experts comment.

It also relieves stress.

The scientists found a surprising link between personality, physical fitness, and stress levels. Although all groups started with similar stress levels, those with the highest neuroticism scores recorded the greatest reduction in anxiety at the end of the program. This suggests that there may be specific benefits in stress reduction for those with this personality trait.

In short, finding the physical activity you enjoy most is key to making it a consistent, long-term practice.