The key to sticking to and reaping the rewards of exercise over the long term may be as simple as doing something you enjoy, say the authors of a new study from UCL.
Previous research has shown that the personalities of people who engage in different types of organised sport tend to vary. But what is less clear is how personality affects the types of exercise people actually enjoy doing.
The new study, published in Frontiers in Psychology, explored whether individual personality traits corresponded to the enjoyment of different types of exercise, whether participants completed a prescribed exercise programme, and the subsequent impact on their fitness levels.
The study found several correlations between exercise type and personality traits, including extroverts' enjoyment of high intensity exercise and the preference of those with the neuroticism trait – associated with people prone to worrying – for short bursts of activity rather than prolonged effort.
Dr Flaminia Ronca, first author of the study from UCL Surgery & Interventional Science and the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health (ISEH), said: "We know that the global population is becoming increasingly sedentary. You often hear about people trying to become more active, but struggling to make lasting changes. In this study, we wanted to understand how personality can influence this to support the development of effective interventions for changes in health behaviour.
"We found some clear links between personality traits and the type of exercise the participants enjoyed most, which I think is important because we could potentially use this knowledge to tailor physical activity recommendations to the individual – and hopefully help them to become and remain more active."
For the study, the team assessed 132 volunteers from the general public with a range of fitness levels and backgrounds, who were assigned either to an eight-week cycling and strength training programme (intervention group), or to a resting control group1.
Participants' benchmark fitness levels were assessed at the beginning of the programme. Strength was tested via press ups, performing a plank to failure, and countermovement jumps (jumping again immediately after landing). This was followed by a low intensity cycling session for 30 minutes, and then a cycling test to measure their peak oxygen capacity (V̇O2 max test) after a short rest.
The team also assessed their perceived stress levels on a scale of one to 10, as well as their personality traits using the Big 5 model, a common personality test in the field of sport and exercise psychology. The Big 5 model groups individuals according to whether their dominant trait is extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism or openness2.
During the exercise programme, participants were asked to rate their enjoyment of each exercise session, before having their fitness level tested again once the programme had been completed.
Of the 132 starters, 86 people completed the intervention and all of these participants got fitter and stronger regardless of personality.
How personality trait influences exercise enjoyment
While not all personality traits had a link to exercise enjoyment, several connections were uncovered by the study.
Extroverts tended to particularly enjoy high intensity exercise, such as high intensity interval training (HIIT) and a fitness test of maximum intensity cycling.
Those with a strong neuroticism trait engaged well with the exercise intervention, but preferred bursts of intensity rather than prolonged intensity. They also preferred not being monitored, such as not recording their heart rate while undertaking the programme, suggesting that these individuals might appreciate being given space for independence and privacy when engaging in exercise.
Those who were conscientious tended to have a well-rounded fitness level, meaning that they tended to score more highly on aerobic fitness as well as core strength, and were generally more physically active. However, conscientiousness didn't predict higher enjoyment of a specific form of exercise. The authors say this might be because conscientious individuals tend to be driven by the health-related outcomes of engaging in physical activity rather than enjoyment, suggesting that adherence to the programme may be less about enjoyment than because it was 'good for them'.
The impact of personality and exercise on stress
At the beginning of the study, the stress levels of the intervention group and the control group were similar. However, the only group to experience a significant reduction in stress levels after exercising were those who scored highly in the neuroticism trait.
Professor Paul Burgess, an author of the study from the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, said: "We found that people who scored more highly in the neuroticism personality trait showed a particularly strong reduction in stress when they undertook the fitness training recommended in the study. This suggests that there may be particular benefits in stress reduction for those with this trait."
The researchers concluded that the most important thing people can do to improve their activity levels is to find something that they enjoy, which will make it more likely that they'll stick with it.
