What Your Exercise Preferences Say About Your Personality and How Picking the Right One Can Help You Enjoy and Stick to Your Fitness Regimen
What kind of exerciser are you? Have you ever wondered why you gravitate toward certain workouts while others feel like a chore? Here are some questions you can ask yourself. Based on your answers, you’ll be on your way towards finding the optimal workout perfectly suited to match your unique personality. Do you prefer cardio or strength training? If you pick cardio then which machine is your fave; the elliptical, the treadmill, the bike or the rower? If lifting weights is your jam, then do you like toning your upper body, lower body or core the best? Do you have more energy for a workout first thing in the morning, mid-day or in the evening? Soo many variables, soo many options! Me personally, I am a cardio junkie! My favorite machine is the bike. However, I know strength training is very important as well so, when lifting weights, I like focusing on my lower body the best! My preferred time of day to sweat is in the early evening. I find that completing my workout around 6 or 7 pm helps me relax into my nighttime routine.
However, if you don’t enjoy exercising at all, maybe learning what types of workouts are best matched with a particular persona, might motivate you to begin a training schedule that you actually enjoy because it is one that best pairs with your disposition and lifestyle. Your exercise preferences can reveal a lot about your personality, from how you handle challenges to how you recharge. Let’s do some analysis!
Cardio versus Strength 
?
If you prefer cardio exercise over strength training, you are an individual who loves that adrenaline rush you get when you have challenged your cardiovascular fitness. You are addicted to the endorphins that are released and to that feeling of overall calm you experience having just completed a strenuous workout. Exercise is your “drug” of choice! You gravitate toward efficient, intense workouts and love a good HIIT or Tabata session! Lastly, you like the myriads of choices out there devoted to heart pumping activities.
Cardio Junkie Personality Traits:
High-energy Self- disciplined Thrives on variety
If you choose strength over cardio, you are likely goal oriented and disciplined. You are very driven and enjoy tackling a challenge. You like setting lofty yet achievable goals and enjoy measuring your progress as you work toward your end-game.
Weightlifter Enthusiast Personality Traits: Conscientious Self- motivated Independent thinker
If you adore cardio, which machine is your fave- the elliptical, the treadmill, the bike or the rower?
If you choose the elliptical, you like low-impact and moderate intensity exercise. You value fitness but not the too strenuous kind.
Elliptical Lover Personality Traits:
✔️ Chill
✔️ Reflective
✔️ Balanced
If you choose the treadmill, you thrive on structure and goals and are motivated by distance, speed, or calorie tracking. You also may love to challenge yourself with sprints or incline.
Treadmill Devotee Personality Traits:
✔️ Driven
✔️ Type- A personality
✔️ Classic
If you choose the bike, you are patient, focused and enjoy repetitive motion. You take comfort in the monotony and are good at getting into the zone. Your goal is endurance over intensity.
Biking Fan Personality Traits:
✔️ Consistent
✔️ Reliable
✔️ Introverted
If you choose the rower, your aim is max payoff in a minimum amount of time. You love working all your large muscles groups at once.
Rower Die-hard Personality Traits:
✔️ Efficient
✔️ Resourceful
✔️ Well- organized
If you would rather strength train than cardio train, which major muscle group do you like working on the most? Upper body, lower body or core? Just like with cardio machine preferences, people often gravitate toward strengthening certain muscle groups over others based on their personalities, goals, and even confidence levels.
💪 Upper Body Loyalist (Chest, back, shoulders, arms)
If you choose upper body, you love how the results make you look. A person’s biceps, triceps and shoulder muscles are out in the open more often than other large muscle groups, and as a result you and others are able to see the actual visual progress. This reminds you of your own strength, boosting your confidence and increasing your sense of independence.
Upper Body Strength Trainer Personality Traits:
✔️ Visual
✔️ Confident
✔️ Results focused
🍑 Lower Body Lover (Glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves)
If you prefer to work your lower body there is a good chance you are a hard worker. Because lower body workouts are generally more strenuous, you are the kind of person who embraces challenge, is not afraid of fatigue and is motivated by performance. It’s likely your goal is long term strength and endurance.
Lower Body Strength Trainer Personality Traits:
✔️ Grounded
✔️ Powerful
✔️ Disciplined
🔥 Core Devotee (Abs, obliques, lower back)
If you prioritize sculpting your core you crave control and balance, both physically and mentally. Your aim is to feel strong from the inside out and you are drawn to Barre, Pilates and yoga types of training sessions.
Core Toner Personality Traits:
✔️ Body-aware
✔️ Mindful
✔️ Intentional
What is your ideal time of day for a workout? Early Morning, Mid-day or Evening?
Our last variable to talk about is the time-of-day for a workout. Yes, which time people tend to favor most certainly aligns with particular personality traits, habits, and lifestyle. While biology and circadian rhythms play a role, so does an individual’s mindset.
Early Risers (5am–8am workouts)
If you jump out of bed with tons of energy, you probably thrive on getting a tough sweat session in first thing. You aim high and love beginning each day with a victory. Once you have completed your workout you enjoy having already accomplished something early on. Lastly, often you are drawn to routine, productivity, and feeling “ahead of the game.”
Crack of Dawn Worker Outer Personality Traits: Disciplined Proactive Over achievers
Mid-Day Movers (10am–1pm workouts)
Mid-day exercisers often have schedules that are more flexible. If you are one, you might be an entrepreneur, a remote worker or stay at home parent. You are likely to have the luxury to be able to build your fitness routine around a less rigid schedule. You are able to listen to your body and sync your workout with the way you are feeling and not the clock. Furthermore, you tend to be more tuned into your hunger, hydration and energy level.
Noonish Exerciser Personality Traits: Flexible Balanced Lifestyle driven
Afternoon/Evening Grinders (4pm–8pm workouts)
If you save your workout to the late afternoon/ early evening hours, you probably enjoy the release of the day’s energy or stress that your workout provides. You thrive on being able to push yourself physically after a day of relative inactivity or sitting. You may hit your stride later in the day and you likely work harder because your body is fully awake.
PM Peep Personality Traits: Energetic Social Committed to routine
In conclusion, we are all different people with distinct propensities for the type of exercise and the time of day that we like to workout. Whether you like doing cardio or strength, using the elliptical, the treadmill, the bike or the rower, exercising your upper, lower or core, working out mornings, noon time or evenings, pick the combination best suited to one you will look forward to, will enjoy, and will feel your absolute best ever afterwards! Now go out and get moving!