{"id":248382,"date":"2025-07-08T16:02:20","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T16:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/248382\/"},"modified":"2025-07-08T16:02:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T16:02:20","slug":"what-your-favourite-exercise-tells-you-about-your-personality-and-its-bad-news-for-those-who-enjoy-hiit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/248382\/","title":{"rendered":"What your favourite exercise tells you about your personality – and it’s bad news for those who enjoy HIIT"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether we’re at home, outdoors or in the gym, many of us dread certain forms of exercise while looking forward to others.<\/p>\n

Now, a new study reveals that this could all be down to our personality type.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In experiments,\u00a0scientists at the University College London<\/a>\u00a0assessed the temperaments of more than 100 people and their preferred type of\u00a0exercise.<\/p>\n

They found high-intensity interval training (HIIT) \u2013\u00a0which combines quick bursts of intense exercise combined with short recovery periods \u2013\u00a0is typically favoured by shameless extroverts who love to be seen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, those who prefer short exercise sessions conducted alone are likely neurotic \u2013 meaning they’re prone to negative or obsessive thoughts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to the researchers, tailoring our exercise routines to our personality can help us stick to our regimes and ultimately get fit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘You often hear about people trying to become more active, but struggling to make lasting changes,’\u00a0said first author Dr Flaminia Ronca at University College London.<\/p>\n

‘We found that our personality can influence how we engage with exercise, and particularly which forms of exercise we enjoy the most.’<\/p>\n

\"In <\/p>\n

In experiments, extroverts tended to particularly enjoy high intensity exercise, such as high intensity interval training (HIIT), which involves short bursts of intense exercise alternated with recovery periods<\/p>\n

For the study, Dr Ronca and colleagues recruited 132 volunteers from the general public with a range of fitness levels and backgrounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Participants were assigned to either an eight-week home-based cycling and strength training course or a ‘resting’ control group who\u00a0continued with their usual lifestyle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Throughout the experiments, participants had their fitness and stress levels assessed and completed a questionnaire on how much they\u2019d enjoyed training sessions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To assess personality, participants were tested for levels of the ‘big five’ traits \u2013 openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The ‘big five’ personality traits are the best accepted and most commonly used model of personality in academic psychology.<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, participants who completed the fitness course got fitter and stronger regardless of how the scored on the personality test.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But crucially, the researchers found several connections between personality traits and enjoyment of certain forms of exercise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For example, extroverts tended to particularly enjoy high intensity exercise, such as high intensity interval training (HIIT) and a fitness test of maximum intensity cycling.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"According <\/p>\n

The ‘big five’ personality traits are the best accepted and most commonly used model of personality in academic psychology<\/p>\n

What is\u00a0high intensity interval training (HIIT)?\u00a0 <\/p>\n

High intensity interval training (HIIT) involves short bursts of intense exercise alternated with recovery periods.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It can be done both aerobically (demanding oxygen intake, such as brisk walking) or anaerobically (such as weightlifting).\u00a0<\/p>\n

HIIT has claimed a spot in the top 10 fitness trends since 2014 as surveyed by the American College of Sports Medicine.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, conscientiousness was linked with aerobic exercise (repetitive activity that uses oxygen and increases your heart rate, such as brisk walking) and core strength exercises (which strengthen the core muscles).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Conscientious people were also found to be generally more physically active, the team said, but are likely driven by the health-related outcomes of engaging in physical activity rather than enjoyment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And people who scored highly on neuroticism \u2013 a personality trait associated with worrying and anxiety \u2013 preferred short bursts of activity rather than a prolonged effort.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Neurotic individuals also preferred private workouts and not being monitored, such as not having their heart rate recorded, while they were undertaking the programme.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This finding suggests that neurotic individuals appreciate being given space for independence and privacy when engaging in exercise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Interestingly, the only group to experience a significant reduction in stress levels after exercising were those who scored highly for neuroticism.<\/p>\n

This suggests exercise is particularly effective at reducing stress for neurotic people, but less so for people with other personality traits.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The researchers also found those scoring high on openness \u2013 characterised by creativity, curiosity, and willingness to learn \u2013 rated strenuous exercise as less enjoyable than other activities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Core-strength <\/p>\n

Core-strength exercises strengthen the core muscles, which include the abdominal muscles, back muscles and the muscles around the pelvis (file photo)<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The study found several correlations between exercise type and personality traits, including extroverts\u2019 enjoyment of high intensity exercise<\/p>\n

While not all personality traits had a link to exercise enjoyment, the new study, published in Frontiers in Psychology<\/a>, can help people opt for types of exercise that fit their personalities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This tactic could make\u00a0working out feel more enjoyable, which might mean we stick to it for longer and ultimately get healthier.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Our brains are wired in different ways, which drives our behaviours and how we interact with our environment,’ said Dr Ronca.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘So it\u2019s not surprising that personality would also influence how we respond to different intensities of exercise.<\/p>\n

‘We could potentially use this knowledge to tailor physical activity recommendations to the individual \u2013 and hopefully help them to become and remain more active.’\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

What is the Big Five model in psychology?\u00a0 <\/p>\n

The big five model is the most widely accepted personality theory held by psychologists today.<\/p>\n

The theory states that personality can be boiled down to five core factors, known by the acronym OCEAN:\u00a0<\/p>\n

– Openness: Describes a person\u2019s willingness to try new experiences, curiosity about the world, and imagination<\/p>\n

–\u00a0Conscientiousness: Reflects traits like orderliness, reliability, and the drive to achieve goals through careful planning and persistence\u00a0<\/p>\n

– Extroversion: Refers to how energetic, outgoing, and sociable an individual is, including how much they seek company and stimulation<\/p>\n

– Agreeableness: Involves attributes related to cooperation, trust, compassion, and a considerate nature toward others<\/p>\n

– Neuroticism: Measures emotional stability and the tendency to experience negative emotions like anxiety, mood swings, or irritability<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Whether we’re at home, outdoors or in the gym, many of us dread certain forms of exercise while…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4322],"tags":[92,1630,105,261,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-248382","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-fitness","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-sciencetech","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114818459484623525","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}