If you have trouble sticking to your exercise program, and it’s not due to a lack of desire to get fit, then it could be because the exercise doesn’t fit your personality. Everyone has their own exercise goals and needs, that is, everyone has their own ‘fitness personality’. I go through the five distinct fitness personality types with KRON 4 Morning News Weekend anchor, Marty Gonzalez.
Fitness Personality Types
- Predictable
- Methodical
- Competitive
- Social
- Dynamic
#1 – Predictable
- Thrives on routine
- Is a reliable, independent and stable exerciser
- Goes to the gym and develops rigid schedules and regimes
Karen’s Fit Tip: Due to the lack of variation in your exercise program, you may hit a plateau by doing the same routine and become frustrated. By incorporating resistance, circuit or high intensity interval training and/or adding new activities each week, the positive physical changes may help reboot your enthusiasm.
#2 – Methodical
- Likes organization, discipline and routine (but isn’t as rigid as the ‘Predictable’ exerciser)
- Thrives on social interaction
- Loves structured group exercise
Karen’s Fit Tip: Exercising alone would de-motivate you. You would benefit most from joining a gym, hiking/biking in groups, or taking a group fitness class.
#3 – Competitive
- Driven
- Task-oriented
- Thrives on repetition and achievement
- Closely monitors and revels in progress
Karen’s Fit Tip: Exercising requires specific fitness goals to stay motivated and you may benefit from exercising with an equally competitive partner or from participating in a race, such as a triathlon or marathon.
#4 – Social
- Emotional
- Likes spontaneity and camaraderie
- Would not exercise alone
Karen’s Fit Tip: This is the most emotional and most common of all exercise types. On the downside, you tend to socialize more and exercise less. You respond well to group exercise or working out with a personal trainer. However, you would be more responsive to a nurturing trainer vs. one who is demanding, emotionless and pushes very hard.
#5 – Dynamic
- Polar opposite of the ‘Predictable’ type
- Loves change and hates routine and structure
- Is outgoing and very much “in the moment”
Karen’s Fit Tip: You must find the exercise activity pleasurable or else you will quit. On the surface, some people may think you are impulsive or ‘flighty’ due to your fleeting enthusiasm and energy. To stay interested and motivated, you need an extremely varied and adaptable routine with lots of new and different activities and classes.
What’s YOUR fitness personality?
