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UCL Study Spurs Push for Personality-Tailored Workouts

Health experts are developing frameworks to integrate personality profiles into workout plans to tackle global inactivity.

More introverted people tended to enjoy lower-intensity workouts without people watching them.
People who scored highly in extroversion tended to enjoy higher-intensity workouts, the study found.
Different personality types enjoy different forms of exercise.

Overview

  • The study published in Frontiers in Psychology involved 132 UK participants in an eight-week home-based cycling and strength training intervention to assess how personality traits shape exercise enjoyment and outcomes.
  • Individuals high in extraversion preferred high-intensity group sessions, whereas those scoring high in neuroticism favored solitary workouts punctuated by short breaks and saw the greatest stress reductions.
  • Conscientious and open participants maintained adherence driven by health motivations and curiosity, even when specific workouts were less enjoyable.
  • Fewer than one in four adults meet WHO activity guidelines, underscoring the need for motivational strategies like tailoring exercise to personality.
  • Researchers and public health experts are now crafting initial frameworks to incorporate Big Five profiles into personalized exercise prescriptions, though standardization is still pending.