Matching exercise types to personality traits may help people stick with physical activity long term, offering potential benefits for healthy ageing.
New research suggests extroverts tend to prefer high-intensity workouts, while people prone to anxiety are more comfortable with short bursts of activity – findings that could inform more personalised fitness programmes.
The study highlights how tailoring exercise to individual preferences may improve adherence over time, helping to maintain mobility and independence in later life.
Researchers worked with 132 volunteers of varying fitness levels. Participants were assigned either to an eight-week programme combining cycling and strength training, or to a control group.
They underwent fitness assessments including press-ups, planks and countermovement jumps – a test involving jumping immediately after landing – to measure strength.
Cardiovascular fitness was evaluated using a 30-minute cycling session followed by a V̇O₂ max test, which measures the maximum amount of oxygen the body can use during exercise.
Personality was assessed using the Big Five model, which scores individuals on five traits: extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness.
Participants also rated how much they enjoyed each session throughout the programme.
Dr Flaminia Ronca, first author of the study from UCL Surgery & Interventional Science, 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,” said
“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.”
Of the 132 people who began the study, 86 completed the intervention. All showed improvements in strength and fitness, regardless of personality.
However, differences emerged in how participants responded to certain types of exercise.
Extroverts reported enjoying high-intensity activities, including interval training and all-out cycling tests.
Participants with high neuroticism – a trait linked to frequent worrying – also responded well to intense activity, but preferred short bursts over extended effort.
They were also less comfortable using monitoring tools like heart rate trackers, suggesting a preference for more autonomy during exercise.
Conscientious individuals showed balanced performance across strength and aerobic tests but did not express a strong preference for any particular type of workout.
This may indicate they are motivated more by long-term health outcomes than immediate enjoyment.
The study also found that participants with high neuroticism scores experienced the greatest reduction in stress levels after training – a finding with potential implications for mental health in older adults.
Professor Paul Burgess 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 enjoyment remains the strongest predictor of long-term exercise adherence – a key factor in promoting healthy ageing and quality of life in later years.