How to choose a workout for your temperament

If you force yourself to go to the gym, you haven’t found your sport yet. Find out which workouts are suitable for different personality types and what to try to find your favorite type of fitness. But first, subscribe to our Telegram channel. We often publish such valuable articles!

If you still don't know your temperament type, take the test Menteora. As a bonus, artificial intelligence will list the most suitable professions for you. The accuracy of the test is 70-80% (read about Menteora's unique career guidance methodology).

As practice shows, the desire to lose weight or pump up will keep you in the gym for a while. A poll from Harris Interactive found that half of the people who choose sports to get in shape abandon their goals after just six weeks.

So, if you want to make fitness a part of your life, you first need to find workouts that you enjoy.

Understanding what motivates you, what you enjoy doing, and how your personality influences your daily tasks can help you permanently change your habits and stick to a routine.

So what is right for you?

If you get bored quickly, try different workouts

If you’re always looking for something interesting, try group classes in new fitness areas like aerial yoga or anti-gravity. Go somewhere else the next day. Large fitness centers have plenty of group classes — read the schedule and try everything. Maybe something will interest you for more than one day. In any case, you will receive a varied load and will not get bored.

If you are very active and ambitious, take part in competitions

Friedman and Rosenman 1950 proposed the division of people into psychological types A and B. Type A people are aggressive and socially active, with a high sense of responsibility, ambition, and striving for success. Type B people are the opposite. Calm and balanced, do not like hard deadlines and overtime work. They relate to life more accessible.

You are used to setting goals and achieving what you want despite all the difficulties. Why not do the same in sports?

If you love winning in a fair fight and you need to have a clear vision of the goal to enjoy the activity, register for the competition.

It can be a 10 km race or a half marathon, a competition among amateurs in any sport. The desire to win will not allow you to miss a single class.

If you have an analytical mind, hire a coach

Try coaching if you value information above all else and consider all the details before deciding.

A good coach will give you the necessary knowledge and explain in detail why you should train with free weights one day, put down the weights, and go for a run the next.

If you’re used to overthinking things, try CrossFit

If you are used to overthinking and thinking most of the day, you just need a high-intensity workout. Heavy physical activity will help you take a break from everyday life and clear your mind.

One option is CrossFit. It will provide you with a clear structure of classes, excluding reflections and such heavy loads that there will simply be no time to think.

If you are an introvert, train alone

You may feel uncomfortable in group classes, and that’s okay. For introverts, home workouts or exercises on a cardio machine in the gym are suitable: put on headphones and remain alone with a treadmill or other simulator. Read The top 5 questions about introverts.

"Very often, introverts are characterized by rational, research-oriented thinking. You want to do the exercises alone, but at the same time, you need to know that you are doing everything right and it works, Matthews says.

Here, you will find many home workout options with an analysis of techniques and common mistakes.

If you’re an extrovert, take group classes

If you are social and always want to be surrounded by people, group classes are your option.

Maybe you will like the incendiary rhythms of Zumba or the calmness of restorative yoga. The eclecticism of body ballet or the activity of step aerobics will attract you. There are a lot of group activities, and you are sure to find your own.

A society of similar people and social support will play a key role in adherence to the regime. So you won’t miss class again.

Each person has their sport, and perhaps even more than one. If you haven’t found it yet, don’t be discouraged: try new workouts and types of fitness, go to different trainers, and you will succeed.

If you have not figured out your temperament, take the Menteora career guidance test; artificial intelligence will name your most suitable professions. The accuracy of the test is 70-80% because we use a mathematical-statistical algorithm (read about Menteora's unique career guidance methodology).