- It can be difficult for many people to make movement a regular habit.
- A new study suggests that adaptation to your personality can help.
- It is more likely that you will make a habit if you like to do it.
It is difficult to establish new habits (told the least). It requires thinking and consistent practice to make new habit. However, there are some tricks that can be used to facilitate the process – as according to your personality type.
Researchers from the United Kingdom wanted to determine whether certain personality types were attracted to more specific intensities of the movement or enjoyed them. They published their results in Limits in psychology. Let us collapse what you have found.
How was this study carried out?
The researchers initially recruited 132 participants from the public for this study. 86 of the 132 completed the entire protocol. The participants filled an online questionnaire for the first time, which contained demographic information, the perceived stress scale 10 (PSS-10) and a modified version of the Big Five Inventory 10 Elements (BFI-10). The PSS-10 is intended to evaluate the perceived stress levels of people, and the BFI-10 is a shortened version of a longer evaluation to determine the personality traits.
The BFI-10 BIG Five personality traits rated extra version, tolerability, conscientiousness, emotional stability and openness. Emotional stability refers to neuroticism. For example, people who achieve high emotional stability are considered low in neuroticism. They tend to be calm and resilient with more positive attitudes and moods. People who are only low in emotional stability tend to have more neurotic characteristics, including anxiety, irritability and mood and tendency to stress.
According to the online reviews, the participants were brought to a practice laboratory for the fitness tests of the baseline. This included the body composition, which is a measured ratio of lean tissue to fat tissue, as well as strength tests that included pushups, boards and jumps with hands on hips. The aerobic capacities of the participants were also tested on a stationary bike, first with a “laboratory ride with low intensity”, and then after a 30-minute break, a highly intensive ride was used on the same bike to measure Vo2peak. VO2Peak is the highest oxygen consumption that is measured during a training test. Basically, it measures how efficient your body uses oxygen during intensive training. After each exercise session, the participants were asked to evaluate their enjoyment of 1 to 7, although I was not pleasant and 7 was extremely pleasant.
According to the basic tests, the participants were either assigned to the intervention or control group. The control group was instructed to maintain their normal lifestyle and received a plan of weekly 10-minute stretching exercises.
The intervention group was provided with a heart rate monitor and an 8-week 8-week cycling and strength training program, the “journeys” of three different intensity low, threshold and interval training with high intensity (HIIT). Each trip would be completed once a week for a total of three trips a week. The total intensity gradually increased during the 8-week intervention. They were also instructed to carry out strength training per week, which contained 3 sets with 8 repetitions of squats, lungs, push-ups, sit-ups, calf increases and bridges. The participants were asked to evaluate their perceived enjoyment of each training session over the entire intervention period.
What did this study find?
Based on the tests before the intervention:
- The extra version was prediction, higher VO2Peak, anaerobic threshold and peak performance.
- Conscientiousness predicted that pushups, longer flats, weekly hours of physical activity and percentage body fat-fat fat fat list were completed.
- Neuroticism has poorer recovery times of heart rate (how quickly your heart rate goes back to the advance) regardless of the fitness level.
- Those who were part of an endurance club (such as a running club) were more extraverted and conscientious.
Regarding movement enjoyment:
- Those who achieved higher in neuroticism reported less enjoyment of the laboratory session with low intensity and threshold.
- Extraversion predicted the enjoyment of the VO2Peak test and the HIIT sessions.
- Both openness and agreement predicted more enjoyment for the long, simple journey.
With regard to compliance and participation:
- Participants of the intervention group, which achieved higher in neuroticism, recorded their heart rate data with less probability during the 8-week intervention.
- Extraverted participants were less likely to take part in tests after the intervention.
- Those who achieved a high openness took part in the intervention test.
The 8-week intervention showed:
- Those who achieved a high neurotic were the only ones who found a decrease in the stress by the intervention.
- All participants in the intervention group, regardless of personality traits, showed a significant increase in weekly working hours, the VO2Peak, the top performance, the number of pushups and the duration of boards.
- Conscientious participants showed a lower improvement in top performance.
- Those with extra version features had a greater increase in the Rerpeak (breathing change ratio, a measure of intensity and effort during a training test).
This study gave some restrictions. First of all, it was found that 70% of the participants are open -minded, conscientiously and emotionally stable and were some bias in the sample of the participants. While this study included the Big Five Personability features, it did not take any sub -sections or other personality factors such as Grit or fear. Finally, this study only included cycling and body weight exercises. This limits the answers of the participants to just these exercises. So if you already know that you hate cycling, you will probably not enjoy any of the intensity fluctuations.
How does that apply to real life?
This study suggests that certain personalities can enjoy certain intensities of movement more than others. “We have found some clear connections between personality traits and the type of exercise that the participants enjoyed the most,” says Flaminia Ronca, Ph.D.One of the authors of the study in a press release: “What I think is important because we can possibly use this knowledge to agree to recommendations for physical activity on the individual – and hopefully help you to become more active.”
People who scored high points with neuroticism or extra version:
- The higher -intensive workouts enjoyed more than the lower lowers.
- Researchers find that those with neurotic tendencies can better tolerate HIIT training than a long, strong training, since the latter may give more fear, concern and negative soliloquy to take care of and influence performance.
People who achieved a high conscientiousness:
- Perform physical activity for the health benefits.
- They are also goal -oriented. So if you have set yourself the goal of completing 6 months of training for a marathon, you will probably achieve it.
While research offers an insight into what and why from topics, you probably don’t need a personality test and a study to tell you what types of physical activities you feel pleasant. However, these results provide you with possible reasons why you may not enjoy certain types of physical activity. And you can now use your personality as a scapegoat when someone tries to urge you to act an activity that you don’t like.
There are a few other things to take into account if you find activities that you will enjoy. For example, do you like to do things as a team or group or are you more of an individual player? If you like to do things as a team, you should consider group fitness courses. Choose the type and the intensity based on your personality and fitness level. Group person training is another option. Or you can join a community sports team or a running or cycling club.
If you are more independent and do not deal with the group matter, you should consider activities that you can carry out yourself or with a friend. You can also enjoy personal personal training.
Our expert
This study suggests that personality traits can determine which types of physical activities are most pleasant. Ultimately, the best types of physical activity for you are the ones with whom you can enjoy and with whom you will stay. And while guidelines are important – such as at least 150 minutes moderate or 75 minutes of physical activity per week – a lot of physical activity is better than none, and everything counts. Start where you are and with which you feel comfortable, and make deliberate decisions to move more during the day, even if it is in small batches. Over time, when your body has got used to moving more, you can of course increase the amount. And before you know it will destroy these guidelines (in a good way).