Adults need 150 minutes a week – about 20 minutes per day – of moderate to intense physical activity, according to guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services.
This can take the form of 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise, or some equivalent combination of moderate and intense exercise. Adults also are advised to do at least two sessions of strength training each week. Additionally, research shows that doing two to four-times the recommended amount of exercise significantly reduces the risk of heart disease and death from any cause.
But less than 25% of adults reach these goals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
People are more apt to get the recommended amount of exercise if they identify the type of exercise and the intensity level that best fits their personality, according to a study published Monday in Frontiers of Psychology.
“Our brains are wired in different ways, which drives our behaviors and how we interact with our environment,” the study’s first author, Dr. Flaminia Ronca, from University College London, said in a news release. “So it’s not surprising that personality would also influence how we respond to different intensities of exercise.”
The researchers tested the baseline fitness of 132 adults and then split them into two groups: One group followed an eight-week home fitness routine that combined cycling workouts of varied intensity and strength training. The second group was given a stretching routine, but otherwise continued their usual lifestyles.
Both groups filled out questionnaires about personality traits including extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism and openness.
People of all personality types in the cycling and strengthening group showed improved fitness. But there were some distinctions.
Extroverts who tend to be outgoing and gain energy from social interaction liked high-intensity exercise with other people, including team sports. People who were identified as neurotic, who tended to be worriers, needed short breaks in between bursts of high-intensity exercise. People who were conscientious and open took to any kind of exercise, according to the study.
People who scored highest in the neurotic category had the greatest reductions in stress after the eight weeks of exercise.
“It’s fantastic news, as it highlights that those who benefit the most from a reduction in stress respond very well to exercise,” Ronca said.
The goal is to keep trying different forms of exercise until people find one that best fits their personality, the researchers said.