Which Of These 6 Different Gym Personalities Are You?

Whatever path you choose to fitness, be it lifting kettle bells, running 10Ks, ballet classes or surfing, you’ll get there eventually. any exercise makes you fitter, after all. But, let’s be honest, no one wants to take the scenic route to success. You want to get fit as quickly and effectively as possible! That means making sure that the approach you apply to fitness maximizes your character strengths while giving you some leeway for your weaknesses.

Figure out which one of these personalities you are, then get on the fast-track road to fitness.

1. The Champion

You excel at life and you just love coming out on top. Second best just isn’t good enough. Because of this, you avoid training methods that might work you more than you can handle, so you stick with what you know and are good at. It means that you’ll be happy with your achievements, but disappointed with your progress long term.

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Grab on girl, it’s time to climb that mountain. “Climbing or bouldering is one of the most fun ways to get fit,” says Desiree, director and climbing instructor of rockandsun.com. “While rock climbing, you are completely focused on how to use your body to get to the top of a route. Most of the time it feels more like a mental challenge than a physical challenge but, believe me, while figuring out how to climb a particularly difficult piece of rock, you are continually getting fitter and stronger for your efforts. “One of the many things I like about climbing is that, unlike a lot of sports, climbing needn’t be competitive; there is no win or lose, just you and the rock.”

There’s little in the way of exercise that offers such a full-on workout as climbing, but there’s more to it than that. Climbing benefits both body and mind, and has been regularly used as treatment for sufferers of depression. Can’t handle heights? Try acrobatics instead. It’s fantastic for building strength and it’s extremely challenging.

2. Miss Sunshine

You’re doing just fine. In fact, you’re not even sure why you’re reading this because you’re good with how you feel and the way you train. Underneath all that, however, lurks a fear of change. “To be truly fit it’s important to switch things up every now and again,” says Holmes. “Otherwise you’re not challenging your body enough and it will start to adapt to your workouts, meaning that you don’t maximize your fat burn or see the results.”

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“If you love your workout routine, it’s not necessary to ditch the whole thing, as exercise should be something you enjoy,” says Holmes. “You can simply add something extra, swap one element for another and change your method of training.” So, if your routine usually involves 30 minutes of cardio workout and an hour of weights, do a few sessions of circuit training per month, too.

Or if you’ve always been focused on aerobic exercise, get going with some form of flexibility training. “Tai chi or yoga can dramatically help improve your weight training workouts, despite being low impact,” explains Holmes. “You’ll become better at breathing while lifting and get better balance, not to mention a stronger core.” Plus you’ll add a little Zen to your day.

3. Chilled Chick

You’re so relaxed that life might pass by without you noticing. You don’t feel any pressure to get going and, because of that, your fitness suffers. When friends ask you to go for a run, you’ll go; if there happens to be a yoga class on when you turn up to the gym, you’ll try it, but you don’t improve because you’re too relaxed about motivation.

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Some of us need a gentle push (or a massive kick up the backside, maybe) to get going. “Boot-camp or circuit style fitness training is the obvious choice here,” says Lisa-Jane Holmes, of Wildcat Fitness. “Some people can only push themselves through that pain barrier where your muscles are screaming from the workout if someone is shouting at them to keep going.”

“That means that swimming, stationary cycling and running aren’t recommended to get you closer to your goals,” suggests Holmes. “Interval classes and any high-powered workout styles, where you have to find your inner warrior, like karate, body combat or boxing are ideal.” It’s the only way to ensure you’re pulled out of your comfort zone for your own good.

4. Resolutionist

When it comes to goals and resolutions, you reign supreme. The trouble is that your aspirations are so incredibly lofty that there’s no way you’re ever likely to reach them. You’re left suffering with a feeling of permanent failure. You’ll start out great and feel fantastic but, after a few weeks, your motivation starts to fade, you get bored, and your progress slows dramatically. A while after that, you give up only to start thinking of another resolution you can fail at.

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It’s time to micro-manage. “Instead of giving up your resolutions, break them down into much smaller parts and quick wins.” If your goal is to run a 10K, you need to be aware how easy it is to get bored, so give yourself micro-goals as well as changing your method of exercising frequently.

“Cross-training is a good way to keep interest levels higher, as are sprint intervals, which need only take 15-20 minutes to really challenge your fitness,” Holmes explains. “You should also sign up for shorter races so that you can feed your ego while you’re working towards the big goal.” Start with a 5K before working your way up to a full marathon. It’ll stop you getting sidetracked. Smaller goals will see you achieving the big one in no time.

4. Opportunist

You think you make the most of every opportunity on offer, but often you just can’t commit. When you get your running gear ready, you then fail to show up in the park, and you won’t sign up to a gym as you’ve convinced yourself you can get fit elsewhere… But you don’t.

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What if your rewards could go beyond the physical? “I love earthmiles.co.uk as it does exactly that,” says Holmes. “It connects with most popular fitness apps to track your daily activity. The more you move, the more your earn. Your points can be rewarded for free fitness classes, discounts on popular activewear, healthy food and beauty products.” Or, think about a membership scheme like ClassPass.

“ClassPass is perfect for commitment-phobes,” says Holmes. “It allows you to try a variety of classes, gyms and workouts without the hefty annual membership fees. So, if you fancy yoga one day, spinning the next and a chance to check out brand new studios you’ve never even heard of, ClassPass will deliver. “It was actually made for people who can’t make up their mind. Not only will you get fitter by trying more new things, but it will hold your attention levels, too!” That way you can have your cake and eat it, otherwise what’s the point of cake anyway?

6. List Addict

You get semi-orgasmic when you’ve done everything on a to-do list. The problem is that you’re so focused on crossing things off that your fitness suffers.

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You need to incorporate your fitness into your day-to-day life. Walking or cycling to work is one way, but there are more innovative ways to do it. “The new trend for treadmill desks is perfect for born organizers,” says Holmes.

“These set-ups allow you to walk or jog while you read or write on your laptop, which is on a stand above the ’mill.” There’s also the GymGym Chair so you can do resistance training while watching TV, or simply grab a balance ball and sit on that. It’ll work your core muscles while you do anything that involves sitting. That’s what we call multi-tasking.

Find fitness information and more in every issue of TRAIN for HER magazine.