What's Your Fitness Personality?

on April 22, 2009 at 7:00 AM

I'm a squiggly -- if I don't like what I'm doing, I quit. I get bored very easily and honestly, unless I fit exercise into my daily life somehow, it's hard for me to motivate for an official workout. Cleaning my apartment and team sports are more enjoyable. I learned the official term for my uh hem, semi-laziness, from That's Fit writer Jacki Donaldson, who interviewed fitness expert, Linda Shelton about five fitness personalities and the pitfalls of each.

Shelton's list of five:

1. Squares. If you're a square, you cling to the pattern of your workout routine. "Instead, a square should try to take baby steps toward sprinkling in new activities weekly that switch up their routines while still giving them the familiarity of the old program," says Shelton.

2. Rectangles. These folks also like order and routine, but they are more flexible. Rectangles should join hiking or running groups, or take group fitness classes instead of exercising alone, Shelton advises.

3. Triangles. The most competitive of the personality types, triangles are task-oriented, and they thrive on repetition -- this helps them monitor their progress and celebrate their successes. Shelton says triangles need to train with an event or goal in mind, like a mini-triathlon or half-marathon. They should also work out with an equally competitive partner.

4. Circles. Circles, the most common type, are social butterflies, who rarely work out alone. "Circles sometimes talk the entire way through a workout; they're not really there for exercise so much as camaraderie," says Shelton. "They need a nurturing trainer who will motivate them, yet not push too hard, or to exercise in a group setting."

5. Squigglies. Squigglies are the most outgoing and least-structured fitness personality. They hate routine, and if they aren't enjoying what they're doing, they quit. They need varied workouts, says Shelton, so they can maintain an interest in exercise.

What's your fitness personality?