What's your fitness personality?

Understanding your personality can make it easier for you to choose the perfect job or enhance your communications skills. But, have you ever considered the role your personality plays in your fitness?

If you choose to attend a group yoga class when your natural inclination is to go it alone, you're setting yourself up to fail. Physical activity is just another way you express your personal taste and style. When you find the right exercise combination for your fitness personality, you just may find you are happier and stick with it longer.

If you haven't thought about your fitness personality much, here are some things to think about:

• Do you prefer to work out alone or in the company of others?
• Do you prefer indoor environments to outdoor environments?
• Are you driven by competitiveness or do you prefer workouts to come without rules?

Alone. Exercising alone empowers you to set your own exercise schedule and tailor your workout to your body's needs. It can also be less intimidating than group fitness because you spend less time and energy worrying about others' perceptions. Many who choose to exercise alone consider this their “me time” when they can focus inward and not be distracted by others.

With others. Exercising with a group can feel more like a social event than a workout. It may even serve as a motivator to spend time with people who share a similar interest in an activity. Joining a fitness group can help build structure into your routine and help you stay accountable.

Outdoors. If you enjoy the outdoors already, incorporating exercise with nature is a logical choice. Exercising outdoors tends to be a bit more strenuous than the indoor version because of ground elevation and resistance from the wind. The time with nature can also have a meditative affect and be a positive distraction that helps you go farther, longer, faster.

Indoors. When you have respiratory problems like allergies and asthma, outdoor exercise may not be a good option, as environmental factors can trigger these conditions. Plus, with an indoor workout you have temperature and weather control year round and rarely should you have to deal with bugs.

Competitive. At some level, all humans are designed to compete. Whether it is competition with yourself to reach a personal best or against others in a charity event or race, the competitive spirit just may be the motivation you need to stick with a workout routine.

No rules. For others, competition and structure may be present in other aspects of life and you want a workout routine to come without rules. This may mean rotating through a variety of workout activities, and for others this may mean workouts that feel more like play and socialization – like a pickup basketball game.

If you're unsure of your fitness personality, you may need to experiment with a few combinations and workouts before you land on one that feels right. Also, your fitness personality may change with time and personal situations. So, while you may find running outdoors fits your fitness personality now, it may evolve over time to participating in a group yoga class. The important thing is to be aware of how your exercise routine makes you feel and to make adjustments to support your changing needs.