People with this trait are able to stay committed to workouts, claims study

We all know working out is good for us. Yet, despite multiple health warnings about leading a sedentary life, a lot of us end up staying away from exercising.

We keep beating ourselves over it but rarely get on track – at least not for long term. And then there are people who effortlessly workout every single day.

They don’t need any added motivation and diligently start their day with a sweaty workout, be it gymming, running, swimming or something as simple as yoga.

So what is this trait that makes some people more likely to exercise?

A study published in Psychological Science revealed that people who have a trait called ‘planfulness’ are those who take out time to engage in some form of physical activity every day. They make organised plans to workout and work towards achieving their long term goals. And because they plan far ahead, they are the ones who stick to their gym memberships.

Yes, we all come across people whom we envy because they find time for everything that matters. They are more organised, dependable and have the trait of conscientiousness. And this trait makes people adopt healthier habits, since they like to be in control of their life and surroundings.

As part of the study, the researchers analysed the gym behavior of 282 people over a period of 20 weeks. They made all of them write down their exercise plans and other personality traits like self-control, courage etc. They also kept a note of how often they attended the gym. During the course of the study they observed that most people started with full motivation but over a period of time started coming less often to the gym. However, those who said they liked planning and had detailed their workout plans were more regular to the gym. Clearly, those who were able to write in detail about their entire planning process were more regular to the gym, while those who could not map out their planning and execution plan lacked that long term commitment.

Those who didn’t even have a plan while they were asked to write about it could manage some measure of detail because that was their personality trait – of planning everything in detail. What do you think about this study?