Our fitness routines might be the most honest stories we tell about ourselves.
At first, it seems like a joke headline, or a BuzzFeed quiz: “What your gym routine says about your personality.” But then you notice the spin class filling up at 6:00 a.m.—the same people, the same bikes. The one who always yells “Let’s go!” The other who always leaves early. And you wonder: maybe it’s not just about fitness. Maybe it’s about temperament. Maybe, in the way we move, we’re always trying to say something about who we are—or who we wish we were.
The Study
A new study in Frontiers in Psychology offers insight that feels both obvious and subversive: extraverts tend to prefer high‑intensity group workouts like HIIT (Buchanan, Karmali, & Dejong, 2025). They’re drawn to fast‑paced, socially engaging routines with music, rhythm, peers, and heat. Researchers point to the dopaminergic systems in extraverts’ brains—reward‑driven mechanisms that respond strongly to social and sensory stimulation. For them, HIIT isn’t just exercise—it’s a kind of social theatre of self‑efficacy.
The study also shines light on other parts of the Big Five:
- Neuroticism was associated with a preference for private, lower‑intensity workouts, such as solo walks, quiet yoga, or headphone‑lit treadmill sessions with brief effort. For these individuals, the gym is less about performance and more about managing internal overwhelm—they’re not there to push limits, but to avoid falling apart.
- Conscientiousness showed up in people who exercise whether they enjoy it or not. Fitness becomes a habit-driven, structured task—part of a disciplined routine, treated much like brushing teeth or paying bills. These are the planners, the goal-setters, the gym-goers who read every policy.
- Openness to Experience emerged in those who are motivated by exploration and novelty. One week they might be boxing, the next, rock climbing or cold-water plunges. Their exercise isn’t about metrics—it’s about curiosity, aesthetic experience, new sensations.
So the gym hosts the social HIIT crew, the anxious loner, the regimented planner, and the curious adventurer—plus endless hybrids in between.
What Are You Actually Doing at the Gym?
Psychoanalyst Adam Phillips once observed that “there’s something very distressing about people who claim to know what they’re doing having no idea what they’re doing.” That might capture what the gym is for many of us.
The runner says it clears her head—but maybe she likes the repetition because it keeps something else from coming up. The lifter talks about strength, but what he’s really chasing is control: of his schedule, of his body, of his story. The yogi speaks of balance, but she might just want somewhere quiet where no one expects her to speak.
And the HIIT person—the extravert—says it’s for sweat, endorphins, and burn. But maybe it’s really about being part of something, leaning on the momentum of a class when their own feels uncertain. There’s comfort in bodies moving together, fueled by music and structure.
There’s nothing wrong with any of this. In fact, it’s kind of beautiful—how we use motion to give shape to feelings that often can’t be named.
In the End
This isn’t about optimizing your workout—it’s about listening to it.
- What part of you speaks when you sign up for that class again?
- What are you rehearsing—or avoiding?
- What version of yourself is begging for permission to show up?
The gym isn’t a confessional. It’s a stage. A place where we try out versions of ourselves: stronger, freer, more focused, less alone.
And if you pay close enough attention—somewhere between the warm‑up and that final stretch—you just might hear the story your body is trying to tell.
Thinking About the Stories You Move Through?
Sometimes movement reveals things that words haven’t caught up to yet. If you’re curious about what’s driving your patterns—at the gym, in relationships, or in the quiet in‑between moments—therapy can help you listen differently.
I offer psychotherapy in NYC for thoughtful, self-aware people looking to make sense of themselves with honesty, nuance, and clarity.
Let’s work together to map what matters.
Dr. Michael Brustein is a licensed NYC psychologist specializing in anxiety and depression therapy for high-achieving professionals in New York City. Using an integrative approach that combines psychoanalytic insight with practical strategies, he helps executives and professionals understand the hidden costs of constant worry and perfectionism. His practice focuses on helping clients move from symptom management to deep, lasting transformation. Schedule a consultation today.