Predictably, this time of year sees the mass influx to the gym.  People are either looking to purchase a gym membership or kicking off where they left off a few months ago when winter got the best of them and they’re now making inroads back into the gym.  It’s all well and good, but to spark up your attack onto the gym floor, have you ever taken a moment to assess what type of training personality you are?  An article written by Cathy Keen from the University of Florida US may provide some insight.  The article “Personality May Be Key To ‘Psyching’ Oneself Up For Exercise” provides an interesting observation on determining of what exercise is best for you. 
Who you are determines how you stay fit, suggests a new University of Florida study that links personality as one factor in an individual’s willingness to stick to an exercise routine.
“The ultimate application of this idea might be that someone who walks into a gym is given a short personality questionnaire to determine what will work best for them rather than being told to take the cookie-cutter approach of doing what everybody else does,” says Amy Hagan, a graduate student in UF’s department of exercise and sport sciences.
Hagan found that extroverts may have more success exercising in a gym than in the privacy of their homes, because they prefer the excitement and companionship of large groups in a gym, and those who crave new experiences could be better off with physical activity outdoors.
Any such insight and motivation could help, because 60 percent of people who start an exercise program drop out within the first six months, and 90 percent do so by two years, Hagan said.  Between 10 percent and 20 percent of people exercise enough to achieve health-related benefits, she said.
Hagan surveyed undergraduate students in sports and fitness classes at UF’s College of Health and Human Performance about personality, exercise preference and exercise behavior. A 300-item questionnaire was given first to 530 students. Then to acquire more detailed information, a second group of 330 other students received the same questions that included a greater range of responses.
“People who are neurotic are least likely to exercise, but these are the very people who would benefit the most from the activity because it would help reduce their anxiety and stress,” Hagan said. These individuals preferred to do cardiovascular exercise indoors, making a home treadmill a better buy than a gym membership, and they also liked low-intensity workouts, she said.
Extroverts in the study preferred intensive exercise workouts and liked to exercise as much as they could, ideally an average of six days a week, Hagan said. “These excitement-craving people love lots of activity, and they want to go, go, go,” she said.  They naturally like co-ed gyms and music assist them in their vigorous approach to exercise. 
Participants who had the traits identified with the conscientious personality type liked scheduled workout sessions along with high-intensity exercise, and said they would rather lead themselves in cardiovascular exercise than have a fitness instructor do it, Hagan said.  “These are very self-disciplined people who strive to achieve something. They want to take charge of their own exercise routine to make sure it will get done,” she said.  Funny enough, these people also like to exercise early in the morning ensuring the exercise has been ticked off for the day. 
The observation of this article’s findings is unique to the individual.  Not one person fits a specific personality trait . By assessing the views brought up in this article you may be able to determine what exercise or what combination of exercise may work best for you.  I believe everyone should perform some form of resistance training - we just don’t get enough of it in today’s world.  What you now need to determine are the motivators /goals you can put in place to ensure you make the most out of your gym membership.