Exercise and Personality

Last Sunday, I followed my morning routine by going to Lakeshore Athletic club. I headed to the lap pool. I had my choice of any lane. I selected the middle lane. I dangled my legs into the water. A shiver zigzagged through my body. “Yikes!” I placed my hand on the surface. Goosebumps formed in splotches on my arms.

Did I really want to go swimming on a winter day?  Do the words swimming and winter even belong in the same sentence?

Slowly I lowered my body into the pool. To stay warm, I darted across the pool as if I was in the final lap of a race. I sped through the next lap with the same intention. Blood flowed through my veins and my internal temperature increased. I kept looking at the wall clock. How long it would take before I felt warm again?

Once the chill had left my body, I slowed my pace by using a kick board. My legs moved while my head was above the water. To my left, a man was swimming with cautious and evenly measured movements. Splashes and rolling waves were being generated to my right. Somehow that man had tethered himself in place as he thrashed his arms wildly. Even though his body was going nowhere his haphazard movements appeared to the contrary.

I could not understand why someone would want to exert so much effort to stay in one place. Part of the fun of swimming is monitoring how effectively one can propel and control her body. Flailing one’s upper body and then being stuck in one spot defeated this purpose.

When I was finished with the kick board, I placed it at the end of the lane. I watched the uncontrollable man continue his battle with the water. I unconsciously started to shake my head as I stared at the whirling water. The man to the left asked, “Is everything okay?”

“Uh… I’m not sure I understand what that guy is doing.”

He looked toward the other man and said, “Yeah. His swimming matches his general behavior.”

“Do you know him?’

“No.”

“Then how do you know his day-to-day behavior?”

“Trust me. I’m a psychiatrist. His swimming style represent his life.”

I smiled. I started to swim again. My mind kept wandering back to what the psychiatrist had stated. Was there a connection between exercise and personality? Was it fair to draw conclusions on one isolated event?

I will never know if the psychiatrist’s words were accurate.  I could only look to my own exercise routines. Hmm. There indeed seemed to be some truth to his simple comment.

• Does your exercise routine mirror your personality?
• Can you share an example how your exercise choices go hand-in-hand with your personality?

Related Posts:

The Joys of Skiing

Swimming: A Lifelong Endeavor 

Walking and Weight Loss

How Do I Become Motivated to Live a Healthy Life

5 Ways to Improve Exercise Motivation

Working to Become Fit

Choices- Being Fit

Bio

Sandra Bornstein is the author of MAY THIS BE THE BEST YEAR OF YOUR LIFE. It is available on Amazon.

Sandra’s memoir highlights her living and teaching adventure in Bangalore, India. She is a licensed Colorado teacher who has taught K-12 students in the United States and abroad as well as college level courses. Sandra is married and has four adult sons.

The memoir was a finalist in the Travel category for the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, the 2013 International Book Awards, the 2013 National Indie Book Excellence Awards, 2013 USA Best Book Awards, and a Honorable Mention award in the Multicultural Non-Fiction category for the 2013 Global ebook Awards.