Welcome back, unless you are a spammer, then go far, far away and bother someone else. My super uber Akismet spam catcher will smack you down. If you’re not a spammer, then read on!
Although I will shout loudly at the mountaintops about how I was able to lose 80+ lbs using SparkPeople, a lot of the articles are sorta drivel. The other features are great, don’t get me wrong. Tracking what went into my mouth for the last year and a half has helped me become aware of what a normal human should eat and what foods work for me. Logging exercise made me accountable when I didn’t want to pursue fitness for any other reason than losing the proverbial junk in my trunk. Seems silly now that anyone would have to push me to workout, but times have changed. Getting involved with the community provided me inspiration and an outlet when I used to blog over there. However, the articles – meh.
That being said, since I’m on the site all the time tracking my foods and logging my awesome fitness minutes, I do catch some and once in a while they’ll really hit home. A few weeks ago, I read this one. If you don’t want to jump over there and read it all, I’ll give you the reader’s digest version…actually the article IS a summary so this is a summary of a summary. How meta!
There are 5 different types of workout personalities: squares, rectangles, triangles, circles, and squigglies.
Squares are very rigid and like to have a plan and stick to it. They are committed, but hit plateaus easily because they don’t change up their workouts.
Rectangles are like squares in they like a routine, but they are more flexible and also tend to be more social. Since they’re more flexible they will resort to a Plan B (as in, planned to run outside today but it’s raining, so I’ll hit the treaddy at the gym), but if they workout alone, they aren’t likely to stick to it.
Triangles are competitive and very focused on improving and tracking that improvement. They appreciate all sorts of improvement (even if the scale didn’t move, they’ll appreciate the new personal best on their mile time), but are likely to get frustrated without a higher purpose in mind.
Circles are the emotional, social people who couldn’t imagine working out alone. Having gym time double as social time gets them there regularly, but they’re likely to spend more time chatting than working out.
Squigglies are the polar opposite of squares. They abhor routine and value, above all things, fun. They rarely see plateaus because they’re always changing it up, but are likely to get bored and drop out of a regular exercise program.
It really hit me here that I was fully and completely a triangle. It’s not just my body shape (inverted triangle, at least), it’s my workout type! This inspired me to ditch April’s planned experiment, which while it sounded FUN, it also sounded like a chore since it was super varied. I really like a routine. I like to make a list and check it off. I definitely have elements of square (in that I like routine) and rectangle (that I’m ok being flexible, if it’s raining the treaddy is fine, or if I’m exhausted and planned a hard workout I’ll switch it to another day and do something lighter), but I am true and true a triangle. Even before I was working towards a race, I was working on improving my times, my distances, using heavier weights, doing more reps, and the like.
So this gave me the oomph to actually put this half marathon plan into place, I think I wrote out the spreadsheet the very same day. It still scares me but more than anything I’m excited. I’m also signed up for a 5k in 2 days and a 10k next weekend because I realized – I love races. I got myself a stopwatch to time myself because it was one more stat I could track. Now that the article validated for me what I already knew (I thrive on competition), I’m rocking out with my new wicking socks out and embracing it.
What type of workout personality are you? How do you embrace it and make it work for you? How do you get over your weaknesses?
I'm a video game producer and a lover of anything game related by trade. I'm a triathlete by hobby. I live for being on or in the water as much as I can - scuba diving, snorkeling, paddleboarding, water slides... you name it. The dichotomy between my outdoor and indoor realities are interesting, but they're all mine! Longer version
cat
I am totally a triangle as well. I cannot work out just to work out. I definitely need to have some sort of goals… hence the Nike+ and hear-rate monitor. I like to track stuff down to the smallest denomination. It’s what keeps me going. I don’t find running even the slightest bit “relaxing” and “fun”. But I enjoy the idea of “mini-games” like pushing my avg hr up or a slightly faster pace. We are gamers and it seems we work out just like it is a game. 🙂
Spin I can have a little more fun with since I am only partly in control of my workout. I mean ya I can push myself but I am dependent on the instructors general class focus. And that gives me a nice variety in my routine. 🙂
cat
P.S. I’ve never heard of sparkpeople.com but I’m totally gonna go check it out. I just track on dailymile.com and livestrong.com. 🙂 I love to see new sites tho!
hoopylorax
Hiya Quix! I’m totally a square. I’m a check it off my list and all or nothing personality all the way. I’d like to incorporate more triangleness too, though. So, I guess I need to get off my butt!
charlotte
Aw man, i can’t decide! On one hand, I’m a total triangle as I love measureables. But then I’m also fully a rectangle with the love of change and overall chatty nature. Do they have a catch-all category! PS> I love how good you are at figuring yourself out and what you really want.