Factoring in your personality when developing exercise programs is an important part of this process. The more a program matches an individual's "fitness personality", experts say, the more likely he or she is to stick to it and, better yet, to have fun. And if you're having fun, you'll reach your goals.

So do you like to:

• Run and do aerobics?
• Spend your workout walking? being outdoors? close to nature?
• Work out at home or at a gym?
• Participate in more extreme sports?
• Workout in groups or with friends or family members?

Or do you get frustrated if you have to change your schedule and be spontaneous?

The question that you should be asking is not how many reps you should be doing to firm up your chest….but are you participating in the activities you thoroughly enjoy? Answering this will illicit the results you're really looking for. Personality really is a key factor in fitness. The first step is to understand who you are. And Optimal Performance can help you to achieve this as well.

Andrew Mackey is a consultant for Enhanced-Performance Systems , a sport-psychology based company in San Diego, CA which specializes in this area. For a one-time fee of $35 dollars you can take a short, 10 minute online test, the Athlete's Competitive Edge* (A.C.E.) where you will find out the following:

• Identify your major mental strengths and weaknesses
• Find out your two most costly mental errors
• Compare yourself to the best of the best, the world's most elite, professional athletes.
• Get over 25 pages of crucial information about yourself including detailed info on exactly how to combat your mental weaknesses
  
  *the A.C.E is developed and based on over 25 years of research by Dr. Robert Nideffer, recognized as one of the top 10 greatest contributors to the field of Sport Psychology.