By Elena Voropay

Have you ever found yourself trapped in a crowded sweaty cycling room dreaming about doing yoga at that moment? You are not alone – fitness mismatches happen. Instead of wasting your time and energy doing the chores you don't enjoy, check out what suits you best. Your innate fitness personality reflects your feelings and life perceptions. When these don't match, you feel lost and frustrated. This simple principle applies to everything in life – do something that doesn't feel right for you, and chances are you will drop out in no time. There are times when we all have to do things we don't enjoy because we are expected to, but fitness doesn't have to follow this path.

Following a fitness routine offers more than a superficial look. It makes you feel good about yourself which in turn brings out your otherwise hidden self-esteem and your amicable personality. Exercise may be more energizing mind spark than a cup of coffee in the morning and a haler stress reducer than a pub night out after work. Any kind of physical activity is terrific for distracting your attention from daily worries gives you a peace of mind that you keep your physical fitness up to the par. But exercise only for yourself, and the best way to do it and keep it up is by engaging in something you enjoy. And here is your chance to find out what suits you best.

Once you know where your mind, body and soul are, you'll be able to place yourself in the right fitness activity and not drop out within the first three months. Discovering your exercise personality by taking this simple quiz could mean the world of difference between an enjoyable, life-long, health-boosting success and a fitness failure with no return.

Don't rush into answers, take your time and think of how you feel most of time, not just this moment. Be honest with yourself - no one is looking over your shoulder.

Fitness Personality Quiz

On a scale 1 to 5, where do you see yourself on each question (5 means “completely agree” and 1 means “completely disagree”).

How Social Are You?

1.I think that I am needed by others and feel gratitude and respect from giving others my attention.

2.Music, laughter, and a good conversation are my stress relievers.

3.I have many good friends, enjoy large companies and like to be around people most of the time.

4.I have been told that I could run the country with my skills of organizing functions.

5.I always find something to do, hardly ever get bored and can entertain a crowd whether it is large or small.

How Competitive Are You?

1.It really irritates me when someone passes me on the highway.

2.I have high standards and enjoy challenging my skills against others. 3.I try to find different competitions and contests.

4.In order to achieve something, I think you need to challenge yourself. "No pain, no gain"is my moto. 5.Given a choice, I'd rather join a professional league. This is the only way I can stay focused and productive.

Calculate your scores by adding up all numbers for each section. Results should reflect your Sociability and Competitiveness (for example: 25/25 – Highly Sociable, Highly Competitive)

The Team Leader: Lead and Compete

(25-10 High Sociability/ 25-10 High Competitiveness)

As a social and competitive person, you get bored being by yourself. You tend to achieve the best possible results and often feel you must win at all costs. This gets you far in life, but sometimes you need to ask yourself: “How far should I go?” Before the competition turns a healthy enjoyable fitness activity into an unnecessary stressful motivator, throw in something multifarious into your routine. The trick is to master the balance of fun and pursuit.

Fitness Tips: You have probably tried all fitness activities and keep sampling different classes. Your natural choice are team sports, such as softball, volleyball, tennis. Spread the activities throughout the week to keep your motivation without too much demand. Cycling, step, Body Pump, fitness boxing are all great for you.

Balance: You are extroverted and love competing, but easing out of hectic pace is a must. Consider it a challenging recharger. Spending time in solitude may strike you at first, but you will appreciate the peace and stillness of your mind. Biking, water aerobics, yoga, pilates, and stretching are excellent choices.

The Individual Achiever: Do Your Best

(10-5 Low Sociability/ 25-10 High Competitiveness)

Even though you don't enjoy social gatherings, you are highly competitive. You take advantage of different challenging opportunities and enjoy achieving goals you set for yourself. The thrill of victory, the rush of competition, the sense of achievement are your key motivators.

Fitness Tips: Individual activities such as running, weight training, cycling, rock climbing are your natural selections. Your body and mind seek variation, so cross-training is your best bet – interchange pace and activities, take a day off here and there, or try new group and individual courses to unwind from monotonous routines and upgrade existing skills.

Balance: For motivation, you need someone to compete with. Being in the social world is not your strongest quality, so joining a fitness club and trying new classes will reveal your fitness potential.

The Group Member: Play With Others, Don't Compete

(25-10 High Sociability/ 10-5 Low Competitiveness)

A good company is where you thrive. You love playing with others, not competing with them. Schmoozing and chumming is more fun for you than taking out the rivalry and winning. Keeping up the commitments you make to others is your asset and you are naturally bound to exercise with your mates. If you promised to show up for jog at the crack of dawn, even if you are an owl and stay up all night, you will be there in your track suit no matter what.

Fitness Tips: Walking and running clubs are your favourites. You don't worry about breaking up a sweat as long as you are caught up with the latest gossip. Walking is great, but how about jogging? In others words, you need to push yourself and create a challenge.

Balance: Breaking out of routine into a breath-catching hike instead of sharing your charm will get your fitness levels. You will glow even more after that, but you need to pump your body. For a break-through, go solo with T'ai Chi or roller-blading, intense swimming or sprinting.

The Solitude Seeker : Find The Personal Space

(10-5 Low Sociability/ 10-5 Low Competitiveness)

Exercise is your quality down-time. It's your gateway from pressures of life, maybe the only time and place you enjoy and recharge your bataries. There is no need to beat the clock, other people's scores, or climb Mount Kosciuszko for recognition. You do enough of rivalry and record breaking in everything else, or at least you try.

Fitness Tips: Home-exercise videos were created just for you. As well as hiking paths, kayaks, cycling trails and yoga mats. While staying focused and fit, your self-motivation needs a break-through. Solitude and lack of supervision are your cheats to slack off, so honestly evaluate your pace, intensity and form correctness.

Balance: Exercising with a buddy for an enjoyable company will awake your spirit and muscles. Playing tennis with someone you like is your healthy way to keep the competition without the crowd cheer which may only infuriate your fitness commitment.