How to Find the Right Exercise Routine for You

Want an exercise routine you’ll stick to? Ask yourself these eleven questions.

When I ask people what they’d like to do for their own happiness projects, they often say something like, “Exercise more regularly.” Exercise is very important for health and mood, and everyone knows this—and yet it’s often tough for people to stick to an exercise routine.

I think that one mistake is to choose a form of exercise based on a) what your friend recommends, b) what kind of change to your body you want to see, or c) what is the fashionable form of exercise. It’s helpful to consider these factors, but in the end, we’re far more likely to stick with an exercise routine that suits our nature and our schedule. If you strugglw to exercise regularly, this is not the place to fight your nature! If you’ve been a night person all your life, vowing to get up at 5:00 a.m. to run isn’t very realistic.

11 Questions to Help You Find the Right Exercise Routine

Work through these questions honestly. When you’re done, you’ll have a much clearer picture of what kind of routine is actually built for you.

1. Are you a morning person or a night person?

Morning exercisers tend to have fewer scheduling conflicts—nothing comes up at 6 a.m.—but if you’re not functional until 10, morning workouts will always feel like punishment. Night people often do better with after-work classes or evening walks.

2. Would you like to spend more time in nature?

If the answer is yes, then outdoor exercise like running a trail, hiking, or walking in a park satisfies both your movement goal and your desire for fresh air and open space. For some people, this is what makes the habit finally stick.

3. Would you like more time in solitude; or more time with friends; or more time to meet new people?

Exercise can be deeply social or deeply private, and the right version depends on what you’re missing in the rest of your day. If your job is all meetings and people, solitary exercise might feel like relief. If you work alone all day, a group class might be exactly the connection you need.

4. Are you motivated by competition?

How do you feel about competing against others or against your own personal bests? If you love it, lean into it: races, team sports, fitness challenges, apps that track personal records. If competition makes you feel anxious or deflated rather than motivated, skip it.

5. Do you enjoy loud music?

This sounds minor, but if you light up with a high-energy playlist, a spin class or a solo run with headphones might be ideal. If loud music feels overwhelming or you’d rather think while you move, that points toward something quieter—swimming, yoga, walking.

6. Do you do better with some form of external accountability, or does that just annoy you?

If you need accountability, try signing up for a class, hiring a trainer, or schedule workouts with a friend. If external accountability makes you feel controlled or resentful, it’ll backfire. 

7. Would you like to challenge yourself with exercise (whether by learning a new skill or pushing yourself physically)—or not?

For some people, the appeal of exercise is mastery: getting better at something, learning a new movement, seeing measurable progress. For others, exercise is maintenance, not ambition—they want it to be reliable and low-drama, not a constant challenge.

8. Do you like sports and games?

If you do, recreational leagues, pickup games, tennis, pickleball, and similar activities can make exercise feel like play rather than obligation.

9. Would you like more meditative time, or more time to watch TV, read newspapers, etc?

Choose activities you can pair with things you already want to do: A long walk can be thinking time, podcast time, or audiobook time. Binge watch your favorite show on the treadmill.

10. Do you have a lot of control over your time?

If your schedule is unpredictable, classes or training appointments that require you to be somewhere at a certain time are likely to become a source of stress. But if you have a looser schedule, structure can be helpful.

11. Are you sensitive to weather?

If a cold, rainy morning reliably kills your motivation to exercise outdoors, that’s useful information. Plan around it with an indoor alternative rather than counting on willpower to override your preferences every winter.

Creating an exercise plan that sticks

Your answers should guide your thinking about exercise. Work out with a trainer? Take a class? Be inside or outside? etc.

For instance, if you’re a morning person who craves solitude and time alone with your thoughts, but has little control over  your schedule and hates feeling accountable to anyone, you might enjoy walking in a park every morning before you leave for work.

If you’re a night person who loves music and meeting new people, and is also motivated by accountability, you might like to take a dance-based exercise class after work.

Often, people will say, “Go for a twenty minute walk at lunch? That’s nothing. I really need to get in shape.” Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good! The twenty minute walk you take is so much better for you than the three mile run you never do. You get the biggest health boost going from no exercise to some exercise.

Just a little tweak in a routine sometimes makes a big difference. For instance, to exercise on the weekends, I go for a long walk. Years ago, I found myself getting bored on the long walks—and so finding excuses to skip them.

One of my Twelve Personal Commandments is to Identify the problem. What was the problem? “I’m bored during these walks, so I don’t want to go.” For the first time, I bought myself an audiobook, and listened to The Golden Compass when I walked. I loved it! These days, I usually listen to podcasts. My desire to listen makes it much easier to walk.

How about you? What aspects of your nature and your schedule make it easier–or harder–to stick to an exercise routine? What works for you?