The holidays are the perfect time for introverts to start engaging in exercise if somehow, it’s dropped off the to-do list. This may sound counter-intuitive but stay with me and maybe you’ll be influenced otherwise.
If you haven’t yet figured out if you tend toward being more introverted or extroverted, the Digital Citizen offers a free personality assessment based on both Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®)* and Keirsey Temperament Sorter® (KTS®). Visit the website to both assess and download files specific to your type results.
Introvert friendly guide to holiday exercise, top 4 tips:
1. Get your introvert needed alone time.
When I was in my 30s I would meet my husband after work at the gym. He loved every minute of moving from one workout machine to another, stopping and talking with people along the way. I abhorred the process and would be like millions of people making a New Years resolution to work out and instead drop out.
[Tweet “Going to a gym is not an introvert’s best friend, particularly during the holidays.”] We’ve got enough “people” events to manage.
We’re blessed having a gym room in our home but anyone can make any room a personal gym room. I do it almost every time I travel to be with family.
And during the holidays what introvert wouldn’t relish their alone time? Here’s our time to say, “Well I’ve got to work out today around that time so I’ll need to leave (or arrive or both!) early.”
It’s the perfect excuse to duck almost any party.
2. Cold weather exercise does have benefits.
Rather than hearing and maybe fearing all the holiday noise from friend and family chatter (or worst, heated arguments) you can find that alone time, stay fit and healthy and clear your thoughts all at the same time.
Kevin Plancher, MD, head of Plancher Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, PLLC (www.plancherortho.com) says if we use our common sense (and what introvert doesn’t have that!) exercise in cold weather both stimulates our mind, increases our endorphins and keeps our body finely tuned.
Warming up and dressing warmly with a steady pace even if we just go walking, or for a shorter jog during colder weather, will keep us healthy.
When we live in and have the good fortune of experiencing winter where we live, we can let that endorphin release motivate us.
Oooh baby it’s cold outside. So what?
3. Your best exercise partner is yourself.
My introvert friends, we know we’re in our heads, a lot. Reflect on what you know are the benefits of exercise. The truth is, without a strong body we cannot have the sharpest mind! Stop pretending you are not hurting yourself by putting off getting into and staying in shape.
The best thing about exercising is we can choose to do it alone. 
Then start small during the holidays because there’s going to be great success with less time to schedule any alone time.
By setting our self up with success now, we also have the added benefit of giving our self more energy for the party encounters we just will not be able to wriggle out of this time of year.
And if you need accountability, that’s as easy as asking a friend to hold you accountable by asking you about your exercise for the week.
4. De-stress, re-energize that introvert feeling.
For some people exercise is all about staying fit and keeping healthy. For certain these are benefits for all of us.
But for introverts, whatever routine we choose we will reap those rewards, we are also going to renew and recharge our self on an energetic level.
The cold weather isn’t necessarily inviting for endurance training! But we will find our stamina improve and that means, increased over all health and energy levels.
[Tweet “The holidays give an introvert the perfect excuse to gradually increase physical activity.”]
Studies continually find the more we move, and it doesn’t have to be major, the the more energy we feel! This is one reason I love the 7-minute scientific workout through out any day. Set my Pomodoro timer and every 25 minutes when it pleases me, I’m either hula hooping or engaging in some kind of 7-minute workout.
It feels so good. My mood lifts and my energy recharges.
Now, if either you know your MBTI style, or are going to take the free assessment mentioned above, then you can find your more tailored style to exercise at https://www.personalitypathways.com/article/brue-type2.html
Exercise is really about motivating our self. We might use an app to keep track of our progress. We might have that good friend to hold us accountable. It’s all about finding what works for you.
And I know from personal experience with exercise, we have the energy we need to arrive at and leave those holiday parties feeling we can more easily enjoy and be merry.
Oh Pat what a great post. I just made a note to start using my treadmill. I am the queen of excuses. I just really needed that little reminder. The say that muscle has memory, so I am looking forward to mine remembering. Perfect timing…..
Wow Arleen. How terrific it’s moved you forward to what you were already thinking about doing anyway! Indeed, timing.
Agree with you completely about the importance of exercising. What is the right choice is individual. Personally I do yoga, swim and walk a lot. Notice the difference if, for some reason, I have not been able to exercise for a while.
So true Catarina. I think once we find a particular mix of exercise we enjoy, it will keep us motivated and committed. And oh my gosh, when I travel, if I don’t even make time to get in some purposeful walking do I feel it.
Exercise and I have not been the best of friends. I start a routine and then before I know it, the excuses begin to get in the way. Whether it’s walking or yoga or stationary cycling I need to stick to it. Therein lies the problem for me. Sticking to it… Big sigh….
So then Ms Cheryl what is YOUR plan to get some sticktuitiveness to exercise you enjoy? Let us know.
Going to a gym is such a daunting prospect for me. I would like to set up a personal gym room. The idea of people watching me exercise is less than appetising. 🙁
Thanks for the laugh Jenny! Sounds like the beginning of the plan to work out at home – set up a personal gym room. Make it fun!
For a number of reasons I can’t exercise but I do move a lot and my office is upstairs so that helps – going up and down stairs 4 or 5 times a day is good. But I do believe strongly that if you can exercise not only keeps you healthy but also agile and young.
Moving, versus sitting, as you describe what you do Lenie IS exercise. Great for you! For sure it does turn on the healthy, agile and young in us.
I have long been a proponent of exercise and have been working out since the 80’s. Though I do admit that in typical introvert style, I hated going to the gym. I used to go at 5 AM as I found it afforded the least amount of human mingling possible! Laugh! Now, I have a small gym in my condo building where I exercise at 7:00AM and for the same reasons. I have the place to myself! I do it not so much to look better, but I find it keeps me thinking more clearly. Not that I always think clearly but….well, you know:) What a great post!
I so get what you are saying Jacqueline. I love not having to “look” good to go work up and sweat and have my hair looking all straggly.
Great tips…I am laughing because I have the same experience in the gym with my boyfriend as you had with your husband!
It is kind of funny isn’t it Noelle? Yes it was enough to make me give up on it for a short while. You likely know how “anti-social” we’re made to feel. But I’m way over that too. Thanks.
Hitting the gym on a regular basis keeps me sane, but god does it get tougher when the snow starts falling. But I know it’s important to keep yourself healthy, which I continue to exercise as much as I can. When I’m in the gym, I almost always leave my cell phone in my locker and bring my headphones and iPod. That’s the only way I can ensure I get the most out of my time in there.
Andrew it’s brilliant to leave your cell phone in your locker. I’ve found headphones and an iPod can often be the perfect more introverted retreat from the world in the noisiest of places, like a gym. Thanks.
All tips are great. Exercise is very important part of our lives. This surly keeps our body and mind active and sharp. I try to do exercise as it helps to release negative energy and helps to develop a positive mind and thoughts.
Andleeb, sounds like you know what those endorphins that get released are all about! And as I mentioned, if you’re an introvert, and in your head as much as a typical more introverted person is, it’s like a breath of fresh air sometimes when the surge of good thoughts and feelings come in. Thanks!
I am a big fan of cold weather exercise (that’s as opposed to being a big fan of exercise in general).
I think it is invigorating. Usually I do it on a bike. And if it’s cold enough, you’re likely to have the local park all to yourself.
Cold exercise, in a park, just you and those birds that make the park their home all year long. Yes Ken – sounds like a perfect combination of nature and man for the introvert in all of us! Thanks.
I may actually be slowing down my exercise routine this holiday time as I am in the gym all weekdays unless I am travelling. Seeing that I gym alone all the time I guess there is a small introvert in me.
Welli, we can get so into exercise we over do it. More does not always mean better! I think it’s more the consistency and the intensity over the long haul. So sounds like you deserve a break. Thanks.
Couldn’t agree more with you about the gym! I gave it a try in earnest for about a year and even though I felt great physically I dreaded the time I had to spend there. Then one afternoon I was in the locker room after a workout and caught a man trying to sneak up on me in the shower – I screamed bloody murder and he ran out. That was my excuse not to go back. I love walking (don’t normally have to worry about cold weather on Maui) and exercising at home – yep, works for me. 🙂
I’d say that is a darn good excuse Marquita! One I wouldn’t hesitate to use. Has to have awful memories. But so glad working out at home, in beautiful Maui (been there 2 or 3 times) and why wouldn’t it! How wonderful. Thanks.
Exercise is important with so many benefits. Finding something that works for you and you will enjoy enough to keep doing is the trick. The gym and certain types of group exercise classes may be uncomfortable for many introverts. Walking is an option. It can be done almost anywhere and alone. I like to walk and it seems to help my arthritic feet. However, I would encourage introverts not to completely rule out all forms of group exercise because of a negative gym experience. Small classes and certain forms of exercise may work well for an introvert. Both yoga and tai chi are non-competitive and concentrate on what your individual body is capable of and what works for you. Tai chi, for example, is in many ways an individual experience but enhanced by the energy (chi) flowing when done in a group.
Valuable points Donna. Small groups can work for the more introverted. For me walking is a double purpose, exercise AND quiet time alone. Love that. Thanks.
Hi Pat, well the picture of you in the Santa Claus suit just made my day! So darn cute. 🙂 There is nothing like a walk in the cold snowy air to stimulate your body and mind…i can remember! But luckily I don’t have to deal with that any more. I do find other excuses to put off exercise, but I really need to stop that.
Thanks Susan! I love finding those websites that let you “Santa Claus yourself!” Maybe one reason I have become so committed to exercise is my belief that, without my health, nothing else matters all that much. Know what I mean?
How brilliant is it to connect personality to a type of exercise? That’s great! I sort of stumbled across mine several years ago. About a year later was when I discovered that it was recommended for me. Who knew? Thanks for the article and expertise, Patricia!
Awe shucks Deidre. I appreciate that compliment. It’s just that, it makes a lot of sense to me. Whatever our reason IS, exercise is one of the easiest, least cost, habits we can take on for our health!
My jogging routine had to fall by the wayside when I started the T25 videos, but then the dog became a total annoying girl when she didn’t get to go running four times a week, so now I’m back to jogging. I actually don’t mind it too much to run in the colder weather. About 45 degrees is just right anyway, though I don’t tend to do if it’s less than 25 out. We even returned our treadmill to Costco because it’s just more enjoyable to pound the pavement (and exercise the mutt at the same time).
This made me smile so much Jeri! My little Chanel, a miniature poodle who never weighed in more than a toy poodle in her 16 years, HATED walking! That likely did make it easier for me to find many other kinds of exercise routines that I rotate regularly when I get bored. Totally agree with you on the treadmill deal!
I think exercise is great all the time, but it is vital during the holidays. This is not just because of the holidays, it is also because the days are shorter and nights longer, colder temps etc. You need exercise just to fell better during this time.
GREAT point William – all about what happens in the winter season. It also makes me think it also a way for introverts to recharge their energy during an otherwise energy zapping time of year. Thanks.
Patricia I LOVE your little Santa…how cute are you? I’m a student of Ashtanga Yoga 1- 2 hours 6 days a week. The benefits of my daily practice transcend every aspect of my being, mental physical, emotional, and intellectual. I’m so grateful for my time on the mat.
Hohoho Pamela! hahaha. You and Catarina have that love of yoga which I so admire. I have yet to try it and it is in the back of my mind next time I try some new routine. Thanks.
Hi Patricia,
You simply woke me up from my slumber with this inspiring post. I am an introvert, people knows that about me, even my wife and the little kid ( girl).
I will start with exercise to see if i can work on this introvert stuff ( just bought a skipping rope).
Thanks for sharing.
James that’s terrific that you have a skipping rope! It’s the perfect way to start or restart with exercise because it’s so fun.
All are great tips. I need to start back exercising asap.