10 Personality Traits of People That Achieve Their Fitness Goals

I am a student of fitness. There is no doubt about that. Anything fitness related that I can get my hands on I read. I do my best to stay up on the latest trends, emerging data, and exposed fallacies. I also consider myself a student of people, and heck in this field it is hard not to be.

So why is it that some people ultimately succeed and achieve their goals and others don't..... no matter what they do? 

Is it really because they just haven't found that "magic" program yet? Or is the real answer that the people who have succeeded would have succeeded no matter what program they did? What about the intrinsic factors of success? These have to be important too right? In my time in this field these are some of the prominent personality traits that I feel equate success in a fitness program.

1. Attention to detail

If you want to be strong, lean, and fit you have to be detail oriented. Period. There is no way around it. Getting the most out of your lifts and activating the proper muscles takes focus and intention. Eating clean and being consistent takes proper planning an preparation. If you think making "educated guesses" will be enough it wont.

2. Organized

This trait relates to #1 but maintaining a high level of fitness takes organization. It would be nice to think we can dedicate our entire lives to training, eating, and recovering however we have families, jobs, and other numerous responsibilities to factor in. If you don't have some kind of a systematized approach you will have less than desirable results.

3. Competitive Spirit

People that reach their goals are inherently competitive and especially with themselves. They tend to hold themselves to a high standard and being average doesn't cut it for them. They want to EXCEL! Improvement is of high importance to these individuals so they usually succeed.

4. Accountable

Flat out... people that make the most gains in their program do so because they hold themselves accountable. There is no missing workouts or "having an off day". Unless they are keeled over with the flu they are getting their 3-4 days of training.... no excuses

5. Action Oriented

The successful fitness enthusiast is ACTION ORIENTED. They don't wonder if the workouts are going to fit perfectly into their schedule or if there is another place in town that may save them a few more bucks. They go on-line find the place that appeals to what they want, do a trial session to make sure the trainers are qualified, and if they are satisfied they BUY.... like that day.

6. Always a student

This one is huge. If you want to succeed in something and I mean truly be successful, to some degree you have to master it. This means always learning more about it. The people I train that can swing, snatch, press, and deadlift big weight do so because they took the time to master technique. In fact they made it a priority. They ask me questions, demand feedback, and strive to understand the movements better. This paves the way for serious improvement and fast results.

7. Analytical

To some degree you have to be. If you just walk in, do what the trainer tells you, walk out, and check out the investment isn't there. The client that succeeds is the one that spends some time after sessions analyzing performance, intensity, and progress. Honestly assesses how they are doing and where they want to go. This leads to quality visualization and thus achievement.

8. Passionate

You can't succeed if you have no passion in what you are doing. Don't believe me? Go take a sales job peddling a product that you think is a total waste of money and is of absolutely no use to anyone. Try to make a living pushing something you have no belief in whatsoever. Not likely to work right? It's the same in fitness. If you are not "bought in" and fired up about your training you will burn out quickly, or just go through the motions, and thus will never succeed in reaching your goals.

9. Punctual 

Arrive on time... EVERYTIME. Period. If you are late I assume you don't care and if you don't care I am not likely to either. This is in my opinion the easiest thing on the list. Once in a while things come up I get it but if you are late 75% of the time to your training sessions you will fail. (In a Men's Warehouse tone) "I guarantee it"

10. Persistent

Finally clients who achieve their goals do so because they are persistent. The fact is no matter how many infomercials promise the body of your dreams in 10 days fitness is a journey like any other. There are likely to be missteps, some minor backtracking, and maybe even a few nagging aches and pains here and there that require some time off. Nonetheless -- quitters never win, winners never quit, and the fish don't fry in the kitchen.... you get the gist. 

There it is what I feel to be the 10 core traits that determine success in a fitness program. This obviously doesn't encapsulate every singe personality trait that a successful person possesses as I am sure there are plenty of others but when you are striving to get into amazing shape having these is a good start. BE these things, BE successful, and above all BE happy. Good Luck!