The Fitness Instinct?

[Evita]

Does the body have a fitness instinct? ... some button we can push that will propel it towards staying fit, similar to the survival instinct?

Half-silly, half-serious pondering on a Sunday morning

 

[wet]

I don't know, social interactions can get people to do remarkable exercise, but sustaining the habits seems more individual and maybe more instinctual.

Today, I read in the San Francisco Chronicle about a guy running a 100 mile 160km race,

a woman swimming around New York City's Manhattan island 26 miles

and a woman (56) who just swam across the Atlantic ocean from Africa to South America

and um... my knee hurts ... so I'm not gonna go for my daily 50km jog ...
(50m actually!)

56-year-old becomes first woman to swim Atlantic - Yahoo! News

 

[cdavis]

Fitness "instinct"?

I don't think so, at least not for the vast majority. However, I've seen people who come to crave the feelings that exercise and being fit bring(not quite the same thing). That seems more like learned behavior than instinct. For sure, I like the feeling that comes after a good workout.

Connor