Health is a description of events that affect our quality of life and longevity. Joanna is healthy because she eats vegetables and walks daily. Sean is not healthy because he sits on the couch pounds bags of cheese curls.

Choosing to be healthy, or not, is largely a 20th- and 21st-century problem. We live in a period of abundance and too much free time. The scientific revolution gave us research, technology, and recommended _best_cultural practices.

We have the playbook: the right and wrong things to do.

If you are sedentary, eat like crap, and forget to exercise, then your body responds.
If you are active, eat well, and remember to exercise, then your body responds.

Your body responds to the inputs given.

When it comes to figuring out the best odds to live our best lives into our 80’s, 90’s, and 100’s, the formula is pretty much set. There is little benefit in yet another study telling us that by engaging in exercise and physical activity over the long-term, good things happen. It only bolsters the argument one more notch.

We know this. People live longer. The body responds and it takes care of itself.

This is where the decision comes in.

Making the decision to be fit is the most important behavior to engage in outside of the target fitness behaviors (e.g., running, lifting) themselves.

You have to decide that living longer is important to you.
You have to decide that living a higher quality of life is important to you.

By definition, this decision is a _ precursor _behavior.

A precursor behavior is an event that reliably occurs prior to another (target) behavior.

(Most of the applied research on precursor behaviors emphasize a very short time period between the precursor and target behaviors. Say, every time that I am about to sneeze, I wag my left knee. The left knee wag is a precursor behavior to my sneeze. Here, we will use a looser definition; any relatively short time prior to the target behavior.)

Thus, before we engage in any fitness behavior, we decided to be fit prior to that event. I set my alarm to rise and make my 6:00am group fitness class. I decided the night before that I would workout on Tuesday morning. Oh, and an additional precursor behavior….I had to sign up for my preferred class time in my gym’s app.

How many precursor behaviors can there be?

Many.

In my example, we already see two precursor behaviors:
– Deciding that I would workout on Tuesday morning
– Signing up for class

Those two behaviors are the practical decisions made in the short-term. Day -to-day and week-to-week. However, these are followed by a much bigger precursor behavior.

An ultimate precursor behavior if you will…

The decision to be fit and engage in prolonged fitness behaviors for the rest of your life. This is a value-based decision influenced by many factors. For me, the influx of sedentary behavior research articles, coming off a rather lazy and unfit late 20’s, and knowing that I should be doing something about my health and wellness led to this ultimate precursor behavior.

Again, this decision is a precursor to fitness behaviors because it occurred as an antecedent to regular workouts and successful lifts. Without this ultimate precursor decision, then those other behaviors would have been less likely to occur.

How can a decision be considered behavior?

Deciding is a behavior. In behavior analysis, we focus a lot observable behaviors that you can see and measure. Decisions are the output of thinking, imagining, planning, and figuring out what’s next.

Decisions are not observable, but we can report on them. In an approach rooted in behaviorism, thoughts and actions are considered behaviors. They happen in the environment and are influenced by their environmental inputs. Remember how I said reading research articles affected by behavior?!?!

My thoughts on working out were – and continue to be – influenced by research articles.
My behaviors related to COVID-19 are influenced by CDC recommendations.
My thoughts on lifting form are influenced by the instruction of an Olympic athlete.

Making the decision to be fit.

The decision to be fit is effortful, takes time, but has purpose. Folks can run, lift, bike, swim, flip, tumble, and turn their ways into a fit life. Often times, when asked, any “Why Do You Workout?” answer will include evidence of this precursor behavior: The decision to be fit.

You can haphazardly wander in and out of yoga class, a doctor’s referral office, or a weightlifting clinic, but without a thoughtful and purposeful ultimate precursor behavior, then you may be leaving your longevity and quality of life up to chance.

There now, go decide.

Need help after the decision is made? Learn about coaching here.