To better explain daily fluctuations in physical activity and sedentary behavior, investigations of motivation are turning from cognitive-based theories, such as Self-Determination Theory, to those centered on affect and emotion, such as the Affect and Health Behavior Framework (AHBF) and Affective-Reflective Theory (ART). This shift necessitates: a) a re-examination of older frameworks to understand ill-defined concepts, such as the action impulse and tensions and b) an inspection of competing theories from other fields that also attempt to explain dynamic changes in other health behaviors. The Dynamical Model of Desire and Elaborated Intrusion Theory commonly share with AHBF the idea that human behavior is driven strongly by desires and/or the similar concepts of wants, urges and cravings. These affectively charged motivational states change quickly and may better explain physical activity behavior from one moment to the next. Data from clinical populations with movement dysfunction or psychiatric disorders provides further evidence of these drivers of movement. Those with Restless Legs Syndrome, Akathisia, tic disorders and exercise dependence all report strong urges to move and relief when it is accomplished. Motor control research has identified centers of the brain responsible for wants and urges, mainly it seems that the inferior parietal lobule is mainly responsible for “wanting to move” while the “mesial precentral area” is responsible for the “urge to move”. Models elaborated herein differentiate between wants, desires and urges. They also conceptualize desires for movement and rest as varying by intensity, approach-orientation and as occupying independent dimensions as opposed to opposite ends of the same axis. For instance, one hypothetically might be in a state of both high desire for move and rest simultaneously. Variations in move and rest may also be associated with various stress states, like freezing or fight and flight. The first validated instrument to measure feelings of desire/want for movement and rest, the CRAVE Scale (Cravings for Rest and Volitional Energy Expenditure) is in the current section of this special issue. With these advances in theory, conceptual modelling and instrumentation, future investigations may explore the effects of desires and urges for movement and sedentary behavior in earnest.