Episode 474: Zarina Del Mar: Why Walking is the Best Exercise You're Ignoring

13m
What if the best exercise on the planet costs nothing and requires no equipment? Movement expert Zarina Del Mar returns to the Habits and Hustle podcast to cut through the fitness industry noise and reveal why simple walking trumps expensive supplements, complex workout programs, and trendy wellness hacks.

We explore why the fitness industry's "all or nothing" mentality is failing us, despite being surrounded by more wellness content than ever while becoming unhealthier as a society. We also dive into why your body knows better than social media influencer and how to break free from the cycle of extreme dieting and over-supplementation.

Zarina Del Mar is a fitness personality who transitioned from practicing law to teaching body awareness and sustainable movement practices to women worldwide.

What we discuss:

Why Walking is the Ultimate Gateway Drug to Fitness

The Myth of Calories In, Calories Out for Real People

Why We're Unhealthier Despite More Wellness Content Than Ever

How to Ignore Fitness Industry Research and Trust Your Body

The All-or-Nothing Culture That's Sabotaging Your Health

Why Social Media Supplement Advice is Dangerous

Intuitive Movement vs. Following Expert Rules

How to Handle Fitness Naysayers and Lost Causes

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Find more from Zarina Del Mar:

Website: https://www.whateva.club/

Instagram: @zarina_del_mar_world

Find more from Jen:

Website: https://www.jennifercohen.com/

Instagram: @therealjencohen

Books: https://www.jennifercohen.com/books

Speaking: https://www.jennifercohen.com/speaking-engagements

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Transcript

Hi, guys, it's Tony Robbins.

You're listening to Habits and Hustle, Gresham.

Hey, friends, you're listening to Fitness Friday on the Habits and Hustle podcast, where myself and my friends share quick and very actionable advice for you becoming your healthiest self.

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I think there's a lot of misconceptions.

Give me a couple other myths in the fitness business.

In a fitness business.

In the fitness world.

In a fitness world.

Okay, so calories in, calories out.

I realize that it doesn't work at all.

Because first of all, it's not suitable for me, for my lifestyle.

I don't want to count calories, even if I have these beautiful apps where I need to put the photos or like describe my

meal.

And our body is constructed more complex than just calories in, calories out, because you may not even move.

you you consume food and you spend let's say it depends but 12 1200 or uh 1500 depends on your uh parameters calories per day without moving at all i don't think that uh you need to count calories and um

heavy lifting and and sprints you need to practice you need to find the best way the best types of movement for yourself just your appropriate time your appropriate way of movement.

You don't need to listen to.

You're saying a myth is heavyweight and yeah, that is the only way to stay healthy, to get toned and sculpted body.

Maybe they are selling something, maybe they really believe.

But many, many people, they are praying for researches.

Like, oh, that's that's uh recent research telling we need this and we need that.

I am making a research now understand the subject of the research.

Who are these people?

Yeah.

I was going to say.

men or women or so you cannot rely just on research without practicing and i think most people unfortunately are selling something and so when they're selling their own programs they're gonna like gear that whatever their reel is to the program that they're sending uh selling right so if it's a supplement they're gonna say you need the best you know calcium if it's uh you know strength training you need this is you need heavy weight i think that to be totally honest i think the best best best best exercise on the planet is just plain walking.

It's free.

You don't need much.

You just need your legs.

It's the best mood enhancer.

It's the best way to, you know, just get the circulation going.

And like, because it's not sexy or fun.

people think it's not enough but it's free so no i say it's free and it's like it's the easiest thing in the world like but you need to make some mobility because we have these bad patterns or bad walking patterns movement patterns like even me i feel like flexibility and mobility is super important

to support yourself like before walking and and after just intuitively what do you feel where you feel tension work on this part of your body just move in the way you can move well I think over I think flexibility and mobility are extremely important, right?

Because, but I'm saying to get someone from going from zero to something, just go for a walk, right?

And I think like that to me is a gateway drug to all the other fitness modalities out there, right?

If you're not even able to go for a walk around your block, then we have a problem, right?

Like to me, if you can shift the way you think, like your, your, your, like how you feel and, and how you, how your mood is, go for a walk and that will lead you as like a ripple effect.

Once you feel a little bit better about that, then you can work on your flexibility.

Then you can work on maybe like getting a little stronger by doing this weight or doing like gentle movement, right?

But like people have to like, you got to meet them where they are.

And the problem is with all the all the attention and money and popularity around wellness trends and fitness trends and longevity hacks, we are a society and a nation that's fatter than ever, more unhealthy than ever,

more miserable and lonely than ever, which what is that telling us, right?

Like all this noise is just noise.

Nobody's actually doing the thing that they should be doing, which is really kind of a problem in itself.

So like to undercomplicate, not overcomplicate it, just tell people to go for a walk.

And then from there, you know, maybe just drink some more water.

Like, but people are looking for magic pills.

And then it's a sad, I just think that like so much time and energy is being spent on something that really doesn't require any of these fans.

You know, for people like you and I, like, we're already at a certain place and level and we love it and we're doing everything.

So then you can like supplement with like all the other accoutrements.

But for people who are doing nothing, like walk.

And these people who are doing nothing, they usually send me messages like, prove me, is it safe?

Show me that it is absolutely safe and it will bring.

Not safe.

You're walking?

Like any of my advice or any of my movement in respect of movement.

So the one who doesn't do anything,

they prefer to sit and to criticize.

To criticize.

I mean, those people, by the way, to me, are a lost cause.

If I were you, I would just like not even, I would just delete that comment because there are people out there who just want to complain and be a naysayer.

If people want to do something, they're going to figure out a way to do something, right?

There are those people who are overwhelmed and have no idea where to start.

And that's where I say just go for a walk.

But there's also, there's a bunch of assholes out there who just like, just want to complain and want to be a victim and don't want to do anything and will find fault in everything.

You can't like worry about those people, you got to worry about all the other people in the middle.

That's what I think, anyway.

Absolutely.

And about walking,

you're telling them

this is the state of balance in your body.

When you feel that you're supporting your body and your nervous system with your brain are doing their job and you don't need more.

Like, if you don't want to become super big, you don't want to become a bodybuilder, it is more than enough to just move all day round and to keep this level, level of physical activity.

Like, yeah, yeah, your brain will do everything, you don't need much.

Uh, but we are all all or nothing, uh, nothing or

the

best, the best shape in my life, but you can be in the middle.

By the way, I'm a victim of that.

You know, I sit there and you know, I should practice what I preach sometimes because I'm an all or nothing too, right?

Like, I'm the kind of person if I eat, like, if I'm eating and I've had like a thing of french fries, I'm like, forget, I'm gonna have another order of french fries and I'm gonna have the pizza.

Like, I like, you know what I mean?

Like, I have to practice.

That's my thing.

That's my killie seal.

It's really hard.

I'm not a good, I'm not really great with moderate, like, moderation in that way.

But you're right.

I think we are a culture of like, we're gonna, we're gonna go extreme or we're gonna like do nothing, right?

And it is so much better if we can find a place where we can like be more in the middle and be more, you know, in moderation.

What do you, what's your take on supplements?

Do you take anything?

I take vitamin D, omega-3,

and

some supplements for my digestion, because now I'm curious about gut health, about gut microbiome.

And I'm exploring, I'm just trying to find the best way to feel myself good.

And it is just you take notes, you take any supplements for, let's say, for a month, and then just sit down and write down what's happening with you, what's happening with your digestion, what's happening with your, let's say, movement.

Maybe you, what I've noticed, when I'm doing my mobility before breakfast, I'm feeling better than after.

But now many, many OBGYans and professors telling that all women should have their breakfast within 30 minutes after they woke up because this is the cortisol level, et cetera, et cetera.

But what I feel, it is comfortable for me to do my mobility.

Like I feel that the range of motion is better when I'm doing it before breakfast without eating anything during the night.

So this is like my body.

I feel it.

That's why I'm doing it.

So the same with the supplements.

Maybe you feel that you have gained like huge range of motion when you're taking your supplements or your mood become more stable.

So rely on yourself, not on what's and of course blood work, like every time you're

blood work, because how do you know if you're if you're people are just taking supplements willy-nilly, they don't know if they even are deficient or not and they can be taking them for like years on end and they can overdo it like I did on vitamin D I was initially told oh yeah you need to take vitamin D okay so I take vitamin D like everybody else and then lo and behold I get my my blood work and I'm way over in vitamin D so that happens all the time people need to be like they people are just taking whatever because they're looking on social media and they're like oh that person is talking about that.

I'll do it.

Like you don't know like your body might everyone's different.

What you are might be deficient in or is very different than what I am versus him and so I think we need to take control of that stuff and don't just take supplements because someone on social media told you and then if you take something you should be tested every I think every four months every yeah I'm low in vitamin D that's why I'm taking it right I know that

maybe it won't be in a year from now right like or people start a vitamin or they take a supplement and they just keep on taking it for like that's what happened with me and the vitamin D they can start taking something and then five years later they're still taking the same thing thing where they're now like over the limit.

So you got to be super careful.

But well, thank you for being on the show.

Thank you.

Thank you, Jen.

Just what I can say, you need to move, guys.

In a way,

you were born, you were structured to move.

Find your joyful

movement sequences, anything.

Maybe intuitive movement.

Because many, many of my subscribers are telling me, oh, wow, I didn't know that this is right, the right way of movement, because i thought it was just my intuition telling me and uh i didn't i didn't um so many people are underestimate what they are doing but uh your body knows everything i i believe that it's it's like uh the main source of information your body thank you um where do people find you I'm on Instagram, Zarina Delmar, I'm on YouTube, I'm on TikTok, I'm on former Twitter, so LinkedIn.

I'm everywhere, everywhere.

Where can't we find you, I should say, right?

Yeah.

Well, thank you for being on the show.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Bye-bye.