Oct 29-Katarina "Kat" Sokac, Oatmeal, Richard Dryfuss, Quiet Riot, Homer Simpson, Winona Ryder, Tracee Ellis Ross

0:19 Hi everyone and welcome to History and Factories about today. Today is October the 29th. Now, as we all get older, our bodies do change. Now, instead of looking for that beach body and all cut and ripped by the time you get 50, health kind of turns to quality of life. You know, can you do enough? Do whatever you want to do. That's actually really important, whether you're in your 50s and 60s, or you've got to start off on your 30s and 40s and get some good habits so you don't have to work so hard at it when you're in your 50s. Now, mobility and flexibility, that's super important. So I decided to bring in an international expert. That's right. She grew up in Croatia. She's in Portugal. She has clients all over Europe, America, Canada. Now, her name's Katarina, but she said I can call her Kat. Well, it's actually on her website. Kat, why don't you introduce yourself? Hi, Jeff.

1:08 Thank you for such an intro. Well, I think that you said a lot already. I like to say that I transform soap folks into supple leopards. So I try to make people feel less old than they really are. And sometimes that's hard. Indeed. But it's possible. So instead of people going, well, you know what? I'll just make a New Year's resolution. Why don't I just start now and be healthy for the holidays when I'm looking at it? Exactly. You can always find valid reasons why not. So if you have a total couch potato who's just been slacking off for years and says, you know what? I've got some young grandkids now. I want to start being able to play on the floor with them and all this kind of stuff. But I'm really out of shape. Realistically, if they start... following your exercises and start moving and walking and stuff like that. How long will it be until they can actually start seeing results?

2:01 Well, depending on their effort and the time invested, I always say first make it a habit and then progress from there. So don't try to be perfect from the very start, but just start doing something every day. Maybe just one move, maybe it's five minutes, but just doing something every day. And when you were young, you were on the, what, you did power lifting or bodybuilding and that kind of stuff? Yes, I did bodybuilding. And then Pilates and yoga? That as well. So you know what you're talking about. No, I combine everything, all the perks from all the, all the, of these parts of fitness and I kind of combine it into my approach.

2:47 And if you're wondering, when she talks about how she takes all this and combines it all, she's, Went to school to be an architect, so she's got some brains up there, too. So she knows what she's talking about. Thank you. I think I do. So the main thing is, I think I've seen enough of your stuff. And just so you guys know, at the end, we'll have links so you can see some of her videos. We'll get you to her website. And she writes a weekly letter that kind of encourages you and all that kind of stuff. So it's fun. What is the first thing that when a new client comes to you, you kind of one-on-one with What do you kind of like tell them how to get started? First, we do assessment just for me to understand where the client is at, what they can do, what they cannot do. Maybe the compensation patterns, how the right compares to the left side. Usually there are always some kind of imbalances in your body. And according to what we find out, I give a plan to follow. So I try to make it as simple as possible. Lives are already complicated enough and our to-do lists are endless. So I try to make it very targeted so that we focus on the things that move the needle, not to overwhelm a person and make it even more demotivating to move.

4:06 And I'm sure a lot of your clients are real hesitant in the beginning because, let's be honest, stretching and stuff, that seems kind of like, it feels like they're going to get hurt. I think it's more of a mental struggle. And I noticed that men struggle with that more than women because it's uncomfortable for them because they feel like a plank, like a brick. So they're maybe used to excelling in other parts of life. And this is something that they suck at, or at least in the beginning. So it's not a comfortable or a motivating action, at least not in the beginning. For you, every day, is there one stretch that you do just to get yourself going?

4:51 One stretch. Well, every day when I wake up, I do yoga. So let's say I'm in a downward dog at least three times a day. That's true. Hey, okay. So let's, well, stretching is a little, and mobility, that's a little different. When we want people to be walking and do something, get some kind of their heartbeat up too. But it makes it easier to do that if they've got some mobility and a little flexibility there. Yes. Very important. Okay. So they come in off the streets, they get ahold of you and they said, I want to be flexible. I want to do this and all this kind of stuff. You do your assessment of them and you get them all figured out on what they need to do. Now with flexibility, like if you run or lift weights and that kind of stuff, you know, you're supposed to give a day off or two, you know, to get your body to rejuvenate. When you're working on flexibility, do you need, do you just do it every day or do you need a time for your body to kind of like recover?

5:50 Well, depending on, um, on your practice, if you do weighted mobility or some advanced flexibility drills, then for sure. But if you are just trying to keep being active or limber, then every day is fine. Oh, cool. Okay, here in the United States, we have these things that are called national days. So every day will be like a national pizza day or a national burrito day or something like that. You got a boring day, but at least it's kind of healthy. O-A-T-M-E-A-L O-A-T-M-E-A-L O-M-E-A-L O-A-T-M-E-A-L. O-A-T-M-E-A-L.

6:34 Oatmeal. Everywhere. Today is National Oatmeal Day. Woohoo! I think you probably call it porridge over there, don't you? Um, yeah. So I guess they want us to eat healthy. We have Halloween coming up. That's the day when everybody just eats candy. Now, oats. They were the last grain to be domesticated. People started farming them about 3,000 years ago. Now, when they started farming oats, they only grew them for horse feed. Yeah, people wouldn't eat them. Wasn't until the 1600s when they started eating them over in Scotland. Then in 1877 in Ohio, Quaker Oats was born. Oatmeal became popular all across the United States and spread over to Europe. Now, they didn't know back then, but actually, oatmeal is one of the healthiest foods you can eat. Great source of fiber, all kinds of vitamins and minerals, and it'll lower your cholesterol. Now, if you complain, well, that's just boring. Well, that's kind of your fault. You know, you can kind of put Whatever you want on them. Fruits, nuts, berries, all that kind of stuff. And get this, 75% of all the houses in the United States have oatmeal in them. Do you like oatmeal?

7:40 I do. I actually eat it every day for at least 10 to 15 years. Oh, well, perfect day to celebrate for you then, isn't it? I did not even know it's a national oatmeal day. Good info for me as well. What do you put on there, berries or? I actually eat it with the protein powder and usually frozen blueberries. Okay, that's a cool segment because I wanted to actually ask you about supplements. Here, especially when you get 50, now the big things are they want everybody's taking creatine and collagen powder. Yeah, creatine is fine, but I would not necessarily advocate for collagen powder. Collagen is just a part of protein.

8:26 So if you're already taking protein powder or eating a protein rich diet, then that's not like a necessity. And I know most people are switching over. They started with collagen and then the creatine came out and they found out that creatine actually helps your brain too. It does. So it's kind of like, oh, okay. So creatine, yay. Creatine and protein. Okay. So we like that one. I was watching some of your videos. And there's one, I didn't even think about it because they're the foot, you know, how important it is to actually have flexibility in your foot. And you were talking about how, and you have some exercises on that.

9:08 So basically you think about it, having good feet is kind of important for everything. Exactly. It's actually, we say that feet are your foundation and actually decide everything, how your body moves. So you have like toe spacers. What exactly are those? Toe spacers is similar to what ladies wear in a pedicure. So what it actually does, it spreads your toes. It allows you to splay them. out like actually babies do, but as we grow up, we lose this ability. And think of your feet as claws. So your toes are actually supposed to be gripping the floor, but we are very cut off from the floor by having very cushioned shoes.

9:56 And toe separators or toe spacers actually kind of help you restore that function. Very important for the stability of your whole body. And especially if your big toe is touching the floor, that helps your glutes fire. And that's especially important for people who have lower back pain. That's cool. And And you advocate when you're around your house to walk around barefoot, right? Exactly. I'm barefoot at the moment. Okay. All righty. Let's do a little entertainment. Let's see what was going on on October 29th back in 2004. You were a young one back then. But here in the United States, the number one album was by George Strait.

10:38 He had 50 number one songs. The top song was Sierra and Pito Pablo. Yeah, they had the song Goodies. So you know that song, huh? I do. Okay, George Strait, he did have the number one country song with I Hate Everything. So you listen to much American music?

11:20 Awesome. I mean, obviously the language, but is there a big difference between Europe and American music overall? Well, you know, everyone thinks that Europe is a country. We're actually like 40 different countries, so every country has their own national music. So do you have any preference?

12:00 And we speak different languages usually, so. So do you have a preference? Do you like like pop music, rock music? I like indie music. I like house music. I like some spiritual music. The number one book over here in 2004, it was called Northern Lights. It was by Nora Roberts. The top movie was called The Grudge. An American nurse, she's working over in Tokyo and she's exposed to a supernatural curse. Yeah, it causes a person to go mad with rage and then die. Stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Baer, and Clea Duvall. So movies are probably just like the music. Every country is different. Yeah.

12:41 I'm not really a movie person. Well, you're an active person. You can't sit for too long. I actually don't have a TV. Okay. Okay. So now when people are sitting there and they start off working out with you, and let's say I came in and I said, man, my lower back is hurting. So when are you going to tell me to take my shoes off when I'm at home? Yeah. First, take your shoes off. And then we're going to get together and you're going to tell me, well, okay, here's some stretches to do. Exactly. So I do it one-on-one. That means it's kind of a live session that we do together. And according, I see what you can do and what's not. And if I see you can, we progress further. If not, I scale it down.

13:26 So when somebody starts out, how hard is it for you to gain their confidence where they actually... When they say, well, I can't touch my toes. And you say, yeah, you can. We'll get there. Yeah. I say you cannot touch your toes yet. And I think that a lot of people who work with me already trust me because they have been using my content for a long time, have already used some free resources that I also share. So I think they're already quite confident that I'm the right person for them. And so just minor pains and aches and all that kind of stuff that come with getting older and trying to alleviate that by getting some mobility and flexibility back and all that kind of stuff. But when somebody has an injury and they go through the rehab system and then they come back to you and they say, okay, I had surgery on my shoulder. Can you help me out?

14:20 Yes. Well, if they have a clearance from their doctor that they're allowed to do that. I'm not a medical professional, so I'm not going to diagnose them. I expect that they already have searched for an on-site help, and we are just here to restore mobility, strength, and stability of their joints, which is many times very restricted after an injury. Now, I've looked at your Instagram videos, and so we'll have, like I said, we're going to connect so everybody can see that. But it's like you don't want people to get bored. It seems like you have a lot of different variety of different stretches for them. I do. I actually make up a lot of movements. And they came from experience from clients, from what they can do, what they cannot, and what feels better than just like maybe classic yoga stretches and stuff.

15:13 Right. And that's one thing too. It seems to me like you're searching for the right way to motivate a person. It's like somebody, well, they need to get in shape, so they try yoga. Well, they don't like it. Well, maybe they'll like Pilates. Well, yeah, maybe. I think that what is going to help you most is what you keep doing consistently. So if you hate one kind of practice, you should find something that suits you best. So do you still lift weights, or do you just pretty much do it all by yourself? stretching and core exercises.

15:54 Well i do lift weights five times a week so it's not one is not the substitute for the other so this is strength training and this is kind of improving mobility so so. Does this core strength go hand in hand with flexibility the stronger your core is the easier it is to be flexible and the easier it is to be flexible the easier it is to be. Strong Well, actually, your flexibility is highly influenced by how strong you are because sometimes the body stiffens because it feels weak, not because you have not been stretching. So stiffness is many times just like a protective mechanism, like too hard on your body. So if your core is also not strong enough, your lower back is many times going to stiffen just for you not to move it too much for an injury to happen. So... Um, it disconnected.

16:48 This one kind of surprised me. I was sitting there and, uh, I was told that once you're at 50, you're done with sit-ups. Do not do sit-ups anymore. They're not going to do any good. They're going to do more harm than they're not. So you're supposed to do just stand up squats. And I was like, okay, well, how much weight? No, you don't put weight. You just do the stand up squats. Does that really work? Oh, well, no, not really. I mean, you need to put some resistance. Sometimes just the body weight is a resistance, but, um, Again, we are always trying to like find one exercise to do all the other, all the modalities. And this is not really how it works. It's, I would say, just like a clickbait for social media. This one exercise is going to solve your problems. There's not a single magic exercise.

17:35 It's your efforts. That's the magical. So it needs to be complete. You need to just do complete everything. Exactly. You know, it can be a shorter practice, but like, don't expect that you're going to solve everything with one movement. Well, let's say there's no cheating. You have to actually put in the work. Exactly. Okay. Let's see what happened in history in October the 29th. The year 539 BC, the King of Prussia, he was Cyrus the Great, and he marched into Babylon after capturing the Babylonians. Now, the first thing he did when he got there, he freed all the Jewish slaves. They were being held there. They'd been held over there for about 70 years. Now, Cyrus, he was a pagan, but he believed in all kinds of gods. And honestly, he didn't really care about any of the gods. He kind of thought himself was a god. Now, he was the only Persian leader who was like this. The Persians, they did not like the Jews at all. They're the ones who actually came up with crucifixion as the form of punishment.

18:30 It wasn't the Romans who did that. It was the Persians. But Cyrus, see, like I said, he thought he was godlike. So he kind of wanted to impress the Jews and their God. So that's why he freed them all. He let them go. But what Cyrus did not know is if anybody out there has read the Old Testament, the Jewish book, in the book of the prophet Isaiah, he told all about Cyrus 200 years before Cyrus was born. Well. England's Walter Raleigh, or Sir Walter Raleigh. Now, he was the one who had brought back the first tobacco from America to England. Now, Walter, he was a really big friend of Queen Elizabeth. She paid for all his trips, and he'd bring her back all kinds of goodies from the New World. Well, Queen Elizabeth died. She was childless, so the Scottish King James, he became the King of England. Now, James, every son, he was paranoid. See, he thought Raleigh and Raleigh's buddies and his business partners, they were trying to overthrow him. So today, in 1618, James had Raleigh and all his buds. Yeah, he had them all beheaded. Now, truthfully, they were trying to overthrow him, but he couldn't have known that, so he was just paranoid. In 1811, the first steamboat on the Ohio River left Pittsburgh, went down to New Orleans. It'll get down there on January 12th.

19:47 I'd probably be going from like Sweden down to Portugal, that kind of a trip. You like the Olympics? Do I like the Olympics? Oh, well, not really that I watch that. As I said, I don't have TV, but I'm okay with the Olympics. Well, do you like gymnastics? Gymnastics? Yeah, I think it's like, I admire people who do it, like they're skilled. Why am I talking about that? Well, in 1904, the Olympics were held in St. Louis, Missouri, here in the United States. This American gymnast named George Iser, he won six Olympic medals in gymnastics in one day. He won three golds for the vault, the pommel bars, and the rope climb. He won two silmers for the pommel horse and the all-around. And he won a bronze for the horizontal bar. I probably should have told you about George, though.

20:33 He only had one leg. Yeah, he lost the other leg when he was a kid. He got hit by a train. So during that competition, he actually did it with a wooden leg. Oh, it's okay. Do you know the dance, the Charleston? Have you ever heard of that? I have no idea. Okay. Well, in 1923, it made its debut. It was huge across during the 20s and that kind of stuff. Not that big. Okay. In 1929, it was Black Tuesday. That's the day that the stock market crashed here in the United States. Over the next four days, 25% of all the mint value left. And over the next three years, 89% of the whole stock market was gone. That's why today, this is when it all started. That's why it's called the first day of the big depression. So I had to do a little research here to figure out the difference.

21:17 Do you use the Euro? Yeah, we do use the Euro. To try and make it so it might get to you. Well, you use a ballpoint pen to just write with? Yeah. Okay. Those were invented here in the United States, you know. And in 1945, the first ballpoint pens went on sale. $ 12. 50 a piece. So that's right. Not a pack. Each pin was $ 12. 50. So here in the United States today, that'd be the equivalent of $ 232. In Europe, that'd be $ 206 for every one of those little pins. But get this, they sold 10,000 of them that first day.

21:57 Innovation. All right. Now you probably haven't seen, you don't watch movies and stuff like that, but all the Americans out there, the movie, The Perfect Storm. That's one with George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg That happened today in 1991. That's when the fishing boat, the Andrea Gale, was lost. It was out there sword fishing and all that kind of stuff. After, in 2015, now they'd been doing it for 35 years, China, they entered their one-child policy. So the people of China, they could have as many kids as they want. Well, it's too late. India passed them in population by about 70 million people, and the Chinese don't want any more. Their birth rate is still dropping down. Now, everybody's going to get a little sore. You know, whether they're stretching or they're lifting or they're walking or hiking and that kind of thing. We already know now that creatine is good.

22:43 If somebody's sore, what do you recommend? Ibuprofen? No, just move a little bit. Don't go over-the-counter medications. Keep yourself warm, you know. Sauna will do a lot to get you out of soreness. So just suck it up and. Yeah, suck it up, move a little bit, you know, like... allow the blood to flow so that you achieve by moving or by heat one. Thing i think people are going to like when they watch your videos and get to know you is you're you're really practical like there's a it's like okay you want to do this so i do this you have one video where you're showing a shoulder stretch and you said um i do this so i can do this and you have then the next one you're wearing a backpack and you're able to reach around into the backpack without taking.

23:31 It off Uh, yeah, I do that every day. That's pretty cool. I mean, showing the practicality of being flexible. Yeah, exactly. So you said men are harder than women. There's different in countries are like Americans harder to work with than Europeans. Um, I think that Americans are more driven. Oh, they are. Yeah, I think. Yes. Well, that's pretty cool. I love, uh, I like driven people. Well, And a lot of people say we're lazy. I would not say, you know, like 80% of my American clients, they work out like early morning, some early as 5am. So I'm like the first thing that they see.

24:15 Well, at least you're cute. So that's a good thing to wake up to. Thank you. So how much do you put into cardio? Oh, I myself personally. Well, when you're trying to get people to. Well, actually cardio is not a part of the program. So I usually focus mostly on mobility and strength. Strength, stability, balance, core. So cardio is not really part of the. Coaching. Okay. So they got their strength and their balance and everything going for you. How much cardio do you do? I run two times a week, like five kilometers, 5K. But I walk daily like 20,000 steps. I hike every Saturday and I dance like at least two times per week.

25:03 So I get my cardio through different ways. See, that's what we just talked about. You like variety. Exactly. So hiking, that's one that's universal. Everybody likes doing that. And that really, talk about your balance, you need that and you need your core strength so you can have your backpack. One thing I think that's pretty cool about you is you don't really sell products you sell yourself and all that kind of stuff. Like I've seen where people come up and say, Hey, where did you get that toast spreader? You know, what brand is that? And you say, ah, just get anyone. Yeah. I'm not selling it. I'm not, I'm not hawking it for anybody. Well, I do have some collaborations with, uh, with brands, but, um, I would rather like invest time to sell my own service than just like be an affiliate. So I do, uh, have partnerships with, uh, with brands that I also personally use and recommend to my clients, but I'm not here like to be a marketplace for everything.

26:05 Oh, that's cool. You're not a pitch man. You just fly about it like, yeah, this is what I use. Yeah, exactly. I train my clients how I train myself. Should we see who was born on October the 29th? Tell me. Actor Richard Dreyfuss. He's 79. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. First got known in the movie American Graffiti. Then Jaws, Close Encounter, The Third Kind. Won a Best Actor Oscar. For The Goodbye Girl. He was 30 years old when he won that. He was the youngest to win it.

26:51 It wasn't until Adrian Brody actually beat him. He was 29 when he went for The Pianist. I guess my favorite Dreyfuss movie was Stakeout. Richard, he had one daughter and two sons from his first wife. Married his third wife. In 2006. So you like dancing, basically. I do. You had any experience with 1980s heavy metal? No, not really. When you were studying in Germany, they probably really banged their head to that.

27:49 I guess so. I'm just saying. Well, see, that was Kevin Dubrow. He sang lead for Quiet Riot. He was born in Hollywood, California in 1955. Helped form Quiet Riot in 1973. 1983, their album Mental Health. It became the first heavy metal album to go number one in the United States and went pretty much number one around the world. Some of their big hits are Come On, Feel the Noise, Mama, We're All Crazy Now, Mental Health, Bang Your Head. Kevin, he died from a cocaine overdose in 2007 at 52 years old. Now, his brother, He's pretty famous now. He's a plastic surgeon. His name is Terry Dubrow. He has a TV show here in the United States. It's called Botched. Basically, he comes on, and when they have plastic surgery and it doesn't go well, he fixes it. Good for him.

28:30 Okay, you don't need a TV. I think you're going to know who this guy is. Actor Dan Castellaneta. He's 69. He was born in Chicago. He is famous worldwide for being the voice of Homer Simpson. You know who Homer Simpson is? I know. That part I do. Okay, now on the show he also voices Grandpa, Barney, Krusty the Clown. I think he's Groundkeeper Willie too. His normal speaking voice is nothing like Homer though. Dan says in order to speak like Homer, he has to put his chin in his chest and turn off his IQ. He's been married since 1987. Congrats. Seen the movie Star Wars?

29:11 Not really watched the whole thing. I know like glimpses of it, but not really though. Cowboy. You know, like, who Princess Leia was? Yeah, yeah, I do. Okay. Well, she had a stepsister. Her name was actress, or is actress, Jolie Fisher. She's 59. She's born in Burbank, California. Famous parents were Eddie Fisher and Connie Stevens. Now, Jolie and Carrie, they were half-sisters. Now, Jolie, she got famous for a TV show called Ellen and then Till Dark. Biggest movie was Inspector Gadget. Jolie married in 1996, and they have three daughters. Actress Wynonna Ryder. She was born in Wynonna, Minnesota. She's 55. She was in the first movie, Lucas. Then Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Reality Bites. She's been nominated for Oscars for The Age of Innocence and Little Women. Wynonna, she's been with her boyfriend since 2011. Do you know anything about the Supremes, a band out of the 60s?

30:03 No idea. Diana Ross? No. Well, her daughter is actress Tracy Ellis Ross. She was born in Los Angeles. She's 54. Her mom is the famous Diana Ross. Tracy, she got known on the TV shows Girlfriends, Black-ish, Grown-ish, Mixed-ish. Her big movie was Candy Cane Lane. So with Christmas coming up, if you want a cute little movie, Candy Cane Lane will probably be good for you. Maybe I remember. Okay. So what are we going to tell people now? They're going to go to your website. They're going to watch your videos. And how are we going to get them moving? Download the free mobility plan. Start moving from there. See where you're at. And then see if it makes sense for you to continue working on it. Okay.

30:49 We forget to talk about anything? I don't think so. Hopefully they're all motivated now. They want to go out and do something. I hope. They just need to see a couple of videos and I think they'll be fine. I do too. And one, I'm actually putting a link right too. And I was holding this for the last, she has this video. It says I'm 33. He's 66. And you think, yeah, this has got to be a takeoff. It's a guy that dude looks 66. I mean, he doesn't look like a buff or anything. And he is matching her split screen on all these exotic stretches that she is doing. He's doing them right now with her. Exactly a lot is possible it's just you know like your mind is your biggest obstacle i believe not your body.

31:35 Well you worked wonders with that that was trust me you guys all want to get off your butts and steroids after that okay we end with a quote of the day it's sir walter raleigh we talked about him earlier he was 65 when he was beheaded today he said the basic principle of a tyrant is to unarm his people with their weapons, their money, and all the ways they can resist, exist his power. Well, thank you a lot. You've been fun, Kat. Thank you. Okay. Now we have a request we end on in this country. So you can't dance to it really, but it comes from Liz out in Orlando. She wants to, well, you can dance to this song. You like to go to clubs and get a little, you like.

32:16 Oh, sometimes more to parties than to clubs. Um, Do you mind sipping a little alcohol every once in a while? Not really. I don't really drink alcohol for five years already. Okay. Well, this is for your friends then. Liz wants to hear this song. It's from Christy Lamb, who's from Australia. She has a song. It's called Tipsy. So you guys all have an awesome day, and we'll talk tomorrow. Been a hell of a week. Got me pushed to my limits. Bout to lace up my boots and kick it on back. Yeah, I can taste the weekend.

32:57 Ain't got to worry about a thing. When I'm here. Just want to have a few drinks, line. Them up straight. Want to DJ. The kind that makes the floor shake. Singing goodbye, started singing all night with you. Feeling like a dancing queen, another crown on me.