Ann's Immaterium

Mostly physical culture but also writing, gaming, and other dark procrastinations

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Work Outs: February 7 – 13, 2021 (Octopus Fountain)

I was going through the folders of old pictures I downloaded from my phone and found some shots of a wonderfully unique water fountain we first encountered (I think) in 2018. It is down on the Santa Cruz wharf and was created by Sean Monaghan, a local artist, in 2015. He named the work Pearl Diver. The piece was commissioned by a local restaurant.

Sun, February 7th

  • After the morning stretch, I did a Core & Spine Mobility Tabata. Each exercise was done for 8 rounds of 20 seconds with a 10 second rest between rounds.
    • Dead Bugs: When I got tired and my form went bad I rested in the up position.
    • Bell Tower Crunches: 15 lbs.
    • Side Crunches
    • Cobra Pose
    • Alternating sets of Elbow Planks and Cat-Cow Stretch
  • Finished off with a single set of 10 Hindu Push Up Stretches.
  • Morning Walk over fairly hilly trails: 4.45 miles.

Calories: 1832, Protein: 176 g.

Here is a closer view of the little octopus on the bottom right part of the fountain. Notice the dents in the silver pearl. When I took these pictures back in 2018, I thought that this was the result of vandalism or something but they appear to be part of the original work judging by the pictures I saw on the artist’s site.

Mon, February 8th

Morning Walk: 2.14 miles We also walked 3.17 miles in the afternoon for a total of 5.31 miles for the day. I finished the afternoon walk with a quick set of 30 Full Squats.

Calories: 2080, Protein: 123 g.

Tues, February 9th

In the morning, I worked with the indian clubs, getting some light exercise but my primary goal was to work on some of the new swings I’ve been learning. Then I followed the “White Belt – Self Defense 2” lesson and “White Belt – Class 1” on the Global Martial Arts University website. I ended the session with a set of 30 Hindu Squats.

Calories: 2043, Protein: 137 g.

Two people can drink at once as evidenced by the crab fountain on the bottom left of Pearl Diver.

Kudos to hubby for lending his finger so I could get an action shot of the Crab Fountain.

Wed, February 10th

Morning Walk: 2.18 miles. I did some gripper work a couple of hours later.

Captains of Crush Gripper (Trainer, 100 lbs.):

  • (Set 1): Left = 10 mm x 9 reps, Right = Closed x 2 reps + 4mm x 5 reps,
  • (Set 2): Left = 8 mm x 5 reps, Right = Closed x 1 rep + 4mm x 6 reps
  • (Set 3): Left = 8 mm x 3 + 2 reps, Right = Closed x 1 rep + 4mm x 6 reps
  • (Set 4): Left = 8 mm x 3 + 2 reps, Right = Closed x 2 reps + 4mm x 5 reps
  • (Set 5): Dynamic Training with the Sport (80 lbs.) gripper. I did 20 reps with each hand. I couldn’t close it all the way with my right hand after 18 reps and after 14 reps with my left. I ended with some finger extension work and some thumb training using the gripping egg.

Afternoon Run: 3.2 miles with lots of hills. Between the hills and the places with heavy mud on the hills it turned into a run-walk in places. My goal for the run was never to stop going forward and to only walk when needed to keep my balance and/or keep my heart rate under control while traversing the steepest parts of the hills.

I did stop once to take a picture at the terminus of a little side trail that ended in a drop off down to a creek. I see quite a few joggers off in their own world with their music going while they gaze up at the redwoods reaching into the clear, blue sky and not at what they are doing. I hope none of them ever jog right off into the air because if you aren’t looking it is an abrupt drop off and it isn’t like there is a warning sign or anything.

After the run I did White Belt Drill #1. For the calisthenic this time I did 20 incline push-ups using an old picnic table, which while crumbling did seem like it still had enough life in it to hold me up. Later on, we did a second walk for 3.48 miles. Total mileage for the day, including the run, was 8.86 miles. I stretched for 30 minutes in the evening while watching television.

Calories: 2258, Protein: 161 g.

That next step could be a doozy!

Thur, February 11th

Morning Walk: 3.31 miles. Calories: 2182 Protein: 156 g.

Fri, February 12th

Morning Walk: 4.25 miles.

  • I worked with the indian clubs as a warm-up.
  • Standing Cable Rows (Hog Bar): 80 lbs. x 4 sets x 8 reps
  • Cable Lat Pull Downs (Hog Bar): 70 lbs. x 7 ! reps, 60 lbs. x 3 sets x 12 reps
  • (Exercise Complex): 4 ROUNDS [Fitness Bag Bicep Curls x 8 reps, FB Cleans x 8 reps, FB Suitcase Farmer’s Walk (switch hands each set) x 100 steps, KB Russian Swings x 15 reps] Rest one minute between rounds.
  • In the evening I stretched for an hour.

Calories: 2289, Protein: 157 g.

  • Nifty barnacles and crab.
  • Santa Cruz Wharf

Sat, February 13th

Morning Walk: 1.76 miles.

Afternoon Workout

  • Warmed up by doing most of the stretches I do as part of my daily morning routine, and also worked with the indian clubs.
  • I did the Wyatt’s Toy workout, which is the beginner level for the full “Wyatt.”
    • My time was 13:26 minutes. I wasn’t going too hard being the first time doing this work out and all, so I think beating this time will be pretty easy.
    • I’m working toward eventually being able to do the full Wyatt so I did sets of 20 incline push ups and 50 hindu squats, which was a little more than required.
    • I have changed this workout since I did this session from being nothing but straddle steps to varied kinds of steps.

Fortunately, I have other cats, both current and from the past, who I can name workouts after. I wonder what kind of workout I should name after Roxy?

You’d never know I brushed her yesterday.
  • DB Arnold Press: 30 lbs. x 2 sets x 8 reps, 30 lbs. x 6 reps, 25 lbs. x 8 reps
  • DB Bench Press: 30 lbs. x 10, 12 reps, 35 lbs. x 8, 7 reps
  • Tricep Pushdowns (tricep handle): 45 lbs. x 4 sets x 8 reps
  • DB Lateral Raises: 15 lbs. x 4 reps x 8 reps
  • (Tri Set): FOUR ROUNDS [DB Hammer Curls 20 lbs. x 10 reps, Face Pulls 12.5 lbs. x 10 reps, Half Round House Kick Exercise (switch legs each set) 10 reps] Minimum rest between rounds.
  • Finished with a quick set of 10 three-point Cossack Squats and 50 Supine Leg Windmills (each way).

Calories: 2988, Protein: 170 g. (I lost 0.2 pounds this week, so my total loss is 24.2 lbs.)

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20 responses to “Work Outs: February 7 – 13, 2021 (Octopus Fountain)”

  1. I can only say that the fountain is great and I like how it has that old nautical and kinda steampunk vibe. The artist deserves a lot of credit for bringing something so complex to life!

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Yes, I agree. It would have been more than enough just doing the main sculpture but then there are tons of little details too, which really make this a piece of art as well as functional.

      Liked by 1 person

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    • I agree, that fountain is pretty great and as you say so much detail, right down to little barnacles around the base where one normally might not look.

      Thanks, Dave. I’m enjoying the workouts quite a bit. I did the full Wyatt (except that I had to do incline push ups) yesterday and I suspect that I’m going to have a pretty good case of DOMS from the squats by tomorrow. Not something I court or expect all the time, but not surprising in this case.

      Liked by 2 people

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  5. Great sculpture there Ann and I have to say your husband did a great job on operating the water fountain, I did not notice his unobtrusive work until you mentioned him in the credits!! Oh I hate to see people walking in the woods with ear phones, why , you miss all of natures sounds !!

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    • That’s true, they are missing out on a lot. Also, I don’t think it is very safe either, especially on the trails where both hikers and mountain bikes are allowed. Many a time there has been a distant whirl of gears and then a line of bikers, hell bent for leather, pine needles and fir cones flying in all directions as they go flying past saying, “Have a good hike!” … full of menace and bon homme in equal portions.

      As for me and my mountain bike, I’ve adopted the tactic I saw (or heard) some of the other bikers doing, which is they get one of those friendly sounding little bells and as they come up on hikers give a quick chirp before proceeding with my whirl of gears, pine needles and fir cones flying in all directions and a hearty, “Have a good hike!” 🙂

      I’ll convey your message to my husband, who is very handy when it comes to such things and will like hearing your praise I’m sure!

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    • Me too, I like octopuses as well. I remember as a child learning how smart they were and being intrigued watching shows of them figuring out puzzles and such.

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    • Me too, I was really surprised when I first stumbled on the thing though I didn’t know who made it, etc. until the other day when I was putting together this post. It certainly fits into the character of the area and the fact there are a bunch of seafood restaurants and such, as one might expect, on the wharf.

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    • Thank you, Jessa. One side effect of publicly logging my workouts is I’ve gotten out of the habit I’ve been in for quite awhile now of doing the same old things and am learning a lot of new stuff now. Yes, that water fountain is great. The artist who created it has quite a talent.

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        • Thank you, Jessa. Best of luck with your efforts.

          A certain amount of holding oneself accountable is necessary, I think, in getting things done although in the past sometimes I go too far in one direction or the other with that. Sometimes I’ve held myself accountable on too many things at once or been too inflexible and ended up having a bad long term outcome or (more commonly) I just let things slide and wish I hadn’t. One thing I’ve learned about myself over the years is to prioritize and only have a limited number of things I’m working on at the same time. In the past I’d do stuff like try to paint my army in a month while working out for two hours a day while learning a new language while reading a book each week while learning how to cook a different recipe each day, etc. etc. and then get burnt out. Don’t do that anymore but it took an alarming number of years to learn that lesson for myself.

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  9. That fountain is crazy cool. Octopi are some of my fave creatures.

    When I was in Puerto Vallarta there was a space with a bunch of nearly Cthulhu-like sculptures, that were just amazing. Love when artists venture out into the unusual.

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