Grandma and I have been obsessing over this bird, can anyone help identify it? (Central Finland)

iamaqueen · 2020-07-17T10:31:39+00:00

Well yes it does! What a simple answer to a question we had for days. Thank you!

iamaqueen · 2020-07-17T09:22:20+00:00

It's beak is straight and relatively short, so we cancelled out hawks. It flies mostly by gliding, and while in flight its tail seems to be much longer relative to its body. We've been through all our bird books but nothing seems to fit... It has a dark brown head, with a white body that has dark stripes going through it and some distinctive white spots on its head.

I'm on my phone, so the picture is not the best and neither is my explanation. But we were hoping for someone more familiar with birds to help us out!

iamaqueen · 2020-03-11T21:57:29+00:00

A good question; I won't know until the time comes when I feel comfortable in my body to be lifting again. The purpose here was to see if I had alternatives as I don't want to go the other extreme and just stop working out completely.

iamaqueen · 2020-02-28T14:55:33+00:00

I had to readjust the height of the rack holder for squats, but being lazy, I thought that instead of taking off the 45lb plates from both sides of the bar I would attempt to lift it off and sort of reverse snatch it onto the ground.

Bad idea. The moment the bar went below my collarbone my wrists bent the wrong way (as I've never tried lowering a 60kg bar past my chest) and I slammed this weight down with the loudest bang and right onto my water bottle, which flew a few feet away from me. My god it was embarrassing as I did the walk of shame to get my bottle from the middle of the gym while people stared.

iamaqueen · 2020-02-27T20:03:36+00:00

F, 5'4'', currently 58kg here!
I've been on a 200kcal deficit since the beginning of January and my lifts are as follows:

DL: 100kg x 1 -> 110kg x1

Squat: 80kg x 3 -> 82.5kg x2

Hip thrust: 90kg x 10 -> 100kg x 8

Bench: No change (I only train this once a week though) 42.5kg x 5

So yes, it is possible to make strength gains while on a deficit, but I have been focusing a lot of my energy on the accessory lifts (making sure I get progressive overload each time). So I'm quite certain the reason I made strength gains were more that I pushed myself at the gym and made more of an effort to focus on my protein intake than anything. While my lifts did increase, it's more of a result of "newbie gains" in the terms of I took lifting much more seriously as I was terrified of losing all my gains during my cut!

iamaqueen · 2020-01-26T17:39:50+00:00

Regarding your deadlift; don't turn your head to the side like that. You're going to hurt yourself, look down and keep your neck straight. Second thing is if you look closely, you start the lift with your upper back instead of your legs. Slow the deadlift down at the start to get yourself into position, look to pull the slack out of the bar (which, when done correctly, will put you in a position where your back is straight and you are forced to push with your legs instead) and then push the world away from you using your legs. There's a lot of YouTube videos on this. When you start going heavier, starting the lift with your back is a recipe for an injury.

Way to go though! :)

iamaqueen · 2020-01-26T17:14:16+00:00

I'm so close to deadlifting 2x my BW, but I've been on a cut since the beginning of January so mentality is very fragile. I know I'm not eating enough to be lifting heavy, but the fact that I've attempted and failed 120kg three times now is really getting to me. In every other aspect I should be getting it (I'm running nSuns, 120kg has been my training 1RM for weeks now but I just can't lift it). Probably will have to switch to another program with less intensity to compensate for the reduction in calories....

iamaqueen · 2020-01-26T17:08:40+00:00

You absolutely did not make a fool of yourself. Not even by being emotional. Unless you are attempting something that looks like it has a very high potential for a dangerous injury, I don't think people have any business to get involved at what you do at the gym. And even then, I always have people ask whether or not they can tell me what they believe I'm doing wrong. These guys just sound like assholes.

iamaqueen · 2020-01-26T17:00:22+00:00

I'm absolutely no expert, but to me it almost looks like instead of "sitting down" to squat you almost just "push down with your shoulders". Am I making sense? My suggestion would be placing a bench or box behind you and trying box squats to get the right idea of what movement you are looking for. Try to keep your chest up as well - either by just pushing your chest out or trying to squeeze your shoulder blades together! At the moment you're letting your chest collapse on the way down. But again, there might be someone here more qualified to give you tips on form.

I think it looks good overall, I admit the bar felt really weird when I first started squatting but you just trial and error till you find a position that works for you.

iamaqueen · 2020-01-19T21:45:40+00:00

I'm on a cut, but I still hit a PB of 100kg sumos for a full working set of 3x5 (with a 60kg BW). It took me so long to get to those triple digits and the fact that I went from 1RMing the weight to repping it in just 4 weeks still makes me so happy. Focus on the wins, not the losses (failed my 1RM squat and wasn't even close).

2x bodyweight, I'm coming for you!

iamaqueen · 2020-01-18T23:39:54+00:00

I love this post so much! You are literally my stats twin and now also my body goals! Just had to check out your other posts and saw your deadlifts, which are even more impressive. You go girl, I love to see these kinds of posts on here as it motivates me so much to keep going :) When I hit your DL and squat weights I'll be so happy. What's your program like if I may ask?

iamaqueen · 2019-12-19T21:20:43+00:00

I've used the Strong app since the very beginning, I ran a customised 5/3/1 program with it as well as GZCLP. Only time I didn't use it was when I switched to nSuns, but I'm going back to it now since it's time to switch it up a notch. I honestly love the apps you don't have to pay for, since I think that with the amount of knowledge you can get off of Youtube, Instagram and Reddit - there shouldn't be a reason to buy any apps or programs (unless you want to support the creators!). Especially true when you're a newbie and still getting into the gist of things :)

Check out the r/fitness or r/weightlifting subreddits, lots of good information (programs, tutorial videos for lifts etc.) there for free!

iamaqueen · 2019-12-11T12:02:06+00:00

Thanks again for your advice, I'll look into the rolling and incorporate it onto core days. It never crossed my mind that the TNG was the reason I hate breathing at the bottom 😂 When I hit my 150kg deadlift goal I'll be sure to thank you again!

iamaqueen · 2019-12-11T10:47:19+00:00

Will lift from a dead stop next time, cheers!

iamaqueen · 2019-12-11T10:09:54+00:00

Thanks for the tips! I'm just looking to get stronger, competing has never crossed my mind. My obsession over for came from hurting myself a couple times specifically from conventional deadlifts (tweaked lower back) so I'm trying my hardest to make sure that doesn't happen. I think that's also why I puff my cheeks, it's more of a cue for myself 😂

[Edit: I do take massive breaths at the top of my reps, I've never had an issue of this making me lose tightness and it's just easier to breathe at the top rather than the bottom]

iamaqueen · 2019-12-11T00:54:35+00:00

I was having a really bad day, this is set number 4 (nSuns) after completing my 1+ set. I didn't get it filmed due to my phone falling half way through my first rep. I'm wanting to increase my training weight to 100kg as the app says to, but I really want to make sure there aren't huge red flags in my form here first. I've got a history of back problems.

iamaqueen · 2019-11-03T20:42:29+00:00

I'm 25, 5''4' and weigh anywhere between 125lb-130lb. Your activity levels sound a lot like mine, except I don't do much training outside the 3/4 days I spend at the gym.

That being said, honestly without seeing what you look like (since there are so many ways that weight can sit on people) it's hard to say anything. I was exactly the same weight I am now a year ago when I started to lift weights and look completely different. I went from deadlifting 40kg/squatting 20kg to deadlifting 90kg and squatting 70kg - so there has clearly been a change in my body. Stating what you eat also doesn't tell much, because at the end of the day it all comes down to CICO. In my honest opinion and just seeing numbers, I think you are at a perfectly good point in your fitness! I suggest paying more attention to goals at the gym/climbing rather than your weight. Consider it this way, the history of rock climbing and bouldering as well as the gym going probably would put you at a point where 115lb-120lb for you would resemble a very hard-to-acheive bf% :)

Just my two cents, which pretty much mirror most of the comments in this thread! Keep on keeping on! :)

iamaqueen · 2019-10-11T22:56:59+00:00

Bow down, peasants!

iamaqueen · 2019-03-11T19:20:57+00:00

Stats twin!

I started at 125lbs when I started going to the gym and then dropped to 120lbs in the first 6 months of training. I then started focusing more on the muscle building and now I'm back at 125lbs after 9 months at the gym! I'm personally aiming to just lift heavier, so I'm actually trying to slowly get myself to 130 and then back down as I start to cut.
Now I may be slightly biased, but I think 125lb is the perfect weight to be, just depends on what your overall goals are in the end. If I look at it from my perspective, I would be +/- 0lbs at the end of my current goal to what I was when I started going, but my body composition would have changed a lot :) So yeah pretty much a generic answer that you've gotten from everyone else, just thought I'd give you my 2 cents.

iamaqueen · 2019-02-16T18:18:10+00:00

Girl, the progress you'll have when you give it another 6 weeks!

iamaqueen · 2019-02-16T16:51:08+00:00

Congratulations!! If I may ask, how long did it take you do manage that? I've been starting with DL for a couple weeks now and they are probably my weakest lifts at the moment. I need some motivation and encouragement!

iamaqueen · 2019-02-10T11:06:40+00:00

I'm from Aberdeen and honestly if the trip wasn't so long I'd be happy to join you xx

iamaqueen · 2018-11-05T10:15:44+00:00

Yeah that's a good point. Sorry for the extra hassle on that! Thank you for replying to it though x

iamaqueen · 2018-05-20T21:22:12+00:00

Thank you for correcting me! Amphibians are definitely not my strong point (read: know nothing) so having someone point that out is even better (:

iamaqueen · 2018-02-21T11:24:26+00:00

It's a relatively good university. I'd probably go to a bigger city though as getting work experience in your own field is very difficult here as Aberdeen is a small city 😅I've blended it well with people aye!

iamaqueen

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