# Firewood Gathering for Exercise



## DoubleNickel (Jun 5, 2011)

:zip: Does anyone have any research or input on cutting and splitting (with or without a splitter) firewood for exercise.  Who has to go to the gym for exercise when hauling in the firewood.  Seems like perfect exercise to me.  Look at the calories that must be burned. It's like killing 2 birds with one stone. :bug: Any thoughts?


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## jeff_t (Jun 5, 2011)

If I cut and split and stack wood enough to stay in shape, I would run out of trees.


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## DoubleNickel (Jun 5, 2011)

*Now that is funny *:lol:  *I got a long ways to go!!*  LOL


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## oldspark (Jun 5, 2011)

Put a HRM on and check it out, my guess is it is not as good as riding a bike or a run but better than nothing.


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## Thistle (Jun 5, 2011)

Worked in the woods part time for 30 yrs,since I was 17.Construction for the past 27 yrs.Helps keep me in shape when my regular construction job has slow periods/temp layoffs/bad weather days etc.At the end of some extra busy days or weeks I'm exhausted both physically & mentally.Especially when temps are over 85 with humidity to match,but I'll never need to visit the gym I know that much lol. So its all good.


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## Beardog (Jun 5, 2011)

I would argue it's pretty good exercise.  I tend to put those calories right back with a 4 pack of Dogfishhead 90 inn IPAs after a day in the woods though.....


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## Thistle (Jun 5, 2011)

Co-worker a while back told me about Woodchuck Hard Cider,they have a regular  year round version plus 'seasonal' ones too now.Very refreshing when ice-cold but are 190-200 calories a bottle lol.At least 30% more than *Guinness* of same amount.


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## par0thead151 (Jun 6, 2011)

oldspark said:
			
		

> Put a HRM on and check it out, my guess is it is not as good as riding a bike or a run but better than nothing.



it is hard work, sure.
but it is not going to cause you to shed the pounds as running or cycling or swimming will...
i view it as work that is hard on the body.
cycling or swimming would net much better results with less wear on the body.


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## mbcijim (Jun 6, 2011)

Do you like splitting wood?  You can compare it to anything - swimming, running, shoveling snow, doesn't matter what.  

I like splitting wood.  I'll do it in Dec-March (all by hand, no splitter).  I like swimming.  I won't do it in Dec-March.  In terms of keeping in shape, I find it more important to do something you like (because you'll continue to do it) instead of something you don't like (and will quit).  

I now run, split wood, and lift in the gym (30 minutes, x2 a week).  I'm 35 and am in the best shape of my adult years.  But I also sit a desk so I need to find stuff to do.


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## snowleopard (Jun 6, 2011)

Saw some posts on here where that was discussed.  A little in the TMI category--one man said that his abdominals were so strong that when he went for his annual polyp check, the butt cam woke him up--because they had trouble threading it through.  A woman replied that her abs were so strong from chopping wood that she said that the doctor had trouble inserting a needle for amniocentesis.  

So there ya have it--if you think someone is going to be sticking something where no one has any business sticking anything, stick with splitting and stacking sticks.  

I'm watching hopefully for the splitting to give me amazing abs of steel, but maybe my technique leaves something to be desired . . .  or maybe I need to step up my splitting pace . . .


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## jimbom (Jun 6, 2011)

"*annual* polyp check"  My doctor must think I'm unattractive.  He only does this every ten years to me.  No complaints.


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## snowleopard (Jun 6, 2011)

JimboM said:
			
		

> "*annual* polyp check"  My doctor must think I'm unattractive.  He only does this every ten years to me.  No complaints.



maybe I have that wrong, and I'm a *stick*ler for accuracy (except when it comes to spelling amniocentesis).  So here I am about to run one of the odder searches on hearth.com, cuz this is a thread that needs bumping.

ETA:  This is proving more difficult than I thought it would be, and I didn't think it would be easy.  Here was one of my more productive search results (and no, I am not making this up--I couldn't).

Search term: proctologist: 

Search Results 
â€¢ New here, is my experience with ESW poor quality what I should continue to expect?  
â€¢ Quick sweep today, clean enough? 
â€¢Looks like a shot from a robotâ€¦ by BeGreen
â€¢x2+, fire her up!â€¦ by ansehnlich1
â€¢Did I Get Ripped Off On Parts? 
â€¢At the risk of getting flamedâ€¦ by Mr Frugal
â€¢Forum: It's a Gas!  
â€¢Author Surpisingly large poplar at my rear entrance 
â€¢It can't be too much worse tâ€¦ by EatenByLimestone

ETA, part 2, and it just kept getting worse:
â€¢I need a good insert!
â€¢STICKY, BLACK, OOZING MESS! 

I'll spare you the rest, but can we just go with "annual" and leave it at that?


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## Bigg_Redd (Jun 6, 2011)

DoubleNickel said:
			
		

> :zip: Does anyone have any research or input on cutting and splitting (with or without a splitter) firewood for exercise.  Who has to go to the gym for exercise when hauling in the firewood.  Seems like perfect exercise to me.  Look at the calories that must be burned. It's like killing 2 birds with one stone. :bug: Any thoughts?



It's quite good exercise.  The problem is that you can't do anywhere near enough to achieve and maintain a good level of fitness.  For example.  I can split a cord of wood in 1-2 hours depending on how straight it is.  So in order for me to get/be fit I'd have to find 3-5 cords to split per week.  3 cords per week x 52 weeks per year = 156 cords split per year.  Cut that number in half to account for saw time and you're still looking at 78 cord. . .


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## jeff_t (Jun 6, 2011)

Bigg_Redd said:
			
		

> DoubleNickel said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



That's really what I was thinking. Didn't have a chance to put the numbers together.


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## firefighterjake (Jun 6, 2011)

Thistle said:
			
		

> Co-worker a while back told me about Woodchuck Hard Cider,they have a regular  year round version plus 'seasonal' ones too now.Very refreshing when ice-cold but are 190-200 calories a bottle lol.At least 30% more than *Guinness* of same amount.



Love Woodchuck cider . . . then again I never learned to like the taste of beer. Fortunately I am already fat so a few extra calories will not make that much of a difference . . . plus I think I may only drink 6-8 bottles in the course of an entire year.


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## mecreature (Jun 6, 2011)

hard work... yes..

good for you.. probably not so good. Its stressful on these old bones.

I would think regular exercise would help you keep chopping wood for years to come.

chopping wood for exercise.... well, you get the picture.


everything goes good with a few brews... JMO


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## Backwoods Savage (Jun 6, 2011)

Several posts try to compare gathering wood with running and bike riding. I would think that is a poor comparison at best. The reason is that most of the running and bike riding are aerobic whereas putting up wood is not unless one works a whole lot harder than I do. One can argue that splitting can be aerobic and it can to a certain extent but the big thing is that you use totally different muscle groups when cutting, when carrying or stacking and when splitting than you do running, biking or even walking. 

So, is putting up wood beneficial for the body except for keeping it warm. Yes! By all means it is a great exercise. I also feel it is a better exercise for the colder months and the reason is that you can work harder and longer when it is cold than you can in the weather we typically have in the summer months. Also in winter most folks do not get the same amount of exercise as they do in the summer so that is one more reason to put up wood during the winter months. 

As for me, I'll keep on putting up wood in the winter and riding my bike in the summer. I've done this for many years and I'm not dead yet.....contrary to some folks opinions.


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