I'm basically replicating George Foreman here. You can find some videos of him training on youtube and he has some unconventional methods to say the least. I won't be singlehandedly pulling the jeep up the hill, or walking around with a fully grown cow on my back, but I did start chopping wood for about 30 minutes each day. there is no shortage of wood here... and I'm actually using a 10lb splitting mal... so I have to work a little harder than if I was using a standard axe. I'm no Christopher Porco but I think I've seen forceful gains already. I've noticed improvements in just one-two months, my upper back strength has improved, is more defined overall and in crossover training, the full body "kick" when doing the butterfly while swimming is more powerful, from head to toe. I notice I have more speed in the water as well when going freestyle. So I think that can be credited to the explosive nature of chopping wood, that's tuning up my fast twitch fibers. I'm no pro, but this seems to be an effective way to train so long as you watch for injury and do it right (and don't hit yourself in the leg with the axe, obviously). Just wanted to throw this out there and see if any of you have any feedback on this method or have incorporated it into your daily training regime. Normally, my training regime includes the wood chopping for 30 minutes per day, as I mentioned, as well as about 200 reps of two 15lb bar bells interspersed throughout the day in sets of 50-60 at a time. And swimming for cross training, though I haven't been in the water in a couple weeks. Thoughts?
I chopped wood for heating my whole childhood (our furnace broke and my father never replaced it until I moved out, but it was more like thirty minutes a week than thirty a day) and I've got a weak ass back now so who knows? But you definitely made a good choice with the wood splitter instead of an axe.
I did start with an axe, but it got light real quick, so I moved to the splitting mal instead. Better workout.
Chopping wood is a dynamic exercise, requiring to apply force and concentrate it as well. Sure it helps for the punch - it includes many muscles that are responsible for the power of a punch. The point is doing it properly for your wrists and elbow joints', as well as your shoulders and back. But it is always the same circle: in order to be healthy, you have to work and exercise. Those activities reflect on you in time, you start feeling it when you get older. But that's how we're made. Yes, some people are born to go more - die older, be healthier when old, but this is way too specific (like some are that way drinking, smoking and not really doing anything physical, like the great example Churchill). It's a different topic, so back to the thread - chopping wood is one of the many exercises that can improve your overall conditioning. I am not sure how much it helps for the back, at least the lower part, because if you apply your lower back, you're doing it wrong then (as if you dig the wrong way with a shovel) - chopping is a floating movement that goes through your spine into a squat, so you should really find the proper way of doing it. Then it might strengthen your lower back as well.
