Ever since I was a kid, I loved splitting wood. I was fortunate to grow up with a hundred or so acres of woods behind my house. Trees fell constantly, and my Dad and my Uncle George would cut it up with chainsaws and I would commence to splitting. I'd try to get as much done before my Dad came home from work and I wouldn't stack it either. I'd leave it scattered all over the backyard just so it would look cool and he would really see how much work that I had done. And he would stand on the back porch overlooking the backyard and he would say, "Wow, good job, Jimmy." And that is all that I needed to hear. That was my reward. And maybe that is one of the reasons that I like splitting wood so much, because I associate approval from my father with it. But its probably more about that I like the challenge of it.
I like it because I am all alone, except maybe my dog, and I can sort stuff out in my head if I want to, but I don't have to either. I can just focus on the wood and get lost in all of it.
I absolutely love seeing the finished product right in front of me, it is instant gratification. And it is by far my favorite workout. After a few hours of doing it, I am drenched in sweat, my forearms and biceps and shoulders are all blown up and you feel so damn alive.
Being inside on a hot day in a gym is not fun for me. I have always loved hot days, the hotter the better. Lifting weights outside is good but doing some actual work outside and getting a great workout at the same time is the best. I always wonder, evolutionarily speaking, why certain activities are so satisfying. Planting flowers doesn't do anything for me , but moving dirt and splitting wood satisfies some inner caveman yearnings that other stuff just can't touch. You mow the lawn and its boredom, drudgery. Let's get this over with as fast as possible. But picking up an axe and crushing something that can actually be used for firewood or building or whatever is where it's at for me. And no, I can't hit a tire. It's fine if you wanna do it as a workout, it's just not for me. Bong, Bong, bouncing off the rubber, no satisfaction in a finished product, just Bong, Bong.
So getcha an axe, find a woodpile and start splitting. Let your mind get right in there, finding the right lines in the wood to hit, and when you feel that axe go all the way through the wood for the first time, I promise you that you will be hooked on this type of training for life.
