Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

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Got bad tennis elbow decades ago building a log house. Took a while (year?) to get it back in hand and still need to be a bit cautious.
Real world; at 67 I'm on the downhill slope. I have had lots of health/injury issues in my life. I vary up my work, generally limit "hard" work to about 5 hours a day. If I'm in the woods, a tank or so through the saw, then switch to splitting loading etc. for about an hour then go back to a saw, repeat. My trucks are smaller, I split the logs where I buck them, noodle crotches, roll big rounds to the vertical gas splitter on hard to split wood. Avoid heavy lifting as much as possible.
I'm damned lucky, a multi vitamin is my only regular med use. (so far)
Got a face cord of ash, hand split, hauled, and in the racks this morning before afternoon errands. Looks like about a cord of that tree is in the woods yet. Take care out there.
 
Interesting question. My chiropactor lives in the country and splits his own wood. As he has treated my back injury for 30 years I asked him years ago if splitting wood was harmfull. He encouraged me to keep it up to help strengthen key muscles, alough he recommended splitting left handed 50% of the time, something I tried and wasted too much energy doing.

Wood splitting by hand can be an art many people never get, and some people I watch just bash away at a block of wood. When splitting larger blocks the key is knowing where to split, and the first piece that you split off the block is the key to how easy the rest of the block will split up. My technique has developed over 50 years of splitting and its simply true that I can split wood with less effort than anyone else Ive observed splitting wood....its just experience at work and that include chosing the right tool for the job.

So splitting for me is no big deal at all. I hope I can keep it up for the rest of my life.

Obviously I was being facetious in my post. Nothing wrong with splitting wood per se, and I'd keep a few things in mind (I have my professional hat on now, and this is not exhaustive).

1. Physical activity is better than no physical activity

2. Higher intensity physical activity is generally more beneficial for health than lower intensity (up to a point).

3. Pushing, pulling, lifting and hitting things will help to maintain condition/strength in many muscle groups.

4. If you wish to avoid overuse injuries, splitting wood can be considered in the same way as other forms of exercise for your age bracket. If you're a 60 year old man who has run in the past but not recently and decide to run 10 miles on three consecutive days, you're going to be up against it. Think you're going to get away with swinging an 8lb maul for three hours on three consecutive days having not picked it up for 6 months? Further, as you get older there may be a limit to how much impact your joints are willing to put up with.

5. If you wish to avoid acute non-traumatic injuries, thinking about exactly how you do things is a good idea (I'm sure most here will be doing this reasonably well). Technique and decision making.

So if you're thinking of using splitting as a form of exercise and self-maintenance, doing some 2-3 days a week but making sure any soreness from the previous bout has resolved before doing it again is a good option. I fully recognise that circumstances can mean that it can be more feast or famine, but that's up to the individual. :)
 
Doesn't sound like elm :innocent:which is stringy, heavy, and slow burning. Gray elm all those in spades.
Even Siberian elm is "decent" firewood.
That’s mainly what I’m burning…Siberian…
lots of it around here to scrounge. We had an unusually hot summer so it dried out in less than a year. Normally it takes 2 seasons from what I’ve seen posted.
 
Wow this thread jumps everywhere!! Not complaining, I love it!
God bless ww2 vets
I like fiskers for small stuff but the big hickory etc still need the brute force of an 8 lb maul swung by a 2 sammich hairy legged fella.
Don't like the monster mauls. Handle is 6" too short.
Swinging a maul gets to my shoulders now at 53 but don't know that swinging the maul tore em up or if it would have happened anyway.
There is my 2 cents!!
Have a great one guys.
 
My golf elbow this year was a lot worse than my tennis elbow a few years back. After a day of physical activity It even hurt to wash my face before I went to bed. I’m sure glad that the ultrasound thing was able to help me.

For those who experience issues with joints, check what you’re putting in your body. There’s a lot of things that cause gout and also just inflammation in general. If any of you guys have ever read about the foods Tom Brady eats and avoids, there’s a good lesson there. The wrong foods will make a person old in a hurry. Guys may or may not like him but what he’s done on the field for over two decades is incredible. Certainly some of that has to be attributed to genetics and exercise but I think the diet plays a big part especially as we age.
 
A lot of good advice from lots of people. Diet, regular exercise, and staying within your limits are all important. And I always tell people to "listen to your body" as to what you can and cannot do (a little pain is OK but avoid more than that).

What frustrates me most as I get older is that my body used to tell me when I'd had enough when I was doing stuff, but now it doesn't seem to tell me till after I'm done hurting myself! Very frustrating, as I always like to push my limits.

I can still go hard enough to impress a lot of guys who are a good deal younger than me, but now only for a few hours a day, and I hurt afterward. I used to be able to go 12 hours easily with no pain after, so my current condition is frustrating.

I'm still trying to figure out if it is just my age, or if recovering from injuries and surgeries just got me out of shape. Likely it is some combination of both. Guess I'll just keep trying to get back and see what happens.
 
A lot of good advice from lots of people. Diet, regular exercise, and staying within your limits are all important. And I always tell people to "listen to your body" as to what you can and cannot do (a little pain is OK but avoid more than that).
What frustrates me most as I get older is that my body used to tell me Very frustrating, as I always like to push my limits.
prob a bit of both, as u say.

time has a way of telling us. now mine limits my push! lol :rolleyes:
:muscle:
 
R
Roger. Im familiar with both. Just making sure we were on the same page. However, I'm a Navy vet. If it ain't a 16" three gun turret? It's a pea shooter!😉
haha! tell that to all the WWII chinkets sneaking here n there that caught a 5" deck round thru the bow, center and stern.... from those subs out on patrol....
1669876861611.png
 
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