I’ll probably get silence and/or derision for the title question, but wondering if others out there use splitting wood as a serious part of their training. I’ve done a lot of this in the past few weeks after a tree service company gave me a large free log drop (~5 cords in logs?). Heart rate is typically low-aerobic (~65% max) for extended periods of time, and based on the combination of muscles used, it seems like there is good potential transfer to all the triathlon sports. I’ll likely wind up with an average of over an hour a week of cutting/splitting/stacking this year.
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It worked for balboa 🤷â€â™‚ï¸
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yup
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I’ve chopped a few chords over time and still have some to do from a tree I had taken down.
I doubt you’re going to see much benefit from it in your racing & training. You’re overall health, strength and general fitness will probably get a bump though. It’s just really not sport specific enough to say hey I’m minutes faster.
At the end of the day you’re probably getting to the finish line a few seconds faster but doubtful you’re jumping up gobs of places in your finishing position.
I offered to help my home stay split some wood while training for a marathon. Its a probably great core exercise, but by the end of each day I needed to use the back roller and do some cobra stretches to get full back range again. And dont wear a lifting belt - some people recommended it but then you wont use your core as much
I am going with Desert Dude’s answer, it is great “functional fitness” but not going to make you faster in a triathlon.
Yes. I recommend starting the day during sunrise with a long run while wearing after-ski boots from the 80s, black jeans and a shearling lined bomber jacket. Usually, the KGB tails me in an older Mercedes (still unsure why. worried I’m going to win IM Moscow? dunno.) If I run into a horse & buggy that has flipped over, I’ll lift it back up for the local farmer. I’ll throw in a shake and bake that makes my KGB tail lose control of their car and then I’ll charge the Mtn for some hill work. Also, make sure you have a derelict uncle sit on a sled while you try and pretend to be a sled dog and pull it. This is often overlooked and a big reason most people have crap run times.
We always have a ton of wood to chop and stack and now being off-grid, it’s quite a bit. I tell my husband it’s good cross training 
Here in these rural parts, chain saw dust is “man glitter” but I think that’s from some comedian. My husband loves that.
Yes. I recommend starting the day during sunrise with a long run while wearing after-ski boots from the 80s, black jeans and a shearling lined bomber jacket. Usually, the KGB tails me in an older Mercedes (still unsure why. worried I’m going to win IM Moscow? dunno.) If I run into a horse & buggy that has flipped over, I’ll lift it back up for the local farmer. I’ll throw in a shake and bake that makes my KGB tail lose control of their car and then I’ll charge the Mtn for some hill work. Also, make sure you have a derelict uncle sit on a sled while you try and pretend to be a sled dog and pull it. This is often overlooked and a big reason most people have crap run times.
Once at the top of the mountain I’m sure you shout “Frooodoooooooo, Frooooodooooooooooo”
But then, at what point in the training should one angrily remove the Frodeno photo from the mirror above their bathroom sink?
Shovelling snow is a similar type of exercise, although on deep, wet snow days my HR is more like 80-90% max. I personally think active chores (like chopping wood, shovelling the driveway, raking the leaves etc) are fun and rather than thinking of how the chores help my racing, I look at it the other way around: one of the biggest benefits of my triathlon training is that keeps me fit enough to be useful.
https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2013/08/22/3830928.htm
I don’t, but maybe I should!
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I generally do a lot of wood each year: my house, honey’s house, mother’s, and camp. The most I’ve done in a year is better than 13 cord. 98% all hand-split. And I fall it, skid it, buck it, split it.
I’ve tracked HR during splitting, and generally found what you have: high Z2 overall for an hour and half of splitting, but that’s on an average - it’s more like doing intervals.
But it ain’t gonna help your tri training. In fact, I picked things up to have the stamina to do more wood each day to try to get it done sooner each year (was before I got into tri, actually).
My advice: do as much wood as you can, and not just splitting but make sure you’re handling it as much as possible. Builds great all-around strength, and really helps to cleanse the mind.
But it isn’t going to be the secret to turning in PR’s next race season.
- Jeff
Used to do it as kid all summer long - . Did not get faster, but would get pretty ripped from that and biking all day long.
Give me the Rocky training program over the lab rat program any day of the week…
https://youtu.be/1SUzcDUERLo
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I’ve cut wood in Canada - it probably will help most for swimming. Better than doing nothing.
It worked for further MX champion Jeff Stanton. He said he would rather do that than ‘waste’ time lifting weights.
Multi Olympic Champ (rowing, though) Olaf Tufte
I’m training for that new multisport stage race here that is Timbersports on day 1 and triathlon on day 2.
Chopping wood is only beneficial to training if it is combined with getting water.