New to forum: Actual sledgehammer user

[bender forge]

Came across this forum/site when doing some searching about sledge hammer use.

I split wood for heat. I start with big round logs and drive a wedge into it with a sledgehammer until it splits. And then use the wedge, a wood splitting maul, or splitting axe to finish it off.

It's about the best workout I have ever done. After about an 1/8 of a cord my back is sore, my biceps and shoulders are sore, and suprisingly my abs and glutes are worked out as well- (i would never say my butt is sore in writing!). After throwing and piling the wood, my triceps and pecs are pretty blasted, too.

My wife jokes the following way:

When you first decided to split wood, you had to pay people (for the wood...)
Then when you got good at it, people started paying you to split the wood
Now, girls would pay money to WATCH you split wood.

Anyway. I enjoyed this site and the moves you do are practical. I am planning on doing some workout moves with the sledgehammer in between since I really enjoy it. Call me old fashioned, but there is something about working with dangerous and heavy tools that just makes me feel like a man- a primal urge... but so is breathing.

2 things I would add

1. When you actually "let go" and hit something with the hammer at force the eccentric reverberations force you to stabilize your muscles in such a way as to make you grow muscles.
1a. considering a way to hit things in your work out once you've progressed a bit. like hitting a tire.
1b. You'll never really get good at that carnival game if you don't start hitting stuff.

2. Why waste the labor of swinging the hammer? Save up and buy a wood burning stove and produce heat. I save about 2/3rds from my previous 500 dollar gas bill in winter by supplementing with wood heat. And get a great work out.
2a. You can use the same skills to drive posts for your garden, dig a french drain to finally de-humidify your basement, or I guess actually churn butter.

thanks for the site

keep up the solid work

b forge

[reinhard]

Welcome, b forge!

It's always good to hear from someone who isn't just pretending to hit stuff with a sledgehammer.

I'm with you that it would be preferable, when possible, to actually use a sledge, or an axe, or a shovel, to do useful work. Or at least to come a step closer by actually making contact with something. But the way my life is set up, and most people's these days, I think the opportunities to so so are rare. I certainly keep my eyes open for them!

Another virtue-out-of necessity consolation in not hitting stuff is that the "catching" to prevent a strike is actually great exercise as well. There's even some japanese martial arts term for this, but I forget what it is offhand -- I'll poke around the site and see if I can dig it up. in a bit.

Reinhard

[filipe]

There's even some japanese martial arts term for this

It's

sundome

Found it in Striking vs. Catching post.

[morganalefay]

I have actually been using my 10lb sledge to demolish the crummy old concrete pond and rockery at the end of my garden. Just for half an hour a day. I was doing quite well until I broke my sledgehammer's handle (basically I hit a rock with it, the handle snapped and the head flew off. Fortunately, not towards me).

I ordered a new handle and have put it on, but it's not that stable and keeps moving around. Yikes! I've applied some very strong glue to it and will see how that goes.