Woodworking Workouts

I was able to spend about three hours out in the woodworking shop yesterday, and boy do I feel it this morning. I got up just a little while ago and I am definitely stiff and sore. It amazes me what a workout a few hours in the shop can be. Now that I think about it, I spent a good deal of time time moving around 4 x 8 sheets of 3/4 inch plywood. I was also pulling equipment off the shelf and using it, and even sanding means that you are fighting the inertia of the machine as you use it. I wonder how many calories per hour you expend while woodworking?

From what I have seen, woodworkers come in all shapes and sizes. I certainly would not be mistaken for a body builder. What I have noticed about those I have met is that they all have a pretty good hand shake, and quite a few have forearms even Popeye the sailor would envy.

I guess that means that woodworking is pretty good at building upper body strengh. If we want to get the aerobic conditioning in we have to look elsewhere. Perhaps Roy Underhill has the right idea. He's the guy on TV that makes all his projects the old way without the convenience of modern machines. Imagine, for example, how much aerobic workout you could get from turning a bowl on a pedal driven lathe. Or the amount of work it would take to hand plane a 3/4 board of red oak down to 1/2 inch. I've noticed in a few of those episodes that he is definitely winded when he is done demonstrating some of those techniques.

I'm not saying I want to go back to the old days. Modern conveniences are pretty nice. I am old enough to remember having to iron my non permanent press clothes for school every day, and how glad I was when permanent press came on the market. Still does anyone else see the irony of having so many labor saving devices in our lives that we have to pedal stationary bikes or walk treadmills that go nowhere to get our exercise? Does anyone else feel like they are inside an M. C. Escher painting?