GranolaBox

One new thing in our house that’s actually installed is our new wood furnace. We wanted to go with the wood furnace to cut our energy bills and to use a renewable resource. Along the way I’ve stumbled on what may be the next great fitness craze - “The Wood Furnace Workout.”

Here’s how it works. First you buy a wood furnace at your local giant hardware store. If this is impractical or you can’t afford this phase of the workout you need to find someone with a wood furnace or come out to my house where you can rent mine for a reasonable fee.

If you have your own furnace, get around six cords of firewood delivered to your house. To increase the intensity of the workout have your wood professional drop the load further away from the house.

Now it’s time to pick your wheelbarrow. If you’re shooting for a carcio workout, a smaller wheelbarrow is recommended for lighter but faster loads. If it’s sheer muscle you’re after you’ll want a bigger wheelbarrow.

Okay! Now you’re ready to shed those extra pounds and tone up those muscles.

Start working your upper body by picking pieces of wood from the top of the pile. Park your wheelbarrow close to the pile so you can easily twist to load the wheelbarrow. This works your biceps, triceps and shoulder muscles. This is also good if you’re trying to reduce the size of your “love handles.”

Again you can adjust the intensity of your workout by increasing or decreasing the size of your load. For a lighter cardio load, push the wheelbarrow briskly to its destination. For muscles, move the wheelbarrow at a slower more sready pace.

Pushing the wheelbarrow is a great part of the workout because you’re lifting and pushing at the same time. You’re working the upper body by keeping the wheelbarrow upright, and if you’re keeping your back straight you’ll feel the burn on your butt almost immediately.

Stacking the wood and getting it from the bottom of the pile rather than the top will increase the abdominal and lower back portion of the workout.

If you’re working pn your own wood pile, it’s best to start slowly and ramp up the amount of wood you move according to what feels comfortable to you. If you’re working out on my pile you should continue exercising until you can’t lift another piece of wood.

So there you have it..an intense, fun and rewarding workout that’s also helping to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

This is just an outline of the Wood Furnace Workout. I’m also considering marketing the workout with a slew of DVD’s and exclusive Wood Furnace Workout gear. Maybe I could work a deal with Carheart or Eddie Bauer.

Since I’ll never get rich teaching, this could be my ticket to fame and fortune. Watch out Richard Simmons… Go back to acting and activism Jane Fonda, there’s a new workout in town.

Filed under: General Observations on January 11th, 2008