I cut up a big limb that fell a while back into short pieces for the fireplace on Sunday. I left the couple of pieces in the foreground because it was hot, I was sweating, and I could feel my heart beating. I rested up for a couple of minutes and took my pulse - 85 bpm. If you take the most common formula for determining maximum heart rate, mine works out to 220-75 = 145. 145 x 80% =116. So, if I go by the numbers, 80% of my maximum heart rate is 116 bpm, I wasn't even close at 85. However, it was hot and humid and I've learned not to push it, especially when the heat index is around 100.
Yesterday it was a perfect summer day for working outside, so I moved the cut up lengths to the splitter and split them. The tree man will be here soon to take the rest of the tree down, so I'll have plenty of oak firewood for the winter. I'll take some of the next batch and put it under the shelter on the backside of the garage. The rest I'll stack with this pile and then tarp it after it has a chance to dry out a bit.
Other than some lifting, twisting and turning, splitting doesn't even feel like work - more like some of the Tai-Chai exercises I've been doing. I keep an eye on my fitness level by checking my resting heart rate. It was 56 bpm yesterday morning. Not bad for an old cardiac patient. Just need to watch the diet and stress levels to keep the arteries from clogging up again.
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