Wood-splitting movement patterns differ from one wood-burner to the next and are not universally like rowing. But, here are some similarities:
-like in rowing, most of the power for splitting wood derives from the legs and core, not (as might seem so to an observer) from the arms
-in both cases the arms stabilize and finish the motion
-the motion is repetitive, forceful, and (largely) bilaterally symmetric (unlike the bilaterally cyclic motions of other endurance activities -- running, cycling, skating, walking, etc). (Jumping rope shares bilateral symmetry, but not low cadence or strength)
-Cadence is low. One stroke every few seconds, not a few full motions per second.
-The movement chains can both be broken into (legs-back-arms / arms-back-legs) sequences. For wood splitting, you lift a heavy maul upward with an upward leg drive from a bent knee "catch" and a trunk-opening hip swing, followed by an upward arm hoist. Then you close the motion with arm swing, trunk-closing abdominal contraction, and "recovery" of legs. The torso closure, leg bend, and downward arm swing are more synchronous in wood splitting than in rowing.
-both are somewhat unnatural technique-heavy motions (if you do not strike near where intended on the log, you will not be successful and you may hurt yourself)
-Unlike many other cardiovascular activities, increasing bodyweight does not penalize performance much, and can even help
-To give yourself a more intense workout, you largely increase rate while maintaining a powerful stroke
There are of course major differences too. The forces and power are more evenly distributed over a "drive" (maul moves upward) and "recovery" (maul moves downwards) phase of a wood-splitting stroke than a rowing stroke (in wood splitting, the fast and apparently forceful part of a wood splitting stroke is the downward arm swing and abdominal contraction to close the torso). More work may even be done on the downward phase of the stroke, though I suspect much of the power derives simply from channeling potential to kinetic energy here -- you elevate the mass of the wood-splitting maul, and your own center of mass (with a leg drive and torso opening back contraction), then drive both downward, translating that decrease in gravitational potential energy into as much kinetic energy of the maul as possible as it strikes the log. In wood splitting, you exert forces in mostly the vertical direction rather than the horizontal.
Any other wood splitters out there?
