Redeem now

• Chris Hemsworth showed off a rugged yet simple workout in his backyard over Instagram. 
• Hemsworth's "lumberjack" workout involves him chopping chunks of wood with an axe until they break.
• The workout targets the upper-body, lower-body, and core, and allows you to visually track progress.

Chris Hemsworth demonstrated a "lumberjack" workout on Instagram, an intense but simple way to get a full-body workout without expensive equipment. 

This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in.

Using an axe, the 38-year-old actor methodically chopped a block of wood until it broke. It took the more-muscular-than-average Hemsworth six chops to get a clean cut through the wood and break it into two pieces. 

"If at first you don't succeed try try try try again and again," he wrote in the caption. 

Hemsworth isn't the first to use the chore as a full-body workout with visually trackable progress — trainers say it's a good way to target multiple muscle groups at once. 

Chopping wood works out the core, upper-body, and lower-body

Chopping wood comes with a long list of physical benefits, according to Olga Hays, an American Council on Exercise-certified trainer with Sharp Best Health, told Sharp Health News.

"When you split wood, your body uses multiple muscles to perform the swing as well as stabilize your position," says Hays. "Chopping wood engages virtually the entire core, including lower and upper back, shoulders, arms, abs, chest, legs, and butt."

"When you swing an axe, you use all of your abdominal muscles by extending down at an angle from the ribs to the hip bone, using your stomach muscles all the way," she added. 

The physical intensity of wood chopping also makes it a good cardio workout that builds up endurance if performed over a long period of time. 

Chopping wood for an hour can burn up to 500 calories, according to Hayes. 

Another perk of chopping wood as a workout is that it can be measured either in time or in reps, as chopped wood pieces can serve as a visual indicator for how much progress you have made during the workout. 

This workout comes with physical risks, and there are safety precautions that should be taken

Chopping wood with an axe can be dangerous. 

The biggest risk is the possibility of sharp debris from the wood flying into your body and causing cuts. Wearing safety goggles will protect your eyes from possible wood chips.  you should also wear sturdy shoes, gloves, and long-sleeve clothes that don't expose any skin, according to Tractor Supply Company. 

You should also practice your form before putting an axe in your hand to make sure you have a controlled technique that won't cause you to lose control of the axe or fall over, according to Wood Splitter Direct.

Sign up for notifications from Insider! Stay up to date with what you want to know. Subscribe to push notifications

Watch:

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o8HSoqWeq6Oeu7S1w56pZ5ufonyktNGiqmaglaLAuLvRrZ9mq5ikxLR5zp%2BdZp6loblurs6dsGakpaKvpr7JmpqkZaekv6y71K1ka2hiZ3py