David Barnett
Maybe not the remedy you might at first want to hear or expect on WC Hand Tools, but one you may eventually need to consider. Anyway, what you've said resonates with me. I get it. So what I say here is not to discourage; quite the opposite.

Eventually, after giving it a fair shot, you may find it is simply impractical to rip much lumber, not to mention resaw it by hand. Many have added bandsaws to their repertoire to overcome limitations, both physical and temporal. It's not cheating, you know. There's no such thing as cheating in woodworking unless you set personal criteria to define it that way, such as strict historical authenticity and adherence to a period where electrically powered tools did not yet exist. You might also decide that it's hand tools or nothing, simply on your sense and sensibility to hand tools vs. power tools. I'm not judging.

At any rate, there's a whole lot of room between the historical immersion or a pure hand tool aesthetic, between being heavily front-loaded to hand tool and hand powered sensibilities and a totally automated CNC home shop. It's all about what works for you.

Quite simply, one can gain much by using hand tools to do the bulk of the joinery and fitting and finishing while leaving the rough dimensioning to 'tailed' apprentices, that is, using power tools to accomplish what would've likely been left to other less-skilled (but not always) laborers. At some point, you'll have to decide these issues for yourself and make a separate peace with externally supplied power beyond The Body Electric. You'll have to draw the line at what you can physically do and where you wish to take your pastime. It's your hobby and your health, and compromises will have to be made.

It could very well be that you will find enough pleasure in accomplishable tasks that require considerable hand-guided finesse without pushing yourself beyond your physical limits. For example, the bigger I've become the smaller I've worked, which has actually led me to new creativites in many areas, both woodworking and otherwise.

Although I prefer not to concentrate on my and others' physical limitations, they're there; the 800-lb gorilla in the room. It's these that will ultimately parameterize what gets done, but woodworking is a huge, expansive hobby where limitations in one venue may steer you to venues where you'll hardly notice them, such as luthiery, small box and case making, hand-shaped utensils, and so on.

Like I said, my compromise is to work smaller and use others to do the larger, more physically demanding tasks, allowing me to do what I do best. Not everyone has this advantage, of course, but you'll find your balance point if you remain open to it.

Even for ripping, you may find it easier to use a standard Western ripping saw in a more vertical position where a board is held horizontally along and overhanging the length of the bench. Although it's best as a two-handed operation, I've seen it done with one. The strong hand powers the cut and the weaker helps guide it. Still not doable?

Well, there is the bandsaw, and a well-tuned bandsaw can be a relatively quiet, accurate, even elegant tool that can enable and empower you to do much, to free and save your hands for plenty of skilled hand-powered work. It's your call, of course, which is the beauty of woodworking as a hobby in the modern age. I personally wouldn't let my preferences and sensibilites for hand tools hold me back from what I love using and doing, but that's me. That's my separate peace.