Hanging is great, but NOT for everyone. Check out these dead hang mistakes to avoid: th-cam.com/video/Z6gFs5mXIZM/w-d-xo.html Also, thank you for watching this video + your support over the years! Hit the like button and subscribe to grow our fitness community even more! 💕
I'm 62 and all about hanging and if I may preach a little. Staying hydrated is as important, in it's own right. I think the whole joint replacement epidemic could be severely mitigated if people could just get that discipline. Most people don't like that you have to pee more. I'd rather that than have to get my joints replaced. Great video.
Thank you for your kind words and especially the new info on hydration and joint health. You're right, many of us don't know or ignore the impact of hydration on having healthy joints. Again, amazing gem right here!
I totally agree with you. An older book but packed with valuable information on hydration. "Your Body's Many Cries For Water" by Dr F. Batmanghelidj Unintentional dehydration leads to many illnesses, pain and degenerative diseases that can be treated, prevented, and possibly cured by drinking plenty of water. He suggests adding sea, or Himalayan salt so this water gets absorbs into the cells. Hanging is great. I need to get back to doing it. Got up to a minute. Not easy. Hard on my hands as an older Women. But, I did feel better. Really helped with shoulder pain as I am a swimmer. Better posture too!
I am from Germany, live and work in Oman, 69yrs, have bars in each home and dead hang as often as I have to pass underneath the bar. Plus lifting my legs, trying to get to 2 min. In the beginning g I could not even hold the grip around the bar and lift my knees once only. So now I am with confidence at it, and lift 10x…. Shoulder pain is history.
I am a powerlifter but sciatica drastically scaled down my performance. I will surely add it to my arsenal. I can do close grip pull-ups easily. My next target is to do it for 2 minutes I'm 42, 5 feet 9 and 86kgs. Shall report progress.
68 years, weight lifter for 20+ years. 6’ 235 lbs Martial arts background. 2-3 sets of 12, raise the weight when 12 is attained. Push / pull/ legs split. Avg an hour 4-5 days per week. Can’t do a pull up. Never could. Going to add the DH daily. Will report progress
Oh that would be great, I'd love to be kept in the loop about your progress 😀 Also, pull-ups require you to lift 90% of your bodyweight and activate your muscles differently. If you wamt to achieve that goal, try working your way up either with the pull-up machine or use elastic bands 😀
I've had acute shoulder pain for the last two years and spent thousands on chiropractors, deep tissue massages, steroid injections and more. I've been doing 3 variations of dead-hangs for the last 3-4 weeks (approx 1 minute each, 4 times a week) and I can't believe how much difference it's made! I feel that in another few weeks, I will be very close to fully recovered, or at least to the point where I can perform maintenance physio and start lifting heavy weights again.
I have been doing dead hangs every day (with the occasional day off once in a while) since the beginning of May 2023. At first, I was barely able to get around 45 seconds per hang so I would do them twice daily. My main issue was my grip hold on the bar I was using as it was pretty thick and I kept slipping. Once I got a real pull up bar and mounted it to the ceiling of my garage, the padded grips really helped and I was able to hold on longer. Now, over 9 months later, my daily grip time is 3 min. and 15 sec. on average. My personal record is 3 min. and 50 sec. and I'm 56 years old, 6' 2" and 200 lbs. I want to tell everybody here that if they stick with it and try to do them every day, you will improve your time significantly within just a few short months.
@@rafsrc Your comment isn't showing up, so I have no idea what you said. In my case, I feel it is more preventative than anything, but I do have stronger forearms and it helps with my overall tone and endurance for other exercises. I never have any back pain and I think it does help with my shoulders when they get too sore. It's hard to quantify and your mileage may vary but it's something I've been sticking to for over a whole year now and I definitely think it helps things. I do it to kick start my daily routine and it helps. Hope that helps answer your questions. BTW: My average is 3 minutes and 15 sec. and it's only because the pad feels slippery and maintaining a good grip is tricky, otherwise I could hang for longer. New record is 4 minutes now.
At 55 years of age I started dead hanging about a month ago and could only last 8 seconds. I'm up to 45 seconds now and already feel better, especially in my shoulder which suffered chronic pain. I'll keep doing this until I can hang for 2 full minutes and then I'll work on doing pullups.
I bought and installed a pull up bar in my basement 2 weeks ago. My first dead hang, my grip gave out at 30 seconds. I have been dead hanging twice a day. Now I can hold on for 45 seconds. The first couple of days I felt muscle aches in my chest, arms and shoulders from the stretching. I will work my way up to 2 minutes and then start negative chin ups. I am 69 and weigh 205. I hurt my rotator cuff 3 years ago doing something stupid - pulling a log behind me with a rope. I should have been facing the log and walking backwards. I just finished 6 sessions of physical therapy and the shoulder feels a lot better. Hopefully the dead hanging will help my shoulder.
herniated and ruptured disc l1-l2-l3 ruptured disc l5-s1 terrible sciatic pain down entire left leg. glute and calf muscle astrophy and no strength. foot completely numb. diagnoses surgery. suffered with this for 4 months. the majority of the debilitating pain was gone after 2 months but the constant burning and random stabbing sensation persisted. chiropractor, inversion table, 2x daily stretching and sciatic ease, muscle relaxers and 1600-1800 mg helped a lot but it was always there. started hanging. daily as long as i could 6x a day (3am 3pm) in 1 week i was off all meds walking “mostly” normal, still really week calf. have cancelled surgery for now, am working on strengthening my core and dropping 10-15 lbs. age 50 6’4” 245
If you feel you need more assistance find a Rolfer, it is a specialized body work technique that can have amazing results. Ida Rolf started the program in Boulder Colorado.
Hope you’re only doing better. Peace and health. ✌️PS maybe add restful yoga poses like Shavasana (corpse pose) to allow muscles working in your amazing hanging practice to rest completely. Our bodies need balance. ; )
This is true, the doctor couldn't understand how I became 3-4 inches taller. I mentioned I did chin ups and leg raisers. He said, "Ah, so this has contributed to elongating your spine." I also had a double disc herniation of L4 and L5, this has completely gone. This video validates what I thought about the pain and height gain. Thank you Fitnessdy. 💪🏽🔥❤
Thank you as well for sharing your story. I received many comments asking if this exercise truly works for the things you mentioned, so now we're even 😀
Absolute BS dude 😂 If you became 3-4 inches taller, first, you would know exactly how many inches, it's either 3 or 4, not 3-4 and secondly, you'd be on every news station in the world for growing 3 inches taller by just hanging from a bar everyday 😂
@@Tom_Swift ok sure 🤣🙃, I didn’t do it knowingly and why would I seek fame. Also it was over 10 years ago. I just went about my way. If you’re skeptical, just ask your doctor if it’s possible to compress or expand the space between your discs. It’s not over night and can revert back to its previous state if you stop doing it. Your posture also improves. Each to their own, but I was surprised and asked the doctor to check 3 times. It didn’t make sense to me either. Instead of just hanging, I did chin ups, so if you’re willing to become a test subject, consistently do it and take your height before and again each month, see for yourself. Personally I don’t care if you or anyone believes me or not. I just saw the video and it confirmed what the doctor said then it made sense. It would explain why the pain has completely gone. Have you ever had excruciating pain in L4 or L5 of the lumbar, so much that you’d seek and try anything to get out of that pain? I wouldn’t want anyone to experience it psychologically or physically. I hope for those that have been seeking an answer to get rid of that pain, the information here helps them. No need to challenge what I experienced by trolling 🤣
I'm 20yo, average sport man, I can do ±10 pullups. I thought it will be easy for me but when I tried it, it was really hard. I can holt just for 1 minute. Thanks for this video, now I know what will I improve.
I am 54, suffer with hairstylist shoulder. My trainer had me dead hanging and I needed a bit more motivation so found this video. Excellent info. I am at 1min 45 when distracted. Hahah. Feeling good. Def helps with pain.
Please read through the comments above. There are different types of pain - some demand stretching the painful area, while others demand strengthening it. So, if your neck pain is caused by loose vertebrae, DH may do more harm than good. If your pain stems from a compressed disc, stretching the area may be great. As I said, read some of the other comments and you'll see what real people's experiences. Also, let me know how this goes for you if you end up doing it :)
I'm 68 years old. I do workout but was limited. I've had shoulder pain for a year then I discovered hanging within 30 days most pain was gone and within 60 days I was doing shoulder presses with no pain. It's been a year and I feel I have better posture , better grip strength and stand taller. I sometime incorporate leg raises into my hang. I'm a believer.
I had a full width, full thickness tear of my supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons...further described as a massive rotator cuff tear in my imaging study. I started brachial hanging within a week and continued daily hanging 30 seconds several times per day following Dr. Kirsh's book and stragey. Bottom line, no surgery required and have now after 9 months recovered 75% of strength in the injured shoulder, and 100% of the range of motion. My orthopedic surgeon was amazed.
i usually hang until the skin on my hands pinch off and there is blood all over the pull up bar. I set the pull up bar over a cliff, and sometimes i run out of grip strength and my hands slip off the bar and i fall a few hundred feet and have to go to the hospital.
😅 ha, that's silly. You can achieve the same effect by placing a blood-thirsty hound under your bar, no need to drive in the middle of nowhere to find a cliff
I am a 70-year-old cyclist with a lower back injury left over from when I was 10 years old. I also have a right shoulder ergonomic injury that caused a frozen shoulder in 2014. Hanging has helped me with both of these old injuries.
I’m a 76 yr old female doing my first dead hang. I counted to 21 before stepping down. I am going to do this every day and I hope to get a little taller!
i started off hanging, then doing negatives. to doing close grip pulls up, to now being able to do wide grip pull-ups. i’m trying to increase my hanging time !! i will do it everytime i’m in the gym & track my timing to see the continuous progress! i do notice a difference. when i first started i had bad shoulder pain from a car accident
63 years old, two shoulder surgeries (the second was a reverse replacement). I was told I probably won't regain a lot of my previous shoulder capability and mobility, and that assessment seemed correct ... until ... I started hanging. While I am not 100% (yet), I am waaay beyond what the surgeon said I would be able to do, more aligned that he said I should expect, and able to do things that he said I should forget. (I've been doing all of this with a PT, so this isn't throwing caution to the wind. We keep finding more mobility, more ability, and we re-set our goals every few months.) Of all the shoulder work I've done, hanging was the most effective.
Decided to put up a dead hang bar a few weeks ago don't really have a program yet that being said i have been trying to get 6 minutes a week in total . I am 69 and have had several shoulder and collarbone injuries from having too much fun on a mtn and road bike over the last 30 years . I am optimistic !
My 73 year old neigbour likes the death hanging procedure very much. He is hanging around in his garden from an apple tree for 5 weeks now and gets taller and slimmer everyday.
I started dead hangs for 3 minutes this week and started having pains around my waist on the first day. However after a few days of doing thesame hangs, the pain has gone. I'll keep doing thisforamonth and see if I lose the hunch on my back as the spine should straighten itself. I'm 60, btw but have a metabolic age of 42.😅
Let me know your results! Also, i know that these issues have different causes, but make sure you keep a good posturr throughout the day. Otherwise, 3 minutes of deadhangs may not do much 😀 chest strengthening exercises and upper back stuff like rowing also helps. But since your metabolic age is 42 I bet you already know this - I'm just writing for others who may be interested in the same thing.
Totally agree with traction as it decompresses the discs and then nerves, but hanging does not build muscle. You have to burn muscle fiber by resistance training allowing the fiber to grow back a little more each time. Hanging can only decrease nerve pressure causes by compression.
Thanks for this as I have hearing a lot about the benefits of a dead hang but haven’t yet started to do it in my routines. I can now do 9 or 10 unaided pull ups and do suffer from shoulder pain my right shoulder so this will be very interesting to see what happens. My shoulder pain though is virtually completely gone since I started focusing on pull ups back in September so clearly there’s something to it. 🙏
I’m 60 and do 45 minutes cardio a day and roughly 25 push ups per day. I also do 15- 20 pull ups per day. Will incorporate the dead hang into my work out.
Very nice stuff! Working now to be as fit as you are when i get to that age! Maybe you can consider adding some bodyweight squats or lunges if your body still allows it.
@@buckeye9252I do all that and more and I just hit 74. 😂. Dad was a body builder Weight lifter so I was in gym at 6. Nothing builds muscle like muscle built young And never giving up
Arm hangs are challenging! Up to 90 seconds now. Completed a 2000 push-up challenge in 20 days for charity. All my strength training is body weight only, save for some dumbbell curls with 35lbers.
I've just watched and had to have a go. Holy smoke batman, 20 seconds before my grip gave up so I had a second go and could only manage another 10 seconds😁 That's with two frozen shoulders And they feel a little better already. I am going to do another 30 seconds later today and continue till I can do as many minutes as I can beyond two minutes. Had double heart attack in 2007, broken neck 2012. just for reference. Thank you for this video and I have just subscribed. Awareness Loves Life.
I've been "hanging" for years just to enjoy the stretch, the hormonal release, give the spine a good stretch and the bursa a break. I'm 60 & just underwent inguinal hernia surgery. Once recovered enough beginning hanging for periods, (less than 60 seconds), & not to exceed your comfort level can be beneficial in hernia recovery. BE CAREFUL!
Yep. Absolutely great for the shoulders when they feel tight from weightlifting, etc. Loosens up the joint extremely well. Great for grip strength too.
I was in bodybuilding in the 80s as a female and was very strong. I let some things go. Now at 60 I just saw this and thought I should try it. OMG! I once was quite good at bars in gymnastics and never thought I would lose it. I lost it. A dead hang should have been on my must-do list years ago. It is hard to do, who knew? I thought it would be easy.😯😧😕
I have been carrying a long time back injury. As a Vancouver Firefighter, I compressed the 3 bottom vertebrae in a nightclub fire, and lost about an inch of height. I am extremely active at 69 years old, 5'10, and 180, but always wary of my back. I am excited to start "hanging" and hope that I can regain some of my height, and overall add another strenthening exercice to kick it up another notch! 😅
I do the hang but not for two minutes. I am going to work my way up to two minutes and see the results. I am sure this is great advice.Thank you for the heads up. c]8-)
I've never tried hanging for time. I used to do 8 pullups to warm up and stretch my spine in my 40's and 50's. However, I always grabbed the handles at the gym instead of the overhand grip on the bar. By handles, I mean the hand grips at 90 degrees from the bar spaced about shoulder width apart. Now at age 70 I just now installed a suitable safe bar and can only do about 3 clean pullups or chinups on a bar because of my strength limitations, but I also think it's because I prefer the hand grips to manage tendon pain. Any full out extension hanging gives horrible shooting pain in elbow tendons and shoulders. The pain isn't as bad at the top of the pullup/chinup. After seeing this vid, I just tried a bar hang (overhand pullup grip) for my first time and made just under 60 seconds before the pain was too much. I'm going to install handles to see if I get better pain relief. I think my grip strength and core will make 2 minutes soon enough, if the tendonitis pain can be avoided. Am I losing the benefit of this exercise if I use hand grips?
That's a good question and the answer is no in theory. However, in practice, the way you described your pain suggests to me that you may not benefit from the stretch at all for your shoulders. Instead, you may need more stabilization and muscle strength in the area. Of course, I'm not a chiropractor and I can't say much over the internet anyway, but I'd suggest you at least be careful with this and let me know how you feel!
Yes, but also because muscle strength decreases with age. Weak chest, spine, back and glute muscles, even weak hamstrings, hips and shoulders may all contribute to poor posture. And all that could be easily solved by resistance/weight training 2 times per week, but sooo few people do it 😐
Great video guys! Just a follow-up question here. Is there a perfect position of the hands in a dead hang? As in, just above the shoulders? Or wider? And if wider, then how much? That's the only confusion I have.
The typical recommendation is using an underhand grip at shoulder-width apart. However, people have different body types and so a PT may recommend different forms. For example, a person with wide hip bones may get more out of doing wider squats. In the same way, depending on your bone structure, you may need to place your hands wider than shoulder-width. Besides, you can frequently change between hand positions to target different muscles in the upper body and, therefore, reap different benefits. As a side note, I try to experiment and do different adjustments in general to see how my muscles respond, whether I'm doing strength training or stretching. Hope that helped! Let me know how it goes for you.
@@FitnessdyThe one thing that I think is overlooked in this video. How to proceed into the hang is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! The video illustrates very fit people jumping up and grabbing the bar. People starting out should use a platform to reach the bar. Otherwise, when you jump up to grab the bar you are slamming those joint with a lot of Force Instantaneously. Please also note that there is a neutral grip, pull up grip, and chin up grip. A combination of the three caused my forearms to become far more pronounced. With the help of creatine my life time push-up goal went from 60 push-ups to 100 push-ups. Even I am shocked because I am 66 years old.
@Fitnessdy I want to start hanging. I am a very very beginner. I'm 58 yo. How long should I start hanging for and how many times. Do you have a recommended routine
Hanging does not compress your chest (around 5:50). Though it hinders the usage of breathing musculature and so encourages it to overcompensate and get stronger. The outcome is correct :) DH makes the breathing easier.
Hello, I am 68 years, 1.80m and 68 kg. For me a challenge to the dead hang. This first time to day a could hang 1m.30s. so I think I will reach two minutes in less then 2 weeks. You inspired me to do this from now on. I hope I have the discipline to keep it in my daily program. Thanks a lot!
When I started this I was 5'7". After just 2 months I am now 6'6" but as it's only my spine that has stretched I look a bit odd now and can now lift 5x my own body weight. Amazing.
Every fourth day I do 3sets of pull-ups 35 wide grip overhand 32 narrow grip underhand 12 -wide grip with 15 lbs Every evening I do dead hangs for 1:20
You show people jumping up to reach the bar.." Never " do that.Always use a bench,stool or stack 2 steps on top of each other and STEP off of those and start the hang.To finish,step on those first then let your hands go.My hands are cramped after 2 minutes and I could not imagine just letting go and dropping..I have been dead hanging for 6 months now 4-5 times/week 2-3 minutes each time and my back,shoulders,forearms,fingers feel great. My posture has improved immensely .SERIOUSLY THOUGH YOU SHOULD REDO THIS VIDEO ...
Its more about when you finish the dead hang and your hands are cramped up and trying to move them to let go of the bar.Its easier to simply have a platform to step on first before you let go of the bar.@@Fitnessdy
Also the dead hang is supposed to be exactly how the words say DEAD HANG " . Jumping up can create motion and even stress your shoulder joints which you don't want@@Fitnessdy
Yes, please do. Theory and practice are different and we people are also extremely different from one another, so personal experience takes the cake when it comes to workouts. That said, I'm curious to hear your thoughts!
Fair enough, 2 minutes is definitely an ideal for many of us. Thanks for the appreciation, if you have any other topic suggestions, let me know! I'm sure I could use your experience 😀
There's also spinal decompression benefits by holding the top position of a "corner dip". Basically find a corner at a counter or desk and lock your arms and elbows straight while you depress your shoulders and support your lower body in mid air, with or without bent knees as needed. I find I can get better decompression on my lumbar by holding this compared to hanging from a too short bar. It's also easier to do in a work environment than hanging, though it's not an either or thing, both can be done throughout the day as opportunities present and are beneficial in different ways.
I've been dh'ing for a while and have yet to see the benefits you mention. Lower back pain persists (muscle, not joints) & bad posture (rounded shoulders). Improvement in strength and grip: yes, slightly...lungs (breathing) and mood, not at all...uncompressed disc, who knows? I am up to 2 min 15 secs and continue to hit it.
Ah, muscle pain is different than joint pain. That said, it's a very interesting insight (though I'm sorry you didn't reap most of the benefits). How long have you been dead hanging for?
That's a lot, tgere shoild have been more benefits by now. Are you using the correct form? What does your doctor say about the pain? For posture, the pull-up machine helps, plus everything Pilates
00:01 Hanging for 2 minutes daily has multiple benefits for the body. 00:57 Two-minute dead hang has spine-specific benefits 01:48 Dead hang strengthens upper body and core. 02:40 Hanging for 2 minutes transforms body through muscle targeting and posture improvement. 03:32 Hanging for 2 minutes per day positively affects your posture 04:21 Dead hang helps in shoulder injury recovery 05:12 Hanging for 2 minutes offers multiple health benefits 06:08 Hanging for 2 minutes transforms your body Crafted by Merlin AI.
I'm a 70 year old male who's been lifting for a number of years. I have only recently been doing the dead hang and can only manage just over 1 minute. Is that good or bad?
You put the zing in amazing 😀 very few beginners manage this much. 2 minutes is more like a goal for most that we should work towards. Anything that helps us get there is great 😀
Ever since I started doing dead hang, a lot of pain in my back and left arm went away! The video also mentions cervical pain, but I can't picture how it works. Cervical spine, ie. neck, is ABOVE our shoulders. How would stretching below the shoulders affect what is above them?
I'm 999 years old and can bench 450 lbs. I hang for 30 minutes at a time over a spike fit filled with piranhas and rabid sharks, and found it increased my bench to 2000 lbs, gave me an extra $50k in income a month and women flocked to me after my d*** grew to 2 ft in length... I'm so glad I started doing these!
I broke my collarbone almost ten years ago and it has massively effected my entire upper body. I have a lot of pain and tissue in my body that feels locked up. I recently came across this information and the pullup bar I ordered to drill into my cieling is coming tomorrow, I am expecting powerful results. I've always been able to do a lot of pullups and have no problem hanging but I have never approached it in a therapy context.
Please consider asking a doctor or physiotherapist before using your pull-up bar. Hanging has some awesome results for people who need to stretch their joints or spine, but it can backfire if you actually need to strengthen specific joints/ muscles. I actually did try to convey that in this video. For example, if your vertebrae are loose. Here's Aaron Horschig explaining it for the spine, but you can apply the same reasoning for your collarbone: th-cam.com/video/rOCrfoiYVu0/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=SquatUniversity
I'm 93 years old and noticed my neighbor Brad started dead hanging from the rose arbor in our retirement home's garden. In no time he became the strongest, fittest and tallest resident. And LOL (little old ladies) started hitting on him like Donald Brashear on Ottawa Senators. So, I emulated him and developed bilateral shoulder impingement. Now I cant feed myself or choke the chicken. Thanks Fitnessdy!
😅 I hope that's a joke though. If not, please don't try other exercises off the internet after talking with your doctor or a personal trainer to see if they fit
No mention in this 7 minute video as to whether you should 'dead hang' with no muscular engagement at all (i.e. totally disengaging the shoulders and relaxing the entire upper body) or with some engaged tension in your lats, chest, shoulders, back and abs. There's a huge difference and it's important.
The dead hang helped heal my shoulders twice. I tried it about 15 years ago when I injured my shoulder in my tennis days, and recently from weight lifting... it works, but be smart, diligent and incremental. My dead hangs have been with the bar pull down machine where weight can be added incrementally. Instead of your body weight pulling your body downward, the machine pulls you from the top in a traction type pull, but the end result is the same, including lengthening your spine. In fact, now, when ever I used a weight machine that automatically compresses, e.g. an incline or shoulder press machine, I finish my work out with a good hang at about 100 pounds to stretch everything back out. : )
That's an excellent tactic. It's called weighted stretching and it's becoming more and more popular. You can do it with most/all gym machines. I especially like it with the adduction machine, great for the hips and inner thighs!
I had pinching shoulder pain for 3 months straight and tried dead hanging. I do 60 seconds 3x per day. Morning, afternoon and before bed. After 2 days of doing this my shoulder pain disappeared. I keep doing it for maintenance.
I've been doing dead hangs for a long time but never knew how beneficial they really are. I used to do them before starting my pull ups. I also do a sort of reverse shrug while hanging which is an awesome exercise. Needless to say, I didn't hold for 2 minutes when shrugging or prepping for pull-ups! Thanks for sharing this info. I plan to start timing my hang-time!
I was 62 years old when I started hanging. At first i could only hang for less than a minute but then I worked my way up to two minutes. I have seen many health benefits and after several years of practicing I am now only 48 years old.
Im 29, i stopped going to the gym because i had som problems with my shoulder/blades/right hip and abs. This has made me so tired and tense and im so frking tired of it.. anyways, been trying this 3 days now, when i let go of the bar i literally feel happiness, and something is going on in my back, i dont know what.. but it feels good. I really think this can help me. (This discomfort/pain has been eating me slowly for the last 6 years)
The dead hang definitely works. After a recent. severe rotator cuff injury (3 torn tendons and one completely ruptured), I've found that, in conjunction with pull-ups, the dead hang offers me relief from shoulder pain. Now, it you really want to do away with back problems (which I've suffered with for 25 years), get yourself an inversion table. Hanging upside down (or even close to it) offers a tremendous array of benefits, spinal/vertebral extension, etc. It was a life saver for me (and I never had to have the surgeries that I was told I must have). Try it, you'll thank me later.
I had wild shoulder pain and clicking up until I started doing this. I went to therapy for so long and would do anything to build strength and flexibility. For some reason this solved it all.
Should we stand normal while hanging or release our body? While I release my body, it is getting harder to take a breath. I hope I explained understandable.
Yes, I get it. You're supposed to let yourself hang, meaning relax completely. Of course, that leads to some breathing difficulties because the grip leads to slight thoracic compression and some people may even hold their breaths. You could try holding your hands slightly wider than shoulder width. Just so you know, this also happens to me :) I try to breathe normally during the DH and maintain a slightly wider grip 😀
@@Fitnessdy Yes I do. I held on for less time than I anticipated. My right shoulder gives out after 30 seconds as a result of an injury. I will keep trying and this will probably fix it!!
I am definitely a fan of bar hangs. But what is described here is not a completely "dead hang". A "dead hang" should specify the core to be relaxed to allow the lower spine to stretch. An active hang keeps the abs tight which certainly should improve core strength and appearance. But you can't get both benefits simultaneously, right? Sounds like doing both "active hangs" and "dead hangs" are valuable, and each has slightly different benefits. I think both forms would equally improve shoulders and grip as mentioned. Any thoughts on this?
Actually, I believe(d until now) that an active hang entails scapular retraction, not activating your abs, which prevents you from swinging around but doesn't cause stiffness in the spine. You raise a good point, though. Let's test this and see how it feels 😀
Hanging is great, but NOT for everyone. Check out these dead hang mistakes to avoid: th-cam.com/video/Z6gFs5mXIZM/w-d-xo.html Also, thank you for watching this video + your support over the years! Hit the like button and subscribe to grow our fitness community even more! 💕
I'm 92 years old and started hanging a few weeks ago. I'm now the strongest, fittest and tallest resident of the retirement home.
That sounds like a life goal :)
And now the tallest😂
Have you received greater attention from the ladies?...you Beast!
😃
And a Chick Magnet
I call BS on your claim
I’m 45 years old and I’m now 34. Every time I hang for two minutes I grow younger. I will outlive all of you. When I started hanging I was 76.
:)))
😂❤
:)
Good one 😂
Ha ha😂
I’m a 73 year old man and this year (2023) I have worked my way up to a minute and a half. Goal is 2 minutes.
That sounds absolutely AWESOME!
CONGRATS. GREAT TO YOUR AGE.
CONGRATS. GREAT TO YOUR AGE.
Update, I’m consistently at 2 minutes now, twice a week
@@MrTokhiem🤝🏼🤝🏼
I'm 62 and all about hanging and if I may preach a little. Staying hydrated is as important, in it's own right. I think the whole joint replacement epidemic could be severely mitigated if people could just get that discipline. Most people don't like that you have to pee more. I'd rather that than have to get my joints replaced. Great video.
Thank you for your kind words and especially the new info on hydration and joint health. You're right, many of us don't know or ignore the impact of hydration on having healthy joints. Again, amazing gem right here!
I totally agree with you. An older book but packed with valuable information on hydration. "Your Body's Many Cries For Water" by Dr F. Batmanghelidj Unintentional dehydration leads to many illnesses, pain and degenerative diseases that can be treated, prevented, and possibly cured by drinking plenty of water. He suggests adding sea, or Himalayan salt so this water gets absorbs into the cells. Hanging is great. I need to get back to doing it. Got up to a minute. Not easy. Hard on my hands as an older Women. But, I did feel better. Really helped with shoulder pain as I am a swimmer. Better posture too!
I am from Germany, live and work in Oman, 69yrs, have bars in each home and dead hang as often as I have to pass underneath the bar. Plus lifting my legs, trying to get to 2 min.
In the beginning g I could not even hold the grip around the bar and lift my knees once only. So now I am with confidence at it, and lift 10x…. Shoulder pain is history.
Thanks for the encouragement. There is no way I could hang for more than 10 seconds, I'm sure, but I'll start slow and be consistent. Thanks!
I will follow your example. Danke ! Mein Freund.
Amazing! Well done! I hope many people read comments like these and start considering DH.
@@nicoleb6867 use grip straps at the beginning.
@@v8rockz
Thx
Completely got rid of my sciatic pain just by hanging and swimming- I’m 53 and can hang for 85 seconds
That's an awesome combination, I'm jealous for not thinking of it first 😅 but yes, back+ chest toning and stretching is key
@@Fitnessdy never had sciatic pain again luckily 👍
I am a powerlifter but sciatica drastically scaled down my performance. I will surely add it to my arsenal. I can do close grip pull-ups easily. My next target is to do it for 2 minutes I'm 42, 5 feet 9 and 86kgs. Shall report progress.
@@abhitude23 do some swimming too mate if you can
I have the same problem (sciatic pain)
68 years, weight lifter for 20+ years. 6’ 235 lbs
Martial arts background.
2-3 sets of 12, raise the weight when 12 is attained. Push / pull/ legs split. Avg an hour 4-5 days per week.
Can’t do a pull up. Never could. Going to add the DH daily. Will report progress
Oh that would be great, I'd love to be kept in the loop about your progress 😀 Also, pull-ups require you to lift 90% of your bodyweight and activate your muscles differently. If you wamt to achieve that goal, try working your way up either with the pull-up machine or use elastic bands 😀
Don't leave me hanging bro report the progress
So how are you feeling after 2 weeks of DH?
Had a shoulder surgery About 2 years ago and it’s finally letting me use it. Hang time is slowly improving
@@dennisardefelt1828 I see what you did there.😂
I've had acute shoulder pain for the last two years and spent thousands on chiropractors, deep tissue massages, steroid injections and more. I've been doing 3 variations of dead-hangs for the last 3-4 weeks (approx 1 minute each, 4 times a week) and I can't believe how much difference it's made! I feel that in another few weeks, I will be very close to fully recovered, or at least to the point where I can perform maintenance physio and start lifting heavy weights again.
That sounds awesome! What caused your shoulder pain?
Shoulder issues = gallbladder issues.
And C5, C6, & C7.
Had the same issues this cured me: th-cam.com/video/TBiDT-HW18w/w-d-xo.htmlsi=7PezH4Ry115Ebh0Z
Which variations do you do?
Congratulations. But such conditions are never cute😊
I have been doing dead hangs every day (with the occasional day off once in a while) since the beginning of May 2023. At first, I was barely able to get around 45 seconds per hang so I would do them twice daily. My main issue was my grip hold on the bar I was using as it was pretty thick and I kept slipping. Once I got a real pull up bar and mounted it to the ceiling of my garage, the padded grips really helped and I was able to hold on longer. Now, over 9 months later, my daily grip time is 3 min. and 15 sec. on average. My personal record is 3 min. and 50 sec. and I'm 56 years old, 6' 2" and 200 lbs. I want to tell everybody here that if they stick with it and try to do them every day, you will improve your time significantly within just a few short months.
That's awesome, thanks for sharing! And you're absolutely right, getting a bar that allows the right grip is key 😀
you mentioned about improving at the dead hangs itself but have you noticed any benefits that you gained from doing this exercise for this long time?
@@anand10050was about to ask him the same question
.
@@rafsrc Your comment isn't showing up, so I have no idea what you said. In my case, I feel it is more preventative than anything, but I do have stronger forearms and it helps with my overall tone and endurance for other exercises. I never have any back pain and I think it does help with my shoulders when they get too sore. It's hard to quantify and your mileage may vary but it's something I've been sticking to for over a whole year now and I definitely think it helps things. I do it to kick start my daily routine and it helps. Hope that helps answer your questions. BTW: My average is 3 minutes and 15 sec. and it's only because the pad feels slippery and maintaining a good grip is tricky, otherwise I could hang for longer. New record is 4 minutes now.
At 55 years of age I started dead hanging about a month ago and could only last 8 seconds. I'm up to 45 seconds now and already feel better, especially in my shoulder which suffered chronic pain. I'll keep doing this until I can hang for 2 full minutes and then I'll work on doing pullups.
Never realized how tough a 2min hang is to achieve until i tried. Barely lasted 20secs before hands gave out…
Do negatives as well you will be able to do pull ups better and faster.
@dfunckt you can do it Bro!! Don't give up!!
I can very hardly hold for a minute, though I can do lots of pull ups, life is really strange ^^
Now get into chins, and pullups.
I bought and installed a pull up bar in my basement 2 weeks ago. My first dead hang, my grip gave out at 30 seconds. I have been dead hanging twice a day. Now I can hold on for 45 seconds. The first couple of days I felt muscle aches in my chest, arms and shoulders from the stretching. I will work my way up to 2 minutes and then start negative chin ups. I am 69 and weigh 205.
I hurt my rotator cuff 3 years ago doing something stupid - pulling a log behind me with a rope. I should have been facing the log and walking backwards. I just finished 6 sessions of physical therapy and the shoulder feels a lot better. Hopefully the dead hanging will help my shoulder.
Your progress sounds amazing, as well as the chance to live somewhere where I could pull logs :) Let me know how you progress with this exercise!
Thank you! Very inspiring! Will try to do the same.
herniated and ruptured disc l1-l2-l3
ruptured disc l5-s1
terrible sciatic pain down entire left leg.
glute and calf muscle astrophy and no strength.
foot completely numb.
diagnoses surgery.
suffered with this for 4 months.
the majority of the debilitating pain was gone after 2 months but the constant burning and random stabbing sensation persisted.
chiropractor, inversion table, 2x daily stretching and sciatic ease, muscle relaxers and 1600-1800 mg helped a lot but it was always there.
started hanging.
daily as long as i could 6x a day (3am 3pm) in 1 week i was off all meds walking “mostly” normal, still really week calf.
have cancelled surgery for now, am working on strengthening my core and dropping 10-15 lbs.
age 50
6’4”
245
Amazing!!
If you feel you need more assistance find a Rolfer, it is a specialized body work technique that can have amazing results. Ida Rolf started the program in Boulder Colorado.
Hope you’re only doing better. Peace and health. ✌️PS maybe add restful yoga poses like Shavasana (corpse pose) to allow muscles working in your amazing hanging practice to rest completely. Our bodies need balance. ; )
This is true, the doctor couldn't understand how I became 3-4 inches taller. I mentioned I did chin ups and leg raisers. He said, "Ah, so this has contributed to elongating your spine." I also had a double disc herniation of L4 and L5, this has completely gone. This video validates what I thought about the pain and height gain. Thank you Fitnessdy. 💪🏽🔥❤
Thank you as well for sharing your story. I received many comments asking if this exercise truly works for the things you mentioned, so now we're even 😀
How old were you when you became 3-4 inches taller as a teen would grow more than an adult.
@@rickdecko1096 29-30 years old. Which was why it was really odd.
Absolute BS dude 😂
If you became 3-4 inches taller, first, you would know exactly how many inches, it's either 3 or 4, not 3-4
and secondly, you'd be on every news station in the world for growing 3 inches taller by just hanging from a bar everyday 😂
@@Tom_Swift ok sure 🤣🙃, I didn’t do it knowingly and why would I seek fame. Also it was over 10 years ago. I just went about my way. If you’re skeptical, just ask your doctor if it’s possible to compress or expand the space between your discs. It’s not over night and can revert back to its previous state if you stop doing it. Your posture also improves. Each to their own, but I was surprised and asked the doctor to check 3 times. It didn’t make sense to me either. Instead of just hanging, I did chin ups, so if you’re willing to become a test subject, consistently do it and take your height before and again each month, see for yourself. Personally I don’t care if you or anyone believes me or not. I just saw the video and it confirmed what the doctor said then it made sense. It would explain why the pain has completely gone. Have you ever had excruciating pain in L4 or L5 of the lumbar, so much that you’d seek and try anything to get out of that pain? I wouldn’t want anyone to experience it psychologically or physically. I hope for those that have been seeking an answer to get rid of that pain, the information here helps them. No need to challenge what I experienced by trolling 🤣
I'm 20yo, average sport man, I can do ±10 pullups. I thought it will be easy for me but when I tried it, it was really hard. I can holt just for 1 minute. Thanks for this video, now I know what will I improve.
Yes you can 😀
You can do 100+- pull ups? I did 56 pull ups in 1 min during military. Never tried for longer. Guess I’ll make that change starting today.
I am 54, suffer with hairstylist shoulder. My trainer had me dead hanging and I needed a bit more motivation so found this video. Excellent info. I am at 1min 45 when distracted. Hahah. Feeling good. Def helps with pain.
Thanks for sharing this! I hope you'll recover soon!
I've seen just about every medical practitioner about my neck pain... Just stumbled across this vid.... So I'll give this a go.. Nothing to lose
Please read through the comments above. There are different types of pain - some demand stretching the painful area, while others demand strengthening it. So, if your neck pain is caused by loose vertebrae, DH may do more harm than good. If your pain stems from a compressed disc, stretching the area may be great. As I said, read some of the other comments and you'll see what real people's experiences. Also, let me know how this goes for you if you end up doing it :)
@Fitnessdy good advice thank you!
I'm 68 years old. I do workout but was limited. I've had shoulder pain for a year then I discovered hanging within 30 days most pain was gone and within 60 days I was doing shoulder presses with no pain. It's been a year and I feel I have better posture , better grip strength and stand taller. I sometime incorporate leg raises into my hang. I'm a believer.
Wow amazing! Thanks for sharing your experience! How did you discover this and did you ask a physical therapist or trainer before starting?
I had a full width, full thickness tear of my supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons...further described as a massive rotator cuff tear in my imaging study. I started brachial hanging within a week and continued daily hanging 30 seconds several times per day following Dr. Kirsh's book and stragey. Bottom line, no surgery required and have now after 9 months recovered 75% of strength in the injured shoulder, and 100% of the range of motion. My orthopedic surgeon was amazed.
Wow, that's an amazing result! Good for you for trying! 💪💪
I am going to try it. I have a massive tear on my shoulder.
i usually hang until the skin on my hands pinch off and there is blood all over the pull up bar. I set the pull up bar over a cliff, and sometimes i run out of grip strength and my hands slip off the bar and i fall a few hundred feet and have to go to the hospital.
😅 ha, that's silly. You can achieve the same effect by placing a blood-thirsty hound under your bar, no need to drive in the middle of nowhere to find a cliff
😂
Brilliant 😂😂😂
Same
😂😂 How did you not get caught by the circling crocodiles 🐊?
I am a 70-year-old cyclist with a lower back injury left over from when I was 10 years old. I also have a right shoulder ergonomic injury that caused a frozen shoulder in 2014. Hanging has helped me with both of these old injuries.
Wooow, that sounds absolutely great!
I’m a 76 yr old female doing my first dead hang. I counted to 21 before stepping down. I am going to do this every day and I hope to get a little taller!
76 yo and 21 seconds is amazing!! 4 weeks for now, you won't believe where you started from!
i started off hanging, then doing negatives. to doing close grip pulls up, to now being able to do wide grip pull-ups. i’m trying to increase my hanging time !! i will do it everytime i’m in the gym & track my timing to see the continuous progress! i do notice a difference. when i first started i had bad shoulder pain from a car accident
Thanks for your feedback! I do appreciate it :) It's sooo interesting that different people have different experiences with this.
Also use a squash ball, or a 'gripper', that will assist in strengthening the forearms. It's a big help.
Nice!
63 years old, two shoulder surgeries (the second was a reverse replacement). I was told I probably won't regain a lot of my previous shoulder capability and mobility, and that assessment seemed correct ... until ... I started hanging. While I am not 100% (yet), I am waaay beyond what the surgeon said I would be able to do, more aligned that he said I should expect, and able to do things that he said I should forget. (I've been doing all of this with a PT, so this isn't throwing caution to the wind. We keep finding more mobility, more ability, and we re-set our goals every few months.) Of all the shoulder work I've done, hanging was the most effective.
That's truly inspirational, thanks for sharing! I especially like that you've had a PT guide you through all this.
I thought "2 minutes? Yeah, I can do that." Whoa...Two minutes is a LONG time!! I made it to the one minute mark, but that felt like a hour.
I know 😅
I think I will start with 30 seconds and work up from there. Hopefully even 30 seconds is beneficial.
1 remember the first time I did a 1 minute plank. It is a lifetime haha
try while listening to a punk music or other 2 minute music
True story. The world record longest dead hang is over 80 minutes. That’s what I call hanging around a long time!
:)))) good one!
@@Fitnessdy haha! I bet he was "dead" tired afterwards.
Yeeaaahhh.. Wasn't it that circus acrobat? 🥱
Probably a POW with no legs 😂
Gives new meaning to...."how's it hang'in"?
I’ve been dead hanging every day for a year and I’ve found it very beneficial for posture, back strength, and wrist strength. Definitely recommend it.
Wow, that's great! Thanks for sharing your experience!!
Decided to put up a dead hang bar a few weeks ago don't really have a program yet that being said i have been trying to get 6 minutes a week in total . I am 69 and have had several shoulder and collarbone injuries from having too much fun on a mtn and road bike over the last 30 years . I am optimistic !
🤞 please keep us posted and don't forget to ask your doctor if this exercise fits your specific medical condition!
My 73 year old neigbour likes the death hanging procedure very much. He is hanging around in his garden from an apple tree for 5 weeks now and gets taller and slimmer everyday.
Not sure how much of this is a joke 😃
I've done it, Hang, for 10 seconds, 15 sec the second time, So i guess I'm improving! 💪🏽😎
Nice work! That's exactly what this is about, challenging yourself every time!
Try using wrist wraps. Then the grip won’t be a limiting factor
I started dead hangs for 3 minutes this week and started having pains around my waist on the first day. However after a few days of doing thesame hangs, the pain has gone. I'll keep doing thisforamonth and see if I lose the hunch on my back as the spine should straighten itself. I'm 60, btw but have a metabolic age of 42.😅
Let me know your results! Also, i know that these issues have different causes, but make sure you keep a good posturr throughout the day. Otherwise, 3 minutes of deadhangs may not do much 😀 chest strengthening exercises and upper back stuff like rowing also helps. But since your metabolic age is 42 I bet you already know this - I'm just writing for others who may be interested in the same thing.
Tried this today. It feels good and i plan to make it a routine as part of my stretching routine.
Sounds great!
Up to 1:30 if I push 1:45 daily. Fixed my arthritis shoulder pain by about 85-90%. It works. Been doing about 1 yr. I am 76 years young.
Woah that's great 😀 I'm so glad I get so many inspiring stories!!
67 seconds today at 6’3 243 lbs. feels great
It does!!
Im about the same weight and did the same time last week
That type of exercise is very difficult to do for big men at all so you did great
by time ya hang for 2 min you will be 6'4" ;)
I'm glad I watched the video instead of only going by the title.
That's always great practice :))
Totally agree with traction as it decompresses the discs and then nerves, but hanging does not build muscle. You have to burn muscle fiber by resistance training allowing the fiber to grow back a little more each time. Hanging can only decrease nerve pressure causes by compression.
Yes, you're right, I was being colloquial here. I meant it builds strength for pull-ups. Thanks for the catch! 🩵💪
I imagine it will increase grip strength shoulder tendons, and others that I’m not aware of.
Do you hang???
Thanks for this as I have hearing a lot about the benefits of a dead hang but haven’t yet started to do it in my routines. I can now do 9 or 10 unaided pull ups and do suffer from shoulder pain my right shoulder so this will be very interesting to see what happens. My shoulder pain though is virtually completely gone since I started focusing on pull ups back in September so clearly there’s something to it.
🙏
That's great, thanks for sharing! Please let me know how it goes for you 😀
I’m 60 and do 45 minutes cardio a day and roughly 25 push ups per day. I also do 15- 20 pull ups per day. Will incorporate the dead hang into my work out.
Please come back here to tell us how it's going 🙂
Dam dude your in better shape than me and im half your age. Good job
Very nice stuff! Working now to be as fit as you are when i get to that age! Maybe you can consider adding some bodyweight squats or lunges if your body still allows it.
@@buckeye9252I do all that and more and I just hit 74. 😂. Dad was a body builder Weight lifter so I was in gym at 6. Nothing builds muscle like muscle built young
And never giving up
Arm hangs are challenging! Up to 90 seconds now. Completed a 2000 push-up challenge in 20 days for charity. All my strength training is body weight only, save for some dumbbell curls with 35lbers.
I've just watched and had to have a go. Holy smoke batman, 20 seconds before my grip gave up so I had a second go and could only manage another 10 seconds😁 That's with two frozen shoulders And they feel a little better already. I am going to do another 30 seconds later today and continue till I can do as many minutes as I can beyond two minutes. Had double heart attack in 2007, broken neck 2012. just for reference. Thank you for this video and I have just subscribed. Awareness Loves Life.
I've been "hanging" for years just to enjoy the stretch, the hormonal release, give the spine a good stretch and the bursa a break. I'm 60 & just underwent inguinal hernia surgery. Once recovered enough beginning hanging for periods, (less than 60 seconds), & not to exceed your comfort level can be beneficial in hernia recovery. BE CAREFUL!
That sounds great! Not that you got hernia, but that you were able to recover 😅
Deadhangs and birddogs are must do daily exercise .... especially for brazilian jiu-jitsu people.
What Are birddogs?
Yep. Absolutely great for the shoulders when they feel tight from weightlifting, etc. Loosens up the joint extremely well. Great for grip strength too.
Great to hear!
Hang in there guys! It gets easier with time
I see what you did there 😉
Ended up purchasing wall mounted bar after watching the video.. thank you
Thank me after you start seeing results :)
Thanks for the great advice . I practice dead hang but not regularily. I will do it now and target the 2 minutes. Blessings.
Thank you for sending yout blessings! Same to you!
I was in bodybuilding in the 80s as a female and was very strong. I let some things go. Now at 60 I just saw this and thought I should try it. OMG! I once was quite good at bars in gymnastics and never thought I would lose it. I lost it. A dead hang should have been on my must-do list years ago. It is hard to do, who knew? I thought it would be easy.😯😧😕
Okay can I get in contact with you somehow through any social media
Yes, it's hard, but it pays off 😀
100% convinced me I am subscribe and thank you for the great advice
Welcome aboard!
I’m 167 years old and I lost both my arms 58 years ago. I hang from my plastic arms for hours on end. I feel GREAT!!!!!!! Thanks doc!!
:)) lol
I can do this. I am doing this. ..
Excellent job.
Wonderful! 🩵💪💪💪
I have been carrying a long time back injury. As a Vancouver Firefighter, I compressed the 3 bottom vertebrae in a nightclub fire, and lost about an inch of height. I am extremely active at 69 years old, 5'10, and 180, but always wary of my back. I am excited to start "hanging" and hope that I can regain some of my height, and overall add another strenthening exercice to kick it up another notch! 😅
Please let me know how it goes! I'm so sorry to hear about your accident. Firefighters are the bravest people on Earth!
I dead hanged for 5 min 10 secs straight. i won a deadhang competition at my gym after doing that. second place was only 2 minutes lol
Great work!
Wow, great job
So am I 😂... it has made my life so much easier, both physically, mentally and spiritually. Feeling great is always an attribute.
Happy to hear it has worked for you!
I do the hang but not for two minutes. I am going to work my way up to two minutes and see the results. I am sure this is great advice.Thank you for the heads up. c]8-)
Wonderful!
I've never tried hanging for time. I used to do 8 pullups to warm up and stretch my spine in my 40's and 50's. However, I always grabbed the handles at the gym instead of the overhand grip on the bar. By handles, I mean the hand grips at 90 degrees from the bar spaced about shoulder width apart.
Now at age 70 I just now installed a suitable safe bar and can only do about 3 clean pullups or chinups on a bar because of my strength limitations, but I also think it's because I prefer the hand grips to manage tendon pain. Any full out extension hanging gives horrible shooting pain in elbow tendons and shoulders. The pain isn't as bad at the top of the pullup/chinup.
After seeing this vid, I just tried a bar hang (overhand pullup grip) for my first time and made just under 60 seconds before the pain was too much. I'm going to install handles to see if I get better pain relief. I think my grip strength and core will make 2 minutes soon enough, if the tendonitis pain can be avoided.
Am I losing the benefit of this exercise if I use hand grips?
That's a good question and the answer is no in theory. However, in practice, the way you described your pain suggests to me that you may not benefit from the stretch at all for your shoulders. Instead, you may need more stabilization and muscle strength in the area. Of course, I'm not a chiropractor and I can't say much over the internet anyway, but I'd suggest you at least be careful with this and let me know how you feel!
Of course it makes sense. It stretches out your spine. All spines eventually compress due to gravity. Thats why old people are hunched over.
Yes, but also because muscle strength decreases with age. Weak chest, spine, back and glute muscles, even weak hamstrings, hips and shoulders may all contribute to poor posture. And all that could be easily solved by resistance/weight training 2 times per week, but sooo few people do it 😐
I’m 154 years old and I started doing dead hangs two months ago. I feel great!!
:)))
okay you got me , so many benefits i'll start :)
I'm 196 years old and i been doing this since i was in my dad's sack. I could truly vouch everything the narrator has said.
🤣🤣🤣
Great video guys! Just a follow-up question here.
Is there a perfect position of the hands in a dead hang? As in, just above the shoulders? Or wider? And if wider, then how much? That's the only confusion I have.
The typical recommendation is using an underhand grip at shoulder-width apart. However, people have different body types and so a PT may recommend different forms.
For example, a person with wide hip bones may get more out of doing wider squats. In the same way, depending on your bone structure, you may need to place your hands wider than shoulder-width.
Besides, you can frequently change between hand positions to target different muscles in the upper body and, therefore, reap different benefits. As a side note, I try to experiment and do different adjustments in general to see how my muscles respond, whether I'm doing strength training or stretching.
Hope that helped! Let me know how it goes for you.
@@Fitnessdy That helped! Will surely let you know! Thanks again!
@@FitnessdyThe one thing that I think is overlooked in this video. How to proceed into the hang is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! The video illustrates very fit people jumping up and grabbing the bar. People starting out should use a platform to reach the bar. Otherwise, when you jump up to grab the bar you are slamming those joint with a lot of Force Instantaneously.
Please also note that there is a neutral grip, pull up grip, and chin up grip. A combination of the three caused my forearms to become far more pronounced. With the help of creatine my life time push-up goal went from 60 push-ups to 100 push-ups. Even I am shocked because I am 66 years old.
@Fitnessdy I want to start hanging. I am a very very beginner. I'm 58 yo. How long should I start hanging for and how many times. Do you have a recommended routine
@@paysour3thank you for this info - very helpful!
Hanging does not compress your chest (around 5:50). Though it hinders the usage of breathing musculature and so encourages it to overcompensate and get stronger. The outcome is correct :) DH makes the breathing easier.
Thank you, good correction 🙂
Im hung for 24 hours a day
😂
Lol
😈
You’re crazy! Lol
You should marry again 😂
Hello, I am 68 years, 1.80m and 68 kg. For me a challenge to the dead hang. This first time to day a could hang 1m.30s. so I think I will reach two minutes in less then 2 weeks. You inspired me to do this from now on. I hope I have the discipline to keep it in my daily program. Thanks a lot!
Hey, thanks so much for reaching out! I'm rooting for you, your time is impressive!
A lot of people can even hang for one minute..
I only handle 30 sec each time , and a few times a day.
Yes, it takes work (and possibly fitness gloves) to get there, but the benefits are worth it.
I love this vlog! By just watching it, I can feel my spine cracking with delight! Thank you!💪
And thank you for the comment :)
When I started this I was 5'7". After just 2 months I am now 6'6" but as it's only my spine that has stretched I look a bit odd now and can now lift 5x my own body weight. Amazing.
😀
Lol
Keep it up!!
YEAH, SAME WITH ME BUT ALSO WENT FULL 9" :-)@@davemoss9505
Every fourth day I do 3sets of pull-ups
35 wide grip overhand
32 narrow grip underhand
12 -wide grip with 15 lbs
Every evening I do dead hangs for 1:20
That's an amazing upper body workout, plus it's fast, too. I'll try this tomorrow when I go to the gym and see if I can still type afterwards :))
You show people jumping up to reach the bar.." Never " do that.Always use a bench,stool or stack 2 steps on top of each other and STEP off of those and start the hang.To finish,step on those first then let your hands go.My hands are cramped after 2 minutes and I could not imagine just letting go and dropping..I have been dead hanging for 6 months now 4-5 times/week 2-3 minutes each time and my back,shoulders,forearms,fingers feel great. My posture has improved immensely .SERIOUSLY THOUGH YOU SHOULD REDO THIS VIDEO ...
Thanks for the feedback, but can you explain what is the drawback from jumping to catch the bar? Also, glad hanging is working out for you 🩵💪
Its more about when you finish the dead hang and your hands are cramped up and trying to move them to let go of the bar.Its easier to simply have a platform to step on first before you let go of the bar.@@Fitnessdy
Also the dead hang is supposed to be exactly how the words say DEAD HANG " . Jumping up can create motion and even stress your shoulder joints which you don't want@@Fitnessdy
Ok, thank you for explaining!
Letting go of the bar is extremely easy after 2 minutes idk what you mean
I’ll try it this weekend and come back for results.
Yes, please do. Theory and practice are different and we people are also extremely different from one another, so personal experience takes the cake when it comes to workouts. That said, I'm curious to hear your thoughts!
Good content but two minutes isn't exactly for beginners.
I'm an older powerlifter and has done close to two minutes, but the struggle is real 💯
Fair enough, 2 minutes is definitely an ideal for many of us. Thanks for the appreciation, if you have any other topic suggestions, let me know! I'm sure I could use your experience 😀
@@Fitnessdy - I'll take a look at your content later.
Got some training videos on my channel if you're interested 👍🏻
On my list 😀
@@Fitnessdy - did you check the playlist?😉
Yesss, very nice, I actually was impressed 😀 even left a comment to one 😀
There's also spinal decompression benefits by holding the top position of a "corner dip". Basically find a corner at a counter or desk and lock your arms and elbows straight while you depress your shoulders and support your lower body in mid air, with or without bent knees as needed.
I find I can get better decompression on my lumbar by holding this compared to hanging from a too short bar. It's also easier to do in a work environment than hanging, though it's not an either or thing, both can be done throughout the day as opportunities present and are beneficial in different ways.
Exactly right. Very well explained, thanks for sharing!
I've been dh'ing for a while and have yet to see the benefits you mention. Lower back pain persists (muscle, not joints) & bad posture (rounded shoulders). Improvement in strength and grip: yes, slightly...lungs (breathing) and mood, not at all...uncompressed disc, who knows? I am up to 2 min 15 secs and continue to hit it.
Ah, muscle pain is different than joint pain. That said, it's a very interesting insight (though I'm sorry you didn't reap most of the benefits). How long have you been dead hanging for?
8 months@@Fitnessdy
That's a lot, tgere shoild have been more benefits by now. Are you using the correct form? What does your doctor say about the pain? For posture, the pull-up machine helps, plus everything Pilates
Deadlifts are pretty effective against lower back pain plus squats. Strong abs and glutes also help.
Exactly. Glute bridges are also amazing for posterior chain
00:01 Hanging for 2 minutes daily has multiple benefits for the body.
00:57 Two-minute dead hang has spine-specific benefits
01:48 Dead hang strengthens upper body and core.
02:40 Hanging for 2 minutes transforms body through muscle targeting and posture improvement.
03:32 Hanging for 2 minutes per day positively affects your posture
04:21 Dead hang helps in shoulder injury recovery
05:12 Hanging for 2 minutes offers multiple health benefits
06:08 Hanging for 2 minutes transforms your body
Crafted by Merlin AI.
Looks great, thanks!!
I'm a 70 year old male who's been lifting for a number of years. I have only recently been doing the dead hang and can only manage just over 1 minute. Is that good or bad?
You put the zing in amazing 😀 very few beginners manage this much. 2 minutes is more like a goal for most that we should work towards. Anything that helps us get there is great 😀
I’m in my late thirties and have trouble with a minute of hanging. You’re doing really well mate.
I’m in my 60s. A minute of hanging is tough, you are doing really well. When i started i lasted about 20 seconds and am now up to a minute.
Ever since I started doing dead hang, a lot of pain in my back and left arm went away! The video also mentions cervical pain, but I can't picture how it works. Cervical spine, ie. neck, is ABOVE our shoulders. How would stretching below the shoulders affect what is above them?
It works indirectly by correcting your position and fixing the other imbalances 😀 I apologize for not explaining more clearly!
Top video...let's give it a go!!
Hope you enjoy!
I'm 999 years old and can bench 450 lbs. I hang for 30 minutes at a time over a spike fit filled with piranhas and rabid sharks, and found it increased my bench to 2000 lbs, gave me an extra $50k in income a month and women flocked to me after my d*** grew to 2 ft in length... I'm so glad I started doing these!
😅🫣
I am going to try to dead hang w/ a band @ my gym because I have never done this before!
This is our February challenge to!
That sounds awesome!
Great Content
Thank you! If you have suggestions for any other topics, please let me know 🙂
yes, you’ve convinced me to try
Good luck :) Be sure to watch my latest video on dead hanging mistakes, too. I included the link above in this video's description :)
I can hang 2 minutes and 3 seconds personal best time
That's a good time 🙂
That will win you $200 in Orlando.
Pretty darn good! I'm up to a minute maybe a bit more! Shootin' for 5 mins!
I broke my collarbone almost ten years ago and it has massively effected my entire upper body. I have a lot of pain and tissue in my body that feels locked up. I recently came across this information and the pullup bar I ordered to drill into my cieling is coming tomorrow, I am expecting powerful results. I've always been able to do a lot of pullups and have no problem hanging but I have never approached it in a therapy context.
Please consider asking a doctor or physiotherapist before using your pull-up bar. Hanging has some awesome results for people who need to stretch their joints or spine, but it can backfire if you actually need to strengthen specific joints/ muscles. I actually did try to convey that in this video. For example, if your vertebrae are loose. Here's Aaron Horschig explaining it for the spine, but you can apply the same reasoning for your collarbone: th-cam.com/video/rOCrfoiYVu0/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=SquatUniversity
I'm 93 years old and noticed my neighbor Brad started dead hanging from the rose arbor in our retirement home's garden. In no time he became the strongest, fittest and tallest resident. And LOL (little old ladies) started hitting on him like Donald Brashear on Ottawa Senators. So, I emulated him and developed bilateral shoulder impingement. Now I cant feed myself or choke the chicken. Thanks Fitnessdy!
😅 I hope that's a joke though. If not, please don't try other exercises off the internet after talking with your doctor or a personal trainer to see if they fit
I did a 100 second dead hang yesterday and a full 2 minutes on my first try today. It took everything I had. I'm gonna keep at it.
Awesome!
No mention in this 7 minute video as to whether you should 'dead hang' with no muscular engagement at all (i.e. totally disengaging the shoulders and relaxing the entire upper body) or with some engaged tension in your lats, chest, shoulders, back and abs. There's a huge difference and it's important.
That's an awesome critique, thank you for pointing it out! Dead hanging means no muscular engagement at all.
Thanks so much for having the integrity & wisdom to answer this. I will take your advise and try this now. @@Fitnessdy
The dead hang helped heal my shoulders twice. I tried it about 15 years ago when I injured my shoulder in my tennis days, and recently from weight lifting... it works, but be smart, diligent and incremental. My dead hangs have been with the bar pull down machine where weight can be added incrementally. Instead of your body weight pulling your body downward, the machine pulls you from the top in a traction type pull, but the end result is the same, including lengthening your spine. In fact, now, when ever I used a weight machine that automatically compresses, e.g. an incline or shoulder press machine, I finish my work out with a good hang at about 100 pounds to stretch everything back out.
: )
That's an excellent tactic. It's called weighted stretching and it's becoming more and more popular. You can do it with most/all gym machines. I especially like it with the adduction machine, great for the hips and inner thighs!
Hanging fixed my rotator cuff issues in a few weeks.
Awesome 💪
I had pinching shoulder pain for 3 months straight and tried dead hanging. I do 60 seconds 3x per day. Morning, afternoon and before bed. After 2 days of doing this my shoulder pain disappeared. I keep doing it for maintenance.
That sounds awesome!
I've been doing dead hangs for a long time but never knew how beneficial they really are. I used to do them before starting my pull ups. I also do a sort of reverse shrug while hanging which is an awesome exercise. Needless to say, I didn't hold for 2 minutes when shrugging or prepping for pull-ups! Thanks for sharing this info. I plan to start timing my hang-time!
Doing pre-pull-up shrugs is an awesome tip, thanks 💪
Ah I would have never guessed. Looking forward to trying this exercise.
Let me know how it goes!
I'm going to work this in my routine.💪🏽
Good luck! Let me know how it goes!
I was 62 years old when I started hanging. At first i could only hang for less than a minute but then I worked my way up to two minutes. I have seen many health benefits and after several years of practicing I am now only 48 years old.
Hey, it sounds like you're doing them a bit wrong, you should have been 46 by now 😅
This is so underrated.
Yes 😀
Im 29, i stopped going to the gym because i had som problems with my shoulder/blades/right hip and abs. This has made me so tired and tense and im so frking tired of it.. anyways, been trying this 3 days now, when i let go of the bar i literally feel happiness, and something is going on in my back, i dont know what.. but it feels good. I really think this can help me.
(This discomfort/pain has been eating me slowly for the last 6 years)
I hope it will help you as well!
The dead hang definitely works. After a recent. severe rotator cuff injury (3 torn tendons and one completely ruptured), I've found that, in conjunction with pull-ups, the dead hang offers me relief from shoulder pain. Now, it you really want to do away with back problems (which I've suffered with for 25 years), get yourself an inversion table. Hanging upside down (or even close to it) offers a tremendous array of benefits, spinal/vertebral extension, etc. It was a life saver for me (and I never had to have the surgeries that I was told I must have). Try it, you'll thank me later.
Oh wow, that sounds genuinely fantastic! It's so great that you managed to find these solutions
I had wild shoulder pain and clicking up until I started doing this. I went to therapy for so long and would do anything to build strength and flexibility. For some reason this solved it all.
Amazing, so many people see this result! What was the cause of your shoulder pain and clicking?
Should we stand normal while hanging or release our body? While I release my body, it is getting harder to take a breath. I hope I explained understandable.
Yes, I get it. You're supposed to let yourself hang, meaning relax completely. Of course, that leads to some breathing difficulties because the grip leads to slight thoracic compression and some people may even hold their breaths. You could try holding your hands slightly wider than shoulder width. Just so you know, this also happens to me :) I try to breathe normally during the DH and maintain a slightly wider grip 😀
Thank you!! I will add to my workout.
Hope you like it!
@@Fitnessdy Yes I do. I held on for less time than I anticipated. My right shoulder gives out after 30 seconds as a result of an injury. I will keep trying and this will probably fix it!!
I am definitely a fan of bar hangs. But what is described here is not a completely "dead hang". A "dead hang" should specify the core to be relaxed to allow the lower spine to stretch. An active hang keeps the abs tight which certainly should improve core strength and appearance. But you can't get both benefits simultaneously, right? Sounds like doing both "active hangs" and "dead hangs" are valuable, and each has slightly different benefits. I think both forms would equally improve shoulders and grip as mentioned. Any thoughts on this?
Actually, I believe(d until now) that an active hang entails scapular retraction, not activating your abs, which prevents you from swinging around but doesn't cause stiffness in the spine. You raise a good point, though. Let's test this and see how it feels 😀
The limiting factor of dead hang is the forearm muscles. You will first lose the grip before any other muscle feeling exhaustion.
Im my case, the limiting factor was the fingers 😀 can't do it for more than 1 minute without gloves
Thanks!! 2 minuts it’s a long time!!
It sure is :) I can only do it for 1:30-1:40 now :D