What Happens to Your Body When You Hang Every Day?

Do you know what happens to your body when you hang every day? Keep scrolling to find out.

In another series of fitness challenges, why not try the dead hang challenge? The dead hang, or simply hang, is a very easy-to-do exercise that nearly anyone in the world is capable of.

Case in point, the link below.

VIDEO: 10-Year-Old Wins Dead-Hang Challenge Set by Mat Fraser

The dead hang or hanging exercise is a simple yet effective strength training exercise that primarily targets the muscles of the upper body, particularly the back, shoulders, and grip. It involves hanging from a bar or other stable object with your arms fully extended and your feet off the ground.

To perform a dead hang exercise:

1. Find a sturdy horizontal bar or pull-up bar that can support your body weight.
2. Stand underneath the bar and reach up to grasp it with an overhand grip (palms facing away from you) or an underhand grip (palms facing toward you).
3. Ensure your hands are slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
4. Lift your feet off the ground, allowing your body weight to be supported by your arms.
5. Keep your arms fully extended and your shoulders relaxed.
6. Engage your core and maintain a straight body position, avoiding excessive swinging or bending at the hips.
7. Hold the position for a desired duration, starting with shorter durations and gradually increasing as your strength improves.
8. To finish the exercise, lower yourself down with control and place your feet back on the ground.

Source: Unsplash

Now what would happen to your body, how would it evolve or get better/fitter/stronger, if you hang every day for 5 minutes? That is what Stan Browney, a calisthenics athlete and a YouTube sensation with more than 2 million subscribers, decided to talk about.

What Happens to Your Body When You Hang Every Day?

The information below is taken from a video he shared a while ago while watching someone else talking about the dead hang exercise. His idea was to debunk or agree with whatever the video was talking about.

As a calisthenics expert, it is better to take Browney’s word for it than the video he was watching himself.

In the end, this is what he agreed with that 5 minutes of hanging every day will do to your body:

• Improved grip strength
• Posture correction
• Spinal decompression
• Shoulder strengthening and injury repair

Check out the video for his full analysis.

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Regularly performing dead hangs can indeed benefit a variety of lifts and exercises. Here’s how dead hangs can specifically enhance other movements:

1. Deadlift: Dead hangs improve grip strength, which is crucial for maintaining a secure hold on the bar during deadlifts. By developing a stronger grip, you’re less likely to experience grip fatigue or have the bar slip from your hands during heavy deadlift sets. This allows you to focus more on the posterior chain muscles (such as the glutes and hamstrings) that are the primary targets of the deadlift.
2. Pull-Ups and Chin-Ups: Dead hangs are a fundamental component of pull-up and chin-up exercises. By regularly practicing dead hangs, you strengthen the muscles necessary for initiating and controlling the movement. Improved grip strength, scapular stability, and upper body endurance gained from dead hangs directly transfer to enhanced performance in pull-ups and chin-ups.
3. Rows: Dead hangs can benefit various rowing exercises, such as barbell rows, dumbbell rows, or bodyweight rows. The increased grip strength and scapular stability developed through dead hangs help maintain proper form and control during rowing movements. This translates to better muscle engagement and a reduced risk of compensatory movements that could compromise your technique.
4. Bench Press: While the direct impact of dead hangs on bench press may be limited, the increased grip strength and shoulder stability gained from dead hangs can indirectly contribute to better bench press performance. A stronger grip ensures that you can maintain control of the bar, and improved shoulder stability reduces the risk of shoulder injuries during the exercise.
5. Push-Ups: Dead hangs can improve push-up performance by strengthening the muscles involved in stabilizing the shoulder girdle. Enhanced grip strength also aids in maintaining a stable hand position during push-ups, allowing for better force transmission through the upper body. Overall, the improved scapular stability and upper body endurance gained from dead hangs can help you maintain proper form and perform more efficient push-ups.

Source: Nigel Msipa on Unsplash

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The frequency of dead hangs depends on your fitness level, goals, and recovery capacity. While dead hangs can be a valuable exercise, it’s generally not recommended to perform them every day, especially for beginners or those with limited grip strength.

You should always take into account your recovery, training goals, and individual factors such as injury-prone, genetics, or ability.

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