Dead hangs: they’re not as morbid as they sound.
In all honesty, my favorite form of wellness is having a set routine. Yes, the routine changes with the season of life I’m in, but it always includes the core elements of skincare, a reasonable bedtime, the gym, reading, writing, and watching TV. All that to say, my body does a lot of weird moving (especially my neck), but for months, I haven’t had any soreness in my neck or back. Why? Because of a simple exercise, known as the dead hang. This is the secret to being decompressed that I swear by.
What are Dead Hangs?
Dead hangs are a form of exercise that involves hanging from your fully extended arms off a bar with your feet off the ground, and using grip strength to stay suspended. The movement is simple to execute, but not necessarily to maintain.
Dead hangs are an exercise recommended by physiotherapists and gym trainers alike for their numerous health benefits. These include decompressing your spine, increasing shoulder mobility, improving your grip strength, and even correcting your posture. If you have had previous shoulder, elbow, or wrist issues, you should consult a professional before you try to dead hang.
Why I Dead Hang
I learned about dead hanging from an old Tweet (so old that the platform was still called Twitter), where a poster had dealt with a chronic nerve pinching in their lower back for years. After receiving advice from a random reply to dead hang for 30 seconds, they claimed their pain disappeared. While I can’t verify the truth of this whole interaction, I can confirm it inspired me to try dead hanging.
Dead hangs are surprisingly difficult. You’re holding your whole body weight from mostly just the strength in your forearms and hands. But now, I hang dead for about 45 seconds to a minute during every workout.
As I said before, I’m never sitting in the ‘right’ position. I sleep on my stomach with my neck crooked, I look straight down to read, and I’m even sitting in a hunched position as I write this! My poor back and neck get abused daily. But I’ve certainly noticed a change, with reduced neck and back pain and an increased ability to hold heavy weights for longer periods of time. Also, since I’m currently working towards doing a strict pull-up, my stronger grip has been extremely helpful!
How to Become a Dead Hang Expert
If you want to start doing dead hangs, but you’re finding it difficult, here are my personal tips. You can start by placing a box or band underneath your feet and practice shifting about half your bodyweight into your hands to increase your strength. A box will provide more support than a band if you really need it.
If you’re struggling to get a good grip on the bar or you find it too slippery, you might use grip straps while you’re just starting out. You can find them for cheap on Amazon. However, building up natural grip strength is important, as medical studies have found that weaker grip strength is associated with higher mortality and lower quality of life as you age.
Whether you’re an active girl who’s looking for a new, effective stretch or a bookworm with terrible posture (or both, like me!), try dead hangs the next time you’re in the gym! It might just change your life.