Dead hangs for strength and joint health

[Z...]

I hang upside down at least twice a day and I think it has even better effect in terms of lower back decompression as well as the upper back and neck. At least that is my experience.
Dead hangs may be more effective for those who have shoulder problem though.

 

[gottathink]

I’ve had the rings for like 8 years, the bar is fairly new, I don’t hang everyday though, I definitely feel like I’m cheating because I’m sort of like a monkey, if I see bars at a park I feel compelled to show the children how it’s done .

Relegate you to coach then

 

[gottathink]

Dead hangs are great, although they can exacerbate low back pain in some people. This video talks about the issue and offers some solutions:

(A good way to increase spine stiffness and stability is to do the classic McGill "big 3" exercises. The advice is to do all of them daily, but personally I just do one exercise per day, then the next exercise the following day, etc.)

Shoulders can be a limiting factor as well when dead hanging, but there are ways to fix the problem, for example:

When I hang I use my abs and leg/hip position to let my spine hang in a neutral position, then I activate the lower lat fibres in a partial lat shrug. Then from there check my shoulder rotation, pelvic balance, etc. correcting any asymmetries. Hanging for 2 mins gives plenty of time to neutralise the spine, balance the shoulders and arms. I think best results would be obtained by not hanging passively. So holding y.ourself in a good posture to optimise results.
Hanging every day will be interesting to see how body adapts.

 

[gottathink]

I hang upside down at least twice a day and I think it has even better effect in terms of lower back decompression as well as the upper back and neck. At least that is my experience.
Dead hangs may be more effective for those who have shoulder problem though.

Good idea, another one I find really useful is a handstand in an inverted ‘L’ shape. With the feet on the wall, hips flexed to 90 degrees and knees fully extended. It strengthens the shoulders (provided the alignment is good and joints are stacked) as well as decompresses the thoracic spine. It’s counter intuitive but works really well for me.

 

[Jones]

Dead hangs are great, although they can exacerbate low back pain in some people. This video talks about the issue and offers some solutions:

(A good way to increase spine stiffness and stability is to do the classic McGill "big 3" exercises. The advice is to do all of them daily, but personally I just do one exercise per day, then the next exercise the following day, etc.)

Shoulders can be a limiting factor as well when dead hanging, but there are ways to fix the problem, for example:

Thanks for the heads up, I do have lower back instability - spondylolisthesis with bilateral pars fracture:



It was measured at grade two at my last set of images a year ago, but hopefully it's realigning into better position as I work with the chiro.





....but, have been doing a modified version of the cat-camel stretch daily for a year and added a traction element that stretches both shoulders and spine to that exercise around 6 months ago. If Mercola is correct, the traction has already started the process of mechanotransduction to strengthen the tendons and ligaments and I feel keen to give it a go, because while I take on board the warning about lower back instability, I feel like I need more traction through my shoulders and thoracic spine. There is calisthenics park just down the road that has some bars that I can try dead hangs from before I decide whether to invest in equipment and I'll also run it by the chiro.

If you want to try adding some traction to the cat-camel I'll describe how it's done.

From the neutral position of the cat-camel as in figure 1:



- position yourself so that you are facing a bed or couch and move close enough so that you can place your forehead and elbows onto the bed or couch. For the cat-camel without traction, bend your elbows and place palms down on the area between your neck and shoulders. From here you'll be able to feel the flexion and extension of your upper spine and will also be engaging your shoulder blades to add additional force onto your ribs > spine as you move through the pose.

For the traction element straighten your arms out and place palms down on the bed or couch. Although now I realise that shoulder rotation is also important, I guess you could vary the orientation of your palms. As you move through the pose, when you get to the neutral position as in figure 1. above, press your knees towards the bed/couch and push your backside away from it. You can control how much force you put into it and it's limited because if you put too much force into it, your arms just start sliding on the bed/couch.

Initially I mostly felt the traction through my shoulders, but as time went on I started to feel the traction go further down my spine.