Dead hang for shoulder health, imbalance, and more!

On 25/1/2015 at 11:47 PM, Alessandro Mainente said:

Dead hang could be a very interesting exercise to evaluate the handstand shoulders opening without see directly handstand. if you can perform a supine one arm hang without body rotation you should have the necessary shoulders flexibility. i've tested 1 hundred person on that. the only one who had this ability is, by chance (?),  the only one who can demonstrate a perfect hollow handstand. He is my student, and I promote GB movement as primarily conditioning work.

Interesting to read this thread.

For the one arm hangs would prefer to use a ring or would you use bar to hang from?

ring will rotate as you have big tension is the connective tissue. bar does not give you escape ways.

Good subject.Going to add deadhangs more often to my workouts.

I like to include 1 x arm dead hangs both prone and supine, aiming for sets of 30 secs per arm. I find this a great exercise for opening my shoulders when training handstand.

56 minutes ago, Winter Phoenix said:

I like to include 1 x arm dead hangs both prone and supine, aiming for sets of 30 secs per arm. I find this a great exercise for opening my shoulders when training handstand.

I do the exact same thing. A very good warm up

Talk about reviving a dead thread. AWESOME.

12 hours ago, Winter Phoenix said:

I like to include 1 x arm dead hangs both prone and supine, aiming for sets of 30 secs per arm. I find this a great exercise for opening my shoulders when training handstand.

@Winter Phoenix, how many times a week do you do one arm deadhangs and how many weeks of preforming this exercise do you notice decent improvements in flexibility.

I do dead hangs as part of my warmup too. 

Hi Angel, 

I do dead hangs as part of my warm up every day. In terms of the results you will see it will depend on your initial level of tightness. Like everything with the body it can take some time for you to see some adaptations. Be consistent and you will surely notice results.

What about joining elbows with elastic band during chinup grip deadhang as wide as possible? I read it can be usefull for shoulder pain\tightness

Hi, 

The supine hang is in included as the IM for RC PE21. In Foundation we don't recommend the use of elastics to join the elbows. Coach has spent a lot of time designing and integrating the mobility elements. The best results will be gained by sticking to the course structure.

5 hours ago, Winter Phoenix said:

Hi Angel, 

I do dead hangs as part of my warm up every day. In terms of the results you will see it will depend on your initial level of tightness. Like everything with the body it can take some time for you to see some adaptations. Be consistent and you will surely notice results.

Thank you for responding.Going to start doing deadhangs on days I lift weights and do calisthenics.

That sounds like a good action plan Angel, please keep us updated with your progress.

Thank you Luke.Will start doing the deadhangs tommorow since I am working out upper body.I use to do deadhangs years ago for improving my grip strength for heavy weighted walking lunges,deadlifts,weighted pullups/chinups, etc so its also a good exercise to improve grip strength.Will post my results in a couple weeks of doing deadhangs 2-4 times a week.If I should do more sessions in a week please let me know.

Look forward to hearing how you are progressing with things

@Angel Chav That sounds good for right now let's go by feel in regards to the volume of your dead hangs and progress from there. Our coaches are waiting here for your feedback and to guide you.

I train in a Boulder place. Some people there seem to have the idea that hanging without having active shoulder blades is very bad for you shoulder. Since so many people here have such good results with it, how did climbers come up with the idea that its not good? (When asking they simply said its too much force on the shoulder joint)

Is it also a good thing to do those when having shoulder tendonitis?

Hi Michael,

I can see that you have just begun with the Foundation course. The best advice that I can give you is to follow the progressions in your course this is the fastest way to progress. In regards to some climbers having the opinion that the dead hang is no good this division of opinion is standard in the fitness industry. The dead hang in a supine position is a mobility element in the rope climb progressions which suggests that Coach Sommer  values this exercise and sees benefit in it's performance when introduced at the correct stage.

If you have shoulder tendonitis Coach recommends rest above all other treatments until the issue has subsided. 

On 1/24/2017 at 0:58 PM, Luke Searra said:

@Angel Chav That sounds good for right now let's go by feel in regards to the volume of your dead hangs and progress from there. Our coaches are waiting here for your feedback and to guide you.

I did 4 sets of 30 second deadhangs yestersday as part of my back workout,it felt good.Going to add dislocates as well.

Nice Angel, hang time is great time! Post some videos for us.  

Thank you Tanya.I did deadhangs again today as part of my chest workout.I have lots of room to improve my shoulder flexibility and hope to improve my overall flexibility.Will post a progress video when I can do 12 one hand pushups with both feet together.Last time I did that I was in my mid 20's so it will be a huge improvement for me.