Here’s a video on it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IymQ1VA3h2k
And Dr Mercola writes:
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- When you dead hang you use gravity to free muscles around your shoulder — like the lats and chest — that can become stiff from sitting at a computer
- This movement can reshape the bone surrounding your shoulder to make more space in the ball and socket joint so your shoulder can move more freely
- The dead hang exercise also increases your grip strength, which is one of the biggest predictors of mortality
- A good target hang time is 90 seconds for men and 60 seconds for most women. Though longer durations are possible, it’s more beneficial to aim for shorter, more frequent sessions
- A digital hand dynamometer is the easiest and most reliable way of measuring your hand strength, and owning one can help you keep track of your grip strength over time
When you dead hang you use gravity to create space in your shoulders that are typically more compressed from modern-day lifestyle. This opens up muscles around your shoulder — like the lats and chest — that can commonly become stiff from sitting at a computer. This movement can literally reshape the bone surrounding your shoulder to make more space in the ball and socket joint so your shoulder can move more freely.
This movement also increases your grip strength, which is one of the biggest predictors of mortality. If done correctly, it can actually make your shoulders and core stronger and more resilient, giving you more strength and athleticism throughout your entire body.
If you’re new to this exercise, you may initially hang for only a few seconds. With regular practice, you will aim to gradually increase the time spent on your regular practice of this exercise. I like to do it first thing in the morning after waking up and before I go to bed. I also integrate it into my resistance training.
General Recommendations on Duration
A good target hang time is 90 seconds for men and 60 seconds for most women. Though longer durations are possible, it’s more beneficial to aim for shorter, more frequent sessions. A total daily hang time of 3 minutes is an excellent goal.
While there’s substantial benefit in accumulating 3 minutes of dead hanging time per day, aiming for a continuous hang of 1 minute for women and 90 seconds for men, repeated twice daily for men and three times daily for women for a total of 3 minutes is a far better goal. I typically dead hang for two minutes twice a day. Seeking to work my way up to 3 minutes as a personal challenge.
The longer dead hanging time significantly enhances muscular strength in your grip and hands compared to shorter, more frequent sessions. Initially, breaking it up into smaller durations may be necessary for most people starting out. However, as you progress, you’ll find it increasingly feasible to comfortably maintain the hang for the full duration — either 1 minute for women or 90 seconds for men.
This duration should suffice for general fitness goals. Nevertheless, for those who are particularly competitive or ambitious, consider challenging yourself further by extending the time. Aim for longer holds like 2 or even 3 minutes, depending on your strength and endurance levels. That said, hanging longer than 3 minutes is unnecessary and may be counterproductive.
Recommended Setup
The dead hang is a simple exercise that requires little equipment. Here are some general tips and suggestions for getting started.
| Setting up — Use an overhead bar, like a pull-up bar, which can be easily purchased online. |
| Bar height — The bar should not be so high that you need to jump to reach it, as this could shock your shoulders. Ideally, you should be able to reach the bar on your tiptoes. |
| Using a stool or chair — If needed, use a stool or chair to help you reach the bar comfortably. |
| Exercise caution — The key precaution is to avoid straining your shoulders. |
| Performing the dead hang — Simply grab the bar with palms facing away from you and hang, keeping your body still. Hold on to the bar until your grip starts to fatigue. What you will notice is that the bar will gradually slip away from your hand grip until you can’t hold on any longer. This is a sign that you have reached your limit. For many this will be 10 to 15 seconds when starting out. |
| Progressions — To accelerate your progress, consider placing your feet down for assistance to make it to the full minute. Some may need to start with their feet down the whole time and that’s completely fine. As you build up your strength for the full 60 second hang, you can intermittently lift your toes off the support and then place them back down gradually decreasing the assistance time until you are able to dead hang for a full minute without any assistance. |
| Gradually increase your hang time — Ideally work up to a total daily hanging time of 3 minutes done over as many times as you need to get there. |
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2024/03/29/dead-hang.aspx