Hang from an overhead bar with your arms fully extended, holding your bodyweight to load the upper back.
How to do the Dead Hang#
- Grasp an overhead bar with both hands about shoulder-width apart.
- Step or jump so your feet clear the floor and your arms are straight, letting your body hang.
- Keep a neutral spine and pull your shoulder blades down away from your ears while breathing normally.
- Hold the static hang for the prescribed duration without excessive swinging.
- Lower your feet to the ground or step down under control to finish the set.
Muscles worked#
- Primary: Forearms (Forearm Flexors & Extensors (incl. Brachioradialis)), Lats (Latissimus Dorsi)
- Secondary: Upper back (Rhomboids & Middle Trapezius), Traps (Trapezius)
Common mistakes#
- Holding your breath during the hang.
- Allowing the shoulders to shrug up toward the ears.
- Bending the elbows and not fully extending the arms.
- Generating momentum by swinging the body.
