Because of our ape ancestry, we’re born to hang, and a new branch of research suggests that spending time hanging loose is actually good for the body.
A deadlift, which can easily be performed at home, is a simple bodyweight exercise that targets the muscles in the upper body.
Suspended by your arms from a pull-up bar or rings, you keep your arms straight and let your body hang as long as possible.
Here’s how and why it works, according to experts.
Grip strength
Hanging requires good posture, which has a strong association with aging and is a strong predictor of future disease and/or disability, with poor posture even a potential harbinger of early death.
Research has identified a link—or handshake, if you will—between the strength of a firm grip in middle age and longevity.
One study found that for every 11-pound drop in flu ability, the risk of heart attack increases by 7% and the chance of death by 16%.
A strong grip supports independent living—from holding groceries and opening jars to grabbing railings if you fall.
Shoulder strength
Deadlifts increase shoulder mobility and stability, which helps prevent injury.
In addition, personal trainer Mike Jolum told The Guardian that the dead hang is an important antidote to a sedentary lifestyle.
“They also strengthen the upper body muscles like the lats and traps, located in the middle and upper back, which help to address some of the postural problems that can develop from sitting at a desk all day,” he told the publication. “They also strengthen your core muscles, as you’ll use them to stabilize yourself as you hang.”
Spine health
Deadlifts also provide a gentle form of spinal decompression, useful for those who work at a desk or regularly lift weights.
“During the day there are a lot of vertical forces on the spine; gravity is pulling on the spine and bringing it together in a way,” Matthew Accetta, an exercise physiologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery, recently told Well + Good.
As a person ages, the discs that separate the 26 bones in your vertebrae become more fragile and flatter, absorbing less impact.
“Several recent studies have shown that deadlifts can make your back more flexible, especially if you have a significant curve in your spine,” strength and conditioning specialist Rachel MacPherson told The Guardian. “Though it’s not always a great idea to jump straight into them, depending on the health of your spine.”
She recommends that those with scoliosis or other spine-related problems work from a “semi-hanging” position, with their feet on the floor.
A Healthline expert suggests doing an arm stretch for 30 seconds to a minute before or after a workout.
How to build strength with hang time
Experts recommend investing in a pull-up bar or removable or semi-permanent rings at home to make hanging exercise as accessible as possible, as often as possible.
From there, you can build a hang time habit by starting small and modifying as needed for your strength level.
“You can adjust the resistance by keeping the bar or rings at a lower height or a small step below you so your feet can touch the ground in a squat,” personal trainer Amanda Grimm told The Guardian.
“You can adjust the intensity by gently lifting your legs up until only your toes are on the floor.”
One key is inactivity – in other words, don’t involve swinging or even jumping up to the bar, as you won’t absorb the benefits of dead hanging.
“One of the most common mistakes people make is incorporating swinging movements, which you shouldn’t do when performing deadlifts,” Jason De Melo, CrossFit Level 1 coach and director of training, told Well + Good for D1 Training.
Integrate passive and active exercises
Once you have received hang For this—sorry, not bad—strength and movement coach Jon Nicholson recommends alternating between passive and active hangs, such as pull-ups or chin-ups.
“An active hang is where your shoulders are pulled back and down, while a passive is where you just hang without exerting any extra effort. Active hang works the muscles involved in pulling things towards the body,” Nicholson told The Guardian. “It’s the first movement involved in a pull-up or chin-up, so extremely useful to work on if you want to achieve your first chin-up, or for climbers or swimmers to work on their shoulder strength.”
According to Men’s Health, the deadlift is beneficial for the forearms, biceps, and upper back—specifically, the latissimus dorsi, which runs from the upper arm to the back; upper and lower trapezius; forearms and both finger and wrist muscles involved in grasping; and abdominal and obliques.
Monkey mind
As with all things in life – and especially fitness – Nicholson stresses the importance of consistency.
“You can’t just do a 60-second hang and think, ‘Okay, I can do this; I don’t need to do it again.’ This is a result of very little result. Think of the benefits — the result in terms of grip strength, shoulder health, and so on — of doing that 60-second swing several times a day for 30 days, or even longer.”
If you’ll pardon the pun, Grimm claims that Hang Time is both an ode to our ape ancestors and a cure for the modern, anxious affliction of the ape mind.
“I think dead hangs are a great time to focus on breathing exercises and even meditation and mindfulness,” Grimm stated. “It helps keep the body relaxed and can actually help you hold on longer.”
#Monkey #Monkeyinspired #exercise #hold #key #longevity
Image Source : nypost.com