Hanging Challenge

Benefits

Increased mobility of the shoulder, elbow and wrist
Increased range of motion in the shoulder, elbow and wrist
Increased stability of the shoulder, elbow and wrist
Making use of the upper body as it was designed to be used
Active hanging improves shoulder strength (rotator cuff) i.e. unstable shoulder (dislocation)
Active hanging leads into pulling work (pull ups), climbing and more advanced patterns
Improves grip strength (forearms)
Hanging creates an awareness of the body that can later be used for more complicated movement like Parkour, Gymnastics, Rock and Tree climbing

7mins of accumulated passive or active hanging a day over 30 days, No Rest Days
Find something to hang from, tree, gymnastic rings, horizontal bar in park, anything you can get your hands around
Hands should be about should width apart, or what you feel is comfortable
If there is any pain in the shoulders and arms let go and move for a bit. Try shorter periods of hanging throughout the day and slowly build it up
Thumb should meet your fingers when gripping, this optimises your gripping ability
Start with a passive hang, this is hanging from an object with no movement. This will open up the shoulders and give everything a good stretch
Progress onto some easy movements, rotating the shoulders around its range of motion – up, down, back, forward and circles. You are only limited be your imagination
When you have more mobility, flexibility and stability you can move into harder movements like the German hang or Skinning the Cat
Always work within your abilities especially when beginning new hanging movements. Movements like the German hang can put a lot of stress on your shoulder. If you rush into advanced movements you could injure yourself