A few years ago, Kate and I got some coaching in here in Tulsa. MovNat is all about getting you reacquainted with, and better at, the kind of movements humans once did, well, naturally, but which tend to drop out of our constricted modern routines. To that end we jumped, crawled, rolled, balanced, vaulted, and more. All of it was fun.

The one thing we worked on that was surprisingly uncomfortable for both of us was hanging. Yes, just hanging from a bar.

Despite barbell training regularly and being able to do plenty of pull-ups, I discovered my grip endurance wasn’t that great. In about 15 seconds, it felt like battery acid was flowing through my forearms. And the stretch I experienced in my shoulders and lats revealed how years of sitting hunched over a computer had made me super tight in my upper body.

I didn’t keep up with doing hanging exercises after that time, but after developing some shoulder tendonitis, I brought them back into my regular routine to help me manage the issue. Not only has it helped my tendonitis, but along the way I’ve also discovered other benefits of frequent hanging that apply to everyone. Below I share why you should start hanging more and how to do it.