(And, no, I’m not standing on a stool!)
After the unexpected popularity of my post about weight loss (still can’t believe it had 11 million views), I am trying something a little bit different this Sunday morning with this short video about dead hangs, while doing a dead hang.
I am planning to cover alternative health a bit more frequently on here in the Sunday morning thought pieces.
(NB If you want to try dead hangs, but aren’t yet ready to hang fully, try resistance bands or standing on a step and still putting as much weight as possible through your shoulders).
Enjoy!
In case you missed them, last Sunday’s post on immigration was extremely popular
And we also had an update this week on the Dolce Far Niente portfolio
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey Siri. Timer in 2 minutes.
Today, I’m going to talk to you about dead hangs.
I’m going to try and do a 2-minute dead hang while recording this video. Not sure if I can last two minutes while talking.
I had a motorcycle crash when I was 27, and I've had problems with my neck ever since.
Then, last year, I got a trapped nerve in my shoulder and I was in agony. My osteopath helped a lot. I did about 3 or 4 minutes of neck stretches most days. However, the problem continued.
And it was only after I started doing dead hangs a few months ago, that my neck issues, shoulder issues and trapped nerve mostly cleared up.
Dead hangs are great. Everything we do, whether exercising or just sitting, compresses the spine. Dead hangs stretch it all out.
As well as decompressing the spine, they have all sorts of beneficial side-effects.
They improve your posture.
They re-aligning the spine.
They stretch out all the evils of sitting at a desk in front of a screen all day.
They increase neck and shoulder strength, flexibility and mobility.
They stretch through your torso, particularly if you swing from side to side, improving your stomach and core strength.
They are great for your grip strength, your fingers and forearms.
And holding the position for extended periods is probably good for your determination too.
So get a pull up bar. The ones you hang in your doorway are you but the ones you put on the wall are better, like this one, and keep hanging every day.
At first you’ll only be able to hang for 10, 20 or 30 second, but keep doing it and you’ll quickly increase the time you can hang for.
Then you can start hanging in different ways. You can extend the width of your grip. swing, do one-armed hangs.
Try and do a couple or three dead hangs a day and they will benefit you in all sorts of unexpected ways, I promise.
I can’t think of a physical more beneficial way of spending a couple of minutes than a dead hang.
When it finishes you get this rush of pain, this exhilaration through your shoulders.
And I’m hoping it finishes pretty soon. Hey, Siri, how long on timer?
Hey, Siri, how long on timer?
It didn’t set!
Here’s the original weight loss post, in case of interest.
Charlie Morris is one of my closest mates and he writes what I think is one of the best investment newsletters out there, in fact a suite of them. I urge you to sign up for a free trial.
Do a deadhang while gargling apple cider vinegar (while fasted natch) for super gains.
That’s what I’m working towards
Thanks for this Dominic. I’ve taken the plunge and ordered a bar. It’s going in the doorway to my office where I plan to take breaks from the computer and just hang around for a bit.
Great!
Should I worry your arms appear different lengths Dominic?
I think I should worry!
I'll say this with genuine sincerity and as constructive advice.as an HCPC registered Chartered Physiotherapist of 30 years.
I would be careful digressing into health related advice if you have no qualification. There are cases now being filed against people who the establishment consider to be non professionally educated 'experts' and not properly registered.
I agree with keto and fasting and all those things so it's not that I disagree with what your saying.
There was a case just recently of a lady imprisoned for 'alternative therapies' they said resulted in her death because the 'practitioner' wasn't aware of her whole health circumstances and so shouldn't have been giving out advice. I'm aware of other cases in the pipeline.
The irony of course is poor advice from 'experts' is why people turn elsewhere.
Just be careful is all I'm saying.
I prefer your amusing rambling on serious issues🥰
Many thanks, Elizabeth. All your comments are noted, including the ones from before There will be plenty of market commentary, don’t you worry And serious stuff too
I started doing 3 sets of dead hangs, 4-5 times a week after reading your weight loss post. I've got from 27 seconds at the start to around 50 seconds now. Slow and steady ...
Nice well done!
He's not the messiah..... he's a very naughty boy...
Anyway... busy day today... cant hang around....
On a serious note I plan to try this if i can find something strong enough to hold me
Im bigger than I'd like to be... they have sponsored walks around me...
I'm gonna stop now....
Haha 😝
She abandoned you! The torturous wench! So for women can I add a few top tips? As I’ve started doing this recently. Women are naturally heavier on their bottom halves so unless and until they build upper body strength it’s actually of course much harder! Get a long strength band loop it over and put one knee in the sling to help sustain some of the weight until your upper body improves. Actually you can do same as a guy if you’ve weight to lose and muscle to gain.
And thanks for the top tip on vinegar. I was about to buy Ozempic to help me achieve a gaunt look in my next fitness phase almost despairing at how long it was taking to get in shape in my forties HOWEVER your vinegar tip was amazing. I’d used it before as a morning thing for good gut health but you are so right it kills appetite and stops over eating immediately!!
Sorry just seen you mentioned this in the text! Doh!
Thanks so much!! Good luck on your journey :)
Firstly Dominic, thank you for putting cider vinegar on my radar. After a few weeks of squirming, nose holding, switching to sparkling water, adding ice cubes etc, I weirdly look forward to drinking it now...
Could you please advise what brand/supplier your hang bar is from? Been considering one for a while and yours looks much more robust than most I've seen in the market.
Ps - keep up the great work.
Dead right! One arm DH 60s is the LT goal before Au hits 3000 🤔
Great! I recently started at a calisthenics gym (separately from power lifting) so I am now doing dead hangs as well as all kinds of other things. It's certainly hard to start with them, but I am persisting ... Thanks for the encouragement.