Get notified when the Hanging Challenge opens
Improve your posture and upper body strength.
Over the course of 4 weeks expect to get a lot more comfortable on the bar, improve your overhead mobility and grip strength, and become a more patient and self-aware human being.
If you aren’t doing much hanging at the moment, you’ll be eased into it and if you are a regular on the bar, you’ll be challenged.
Are you ready?
The details
Why hanging?
Hanging helps those of us who work long hours in a sitting position to recover a healthier posture. Gravity does the job of decompressing your spine and getting your shoulder blades unstuck. In addition, your back and arm muscles and all your joints get a workout having to keep your bodyweight on the bar.
Chances are your time spent hanging is limited to gym sessions and likely includes things like pull-ups rather than passive hangs. Don’t get me wrong, I love pull-ups. But only doing pull-ups and no passive hanging is a bit like only doing squats and no walking.
What’s involved
We will practice a short amount of hanging 6 days a week for 4 weeks.
Over this period we will work up to a 3-minute passive hang.
If you’re already used to passive hangs, your aim will be to do the 3 minutes unbroken. If this is your first time in a hanging practice, your aim is to accumulate 3 minutes in a day.
How to enter
Sign up for the hanging challenge at the bottom of this page.
Look out for an email explaining what to do.
Scout out where you can find a pull-up bar, a pair of rings, or any other anchor point in your home or neighbourhood, where you can spend a few minutes each day practising.
Make sure you tell your household that you’ll be doing this so they know to support you!
Challenge FAQs
When is the challenge?
The next Challenge will begin in February 2022. Sign up to be notified well in advance.
Can I join after the challenge has started?
Absolutely. Sign up and wait for an email with all the instructions.
How do I get started if I can't hang at all?
You can scale down the full hang to an upper-body hang with your legs touching the ground, until you’re ready to progress to a full-body hang.
What if I can't keep hanging for the specified time?
You can accumulate the prescribed time with shorter intervals. E.g. if you’re aiming for a 1-minute hang, you can do 4 sets of 15” and rest between sets.
Where can I practice if I don't have a pull-up bar?
If you don’t have access to a gym, you can use the monkey bars at your local park, or even a railing. If you’re unsure about your set-up, drop me a message!
I am recovering from a shoulder injury. Can I join?
If you are recovering from a shoulder injury sustained in the past six weeks, or you had a shoulder dislocation in the past year, now is not a great time to join. Stay tuned for the next one!
I've been told I'm hypermobile. Is this safe to do?
We'll do an assessment before we begin. Get in touch when you sign up: follow the instructions in the welcome email.
I'm looking forward to this challenge! How will I connect with everyone else doing it?
We have a community on Mighty Networks that you'll get invited to straight away when you join.
Count me in! What do I do now?
Sign up for the challenge. Better yet, sign up with your partner, a friend or a housemate.
Look out for an email coming your way and get back to me with any questions.
Make sure you have somewhere to hang from.
Join our community on Mighty Networks.
Get started. Start sharing your progress on the group to stay motivated and have fun with it!
Share your experience and wins at our end-of-challenge celebration.
Winners
We will pick 3 winners based on the most consistent and best effort. Consistent effort is the goal.
The winners will receive a set of mobility tools and a free spot on my next 12-week live class cycle.