Hello and welcome back to Musician’s Maintenance where this week it’s my job to unpack a movement that is amazing for the health of your neck, shoulders, mid back and even hands, but that you’ve probably been told to avoid. Hanging.
Here’s what I’ve got this week 1) Why I think hanging is important for musicians health 2) Hanging for shoulder health and function 3) Hanging and swinging 101.
While I think hanging is important, I also think it deserves a few disclaimers. First, if you currently have pain or injury in your hand, wrist, arm, shoulder or neck, you should get that addressed before beginning hanging. Secondly, if you do start hanging and something doesn’t feel right, stop! Finally, please keep in mind the fact that it’s very easy to do a little more tomorrow, but it’s very hard to fix it if you over do it today. Start slow. The point isn’t to hang as long as possible, swing or do a bunch of pull-ups. It’s to keep your body healthy in a way that supports your music.
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Let’s go!
1) Why I Think Hanging is Important for Musicians Health
Given that musicians are often recommended to avoid gripping exercises, I think it’s important to detail why I think hanging is an important, fundamental human movement that deserves your attention and why I think it can be done in a way that is safe, appropriate and useful for musicians.
So here’s a short podcast where I go over why hanging is important, what it does for you, why I think it’s safe for musicians, why I think it’s a good addition to a musician’s health program, and a few tips to do it safely.
Listen: Why I Think Hanging is Important for Musicians Health | Musicians Maintenance
Sponsor: Door Jam Pull-up Bar
If you want to explore hanging, you’ll need something to hang from. A basic door jam pull-up bar is fairly affordable, easy to use and I think an important piece of equipment for musicians interested in maintaining their body. Remember, just because it’s called a pull-up bar doesn’t mean you actually have to do pull-ups. Here’s a great example of one for about $30.
Door Jam Pull-up Bar | (Affiliate: If you buy through this link, I get a small portion of the sale at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting the Musician’s Maintenance mission!)
2) How to Explore Hanging
Here’s a nice article from Todd Hargrove of Better Movement that gives a nice overview of why hanging is important and some ways to get started.
The article details 9 things to try, from easiest to hardest. They are: lighten your weight, mess with hand position, play with scapular movements, release tension, play with subtle movements, swing, reach with the feet, hang for time, and one-arm variations.
Personally I think that musicians can get the majority of the benefits of hanging by just going through the first five. Swinging and reaching with the feet may be appropriate and interesting if you’ve built a good base. Hanging for time and hanging on one hand probably have more risk than reward for musicians.
Read: How to Explore Hanging | Better Movement
3) Hanging and Swinging 101
Katie Bowman and her site called Nutritious Movement has an amazing body of work on how to get more authentic movement into your life. Here’s an article she put together on hanging. I think it’s a nice compliment to the Better Movement article above, because she give several more options to get you started.
For some people, especially those of you who use your hands and fingers so much, it may be smart to start by holding a bar and just leaning back. Weighting your hands, shoulder and body just a little, then adding more load as you become confident that it will not be painful or impact your playing. This article has just that type of very gradual progression.
Read: Hanging and Swinging 101 | Nutritious Movement