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How long can you hang? These dead hang times separate the average from the elite

Fine-tune your grip strength to level up your dead hang and hang longer

man and woman dead hang exercise in gym pull up bar
Anastasia Shuraeva / Pexels

The dead hang is the bottom part of the pull-up movement, and while it’s a simple exercise and all you need is a pull-up bar, that certainly doesn’t make it easy. With this move, you let your body hang from the bar while engaging your core and shoulders. The goal is to hold your own body weight as long as you can. You’ll fine-tune your grip strength, stretch and strengthen your upper body, and level up your pull-up performance. If you don’t have access to a pull-up bar, you can use another sturdy object or try a variation, such as using gymnastic rings.

​So, how long can you hang? While there aren’t really official standards, generally speaking, these are the typical dead hang times.

Dead hang times

LevelTime
Beginner10-60 seconds
Intermediate athletes1-2 minutes
Advanced athletes2-3 minutes
Super advanced athletes3 minutes or longer

Dead hang times vary depending on several factors, such as:

  • Age
  • Fitness level and training experience
  • Body weight
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60 seconds is a good benchmark to aim for, but it depends on your personal situation, goals, and experience. Many people can’t dead hang for 30 seconds, so it depends on where you’re starting from. You can try working your way up to three sets of 30-second hangs to boost your fitness before going for the full one minute at a time.

Tips to hang longer

These tips can help you hang longer:

  • Start with shorter hangs and gradually increase your hanging time as you build strength and endurance.
  • Try chalking your hands.
  • Try gripping just outside shoulder-width
  • Avoid swinging your legs.
  • Always make sure you fully engage your shoulders and core when hanging.
  • Squeeze your glutes and quads throughout the movement.
  • Try placing your feet together.
  • Make sure you aren’t holding your breath.
  • Hang from the bar with your arms relaxed and straight.
  • Avoid arching your lower back.
  • Tuck your chin down towards your chest.

Improving your grip strength to improve your dead hang

Working on your grip strength is one of the best ways to improve your dead hang time, since you depend so much on a strong grip to hold your body weight on the bar. Research shows that grip strength is a strong predictor of overall muscle strength and endurance, and it’s been associated with various health indicators, such as mobility and bone mineral density.

Build grip strength with moves like:

  • Farmers carry
  • Pinch grip transfer
  • The weight plate pinch
  • Kettlebell swings
  • Deadlifts
  • Reverse-grip barbell rows
  • Hammer curls
  • Pull-ups and chin-ups
  • Skull crushers
  • Using grip strengthener tools
Steph Green (Steph Zee) is a singer-songwriter and professional writer with over 12 years of experience in healthcare and… Read Full Bio
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