Hanging, the New Fitness Trend

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All those childhood days on the monkey bars are about to pay off. 

It’s a well-known fact that there are lots of exercises that can utilize your body’s natural weight, flexibility, and momentum. As a result of a fitness movement called, well, “Movement,” people have realized that certain movements and actions can make for a pretty good workout when used repeatedly. Most adults weigh around a hundred pounds at the very least, so if you can find a way to utilize that weight, you’ll get more exercise than what a pair of dumbbells would get you. According to Healthline, one of the latest exercise trends utilizes a skill we’ve probably all flexed at least once in our lives: hanging. 

An exercise studio in Boulder, Colorado has been utilizing numerous techniques spawned from the Movement movement, and one of the newest ones is hanging. It’s exactly what it says on the tin: find a bar, a support beam, a jungle gym, or whatever else, and start hanging out. It’s not just a matter of doing chin-ups, it’s about swinging, lifting, and just generally redistributing your body’s weight. It’s surprisingly high-impact, though trainers at the Boulder studio do warn that it isn’t for everyone. If you don’t already have decent upper body strength, then just mindlessly hanging there isn’t going to do you any favors. They recommend consulting a fitness professional before committing to any one kind of exercise. Still, if you’ve got the guns for it, then by all means, get hanging. Embrace that inner primate.