HANG UPS

To help release tight shoulders and reduce pain, make like our long-ago ancestors and include more hanging in your routine

- REA FREY

AS AN AVID gymnast, boxer, weightlifter, and CrossFitter, I'm accustomed to the occasional ache or minor injury. But after years of overuse, I found the nagging pain in my shoulder muscles was getting to be a daily hassle. Endless prehab and rehab resistance and dumbbell drills targeting my rotator cuff muscles and labrum (the soft fibrous tissue that surrounds the shoulder socket, helping stabilise the joint) did little to no good. Then I discovered hanging. Hanging from a bar - also known as brachiating - is a common practice among gymnasts; more recently, functional fitness enthusiasts say it's something we should all be doing a lot more of. "By design, the shoulder is the most mobile joint in the entire body", explains Johnny Cooke, an exercise physiologist and co-owner of Precision Human Performance in Chicago, USA. "Through overuse and improper mechanics, we've reduced that mobility." Enter hanging. "When you hang, the humerus [the long bone of the arm] presses into the acromion [a bony extension of the shoulder blade]. This helps release any impingements in the shoulder and improve mobility while reducing pain", says Cooke.