Shamita Shetty Is A Big Fan Of The Dead Hang Exercise: Here Are Its Benefits

Just like other kinds of exercises, it is important to exercise caution. Only do a dead hang under the guidance of an experienced fitness professional, and to begin with, learn its correct technique.

Just like her sister Shilpa Shetty, actor Shamita Shetty is also heavily into fitness. The former Bigg Boss contestant takes to her social media account from time-to-time to share glimpses of her diet and exercise routine, sharing with her fans and followers what keeps her fit and healthy at 45. She recently shared a video from her gym, in which she was seen performing a rather peculiar exercise: the dead hang. It is exactly what it sounds like. You hang from a bar and stay in that position for a bit, the weight of your body resting entirely on your hands.

It is not as easy as it appears to be. For one, since your entire body weight is on your arms, they have to be strong. Secondly, it can be a tad boring for someone who likes to keep things intense in the gym. But, it appears that Shamita has a great deal of patience and discipline to carry it off. Take a look at the video.

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A post shared by Shamita Shetty (@shamitashetty_official)

As mentioned earlier, the exercise is a non-dramatic one and unlike a pull-up -- wherein you pull your body up by strengthening the grip on the bar -- one simply needs a singular movement: hanging. In the video shared on Instagram, the 'Mohabbatein' actor could be seen stretching her entire body while hanging from the bar, making it all look super easy. She explained that dead hang has many benefits, such as: it works and strengthens the entire upper back muscles, the shoulders, your core, hands and wrist flexors, forearms. In fact, all of these muscle groups are required to achieve a pull-up.

Other Benefits

Shamita stated that the dead hang exercise has many other health benefits.

1. Decompresses spine: A dead hang may decompress and stretch out the spine, and may be beneficial if you sit often or need to stretch out a sore back.
2. Improves grip strength: Dead hangs can improve grip strength. Keep in mind that a strong grip is not just for holding your phone. According to the actor and fitness enthusiast, you need a strong grip whether to open a tight jar or to climb a rock. Performing dead hangs several times a week may help improve grip strength.
3. Stretches the upper body: Dead hangs are incredibly useful for shoulders, arms, and back stretches. If your body is feeling tight from sitting for too long or exercising too hard, you may try dead hangs a few times a week so as to cool down and relax.
4. Relieves shoulder pain: If you have a rotator cuff injury, dead hangs may strengthen your injured shoulder muscles.

The actor, however, added that just like other kinds of exercises, it is important to exercise caution. Only do a dead hang under the guidance of an experienced fitness professional, and to begin with, learn its correct technique. Avoid doing it if you have any kind of shoulder injury that you are recovering from. And to make things interesting, you may even occasionally move the legs sideways in the air.

Would you like to try?