Soreness

I just started hanging 2 weeks ago after doing some research on the matter. I’ve read lots of comments about the need to feel some soreness (not pain) during, and after a session. However, I don’t get this feeling at all. When I touch the suspensory ligament with my finger, I can feel the stretch, but I don’t get the slow burning that I have read about.

Is this an indication that I am toughening the ligament, instead of stretching the ligament? Or, is this a sign that I should use more weight/longer hang times?

My workout:
Hot shower warm up.
Three 20min hang sets with homemade vac hanger (4lbs.)
50 slow jelqs, and 10min hot-pack between sets.

Workout days are Friday thru Sunday.

Wait, so you workout 3 days on then 4 days off? I don’t think that’s enough time. Those 4 days off are probably going to lose you any progress you made over those 3 days.

If you were hanging 5-7 days a week, I think you would be fine. remember, most people don’t reach soreness (fatigue), until higher weights or more sets. Think of this as a conditioning phase. I think you’re only supposed to feel fatigue while hanging or stretching, not after a session.

I remember jumping up in weights too fast with the bib hanger because I desperately wanted to hit that fatigue. I switched to the vac-hanger later and I love it. I’m a hanging newbie myself, and I hit fatigue with the vac-hanger at around 5 pounds after doing a few days of about 6x20 minute sessions (6-7 days a week).

I think there’s definitely a difference with getting fatigue between the bib hanger and the vac-hanger. It seems like I got fatigue a little easier with the bib, but with the vac I get a much better lig stretch. I am guessing that I was getting partial skin stretch with the bib and mistook that for fatigue? Or at least some kind of inner structure that wasn’t the ligs.

I’ve noticed that a lot of vac-hanger users have been jumping up in weight really quickly to try to get fatigue. I’m still doing fine at 5 pounds (where I started), because I have so much time to hang per day. I highly recommend you hang for longer sets before you increase your weight.

Maybe I should stop hanging. I have privacy issues, which is why I only hang 3 days a week. Even though there are times when I can get 5 or 6 days of hanging in, it would be unpredictable and inconsistent. So I think I should stick to jelqing, stretching, and doing ‘smores, in the shower.

I was really hoping 3 days a week would be enough, because I really like the stretch I get from hanging. But I don’t want to limit any potential gains by toughening up, so I better stop.

Shit!

Yeah, I just don’t think that 4 days off every week would help one bit. Maybe some other hanger will chime in though.

Have you always done the 3 days on 4 days off approach?

Yes, but as I said, I’m only 2 weeks in.

I like hanging, but if I don’t benefit from my routine, or it toughens my ligs and prevents future growth, I want to know if I should stop. So hopefully I can get some more feed back.

Maybe you will have time to hang later? Anyways, good luck.

Do you guys really think that hanging just a few days a week can be a detriment to growth? Even if you continue to do other length work on the other days?

let me know if you have some good threads about this that I need to read.

shunga

What is your approach to hanging Shunga? If you are going after fatigue then DB’s quote makes a lot of sense. If I take a few days off, it will be a lot harder to reach fatigue. I don’t think it makes a lot of sense to start hanging unless you have a lot of time to commit to it.

1 or 2 hours of actual hang time per day I think is a good minimum to deform tissue and see gains.

Some guys have done well hanging high weight and only a few sets, others have done well hanging lots of sets with moderate weights. Rest days in hanging, unlike other PE excercises, are not required and in fact counter-productive.

I’m sorry but I’m sure everyone would agree that 4 days off is not acceptable to see gains from hanging. You want to keep pulling and pulling at the tissues until they deform. If you let them heal for 96 hours after that, you’re only going to condition them to take more weight to reach the same deformation next time.

The tissues won’t heal enough in a 24 hour period, so if you can attack them for a few sets every 24 hours, you will probably see gains. The more the better, though, in terms of time and weight. Maybe a split session throughout the day? 2 sets in the morning 2 at night?

If you can’t committ to this kind of schedule, maybe hanging isn’t the kind of routine you should focus on.

~L

I agree with the fatigue idea but I can get fatigue from manual stretching as well. I have always just fit hanging in to my routine when I had the chance. I think of it as a super boost to manual stretching. If I don’t hang I do manual stretching instead. For example, 5 way, A, V, fulcrum, BTC, rotary stretches. I usually get to hang 3 or 4 days out of the week and do about an hour broken up into sets. I’ve gained a little over an inch this way so it has worked for me.

I’ve been thinking of hanging every day at lunch time. I can get an hour of privacy in so it could work out. It would be interesting to see what happens.
Shunga

The privacy issue is the only reason I don’t hang everyday. Like most of you, I do the stealth PE thing, and I don’t think my wife would understand.

My routine is similar to Shunga’s. Only I jelq, and do ‘smores, to go along with my manual stretches. I thought adding a hanging routine would add to my workouts, but I don’t want to ruin any future gains. However, knowing that Shunga has made improvements does give me a glimmer of hope. Thanks for the reply Shunga.

I’ve been feeling a little under the weather, so I haven’t done PE since Monday. The jury is still out on whether I will workout tomorrow, because I have already call in to work. Hopefully I can get some more responses by then, because I am still feeling very wishy washy on this one.

Privacy dictates my PE schedule as well.

My feeling about PE is if your gut isn’t into it, don’t do it. PE shouldn’t be a chore. If hanging seems like to much right now then march on with your manual stretches and jelqs. There are a lot of guys on these boards that have had excellent results that way. Keep us posted and chin up OK.
shunga

Thanks for the encouragement Shunga. Not hanging anymore wouldn’t stop me from PEing. I would try something else to supplement my manual exercises. I’m going to start using an ADS down the leg, when it gets warmer, but I found hanging to be the easiest length training I’ve done so far. You just pop on the weights, and watch t.v.

Maybe you should do hanging. ADS down the leg when you can’t hang.

Hey Naab, I just found this post and I’m wondering if you aren’t feeling fatigued because of your X-4? Perhaps you are already “conditioned” to hanging because of the amount of time you already have in with it ( X-4). We stretch with around 4lbs. of pressure with the extender … so if you are hanging now, I would think that you should up the weights because you are so used to the 4lbs. pressure that it probably isn’t doing too much different than what your body is already used to! Good luck, and let me know how everything is going for you. Peace