German Hang

Technique

How to perform German Hang

1. Grasp a pair of rings with a shoulder-width overhand grip and hang with your arms fully extended, legs together, and core engaged.
2. Tuck your knees toward your chest, then exhale as you roll your hips upward and backward, allowing your legs to pass between your arms while keeping your elbows straight.
3. Continue rotating until your hips travel behind the rings and your torso is inverted, finishing in a controlled, straight-armed German-hang position with your shoulders gently opened.
4. Pause, breathing steadily and feeling the stretch across your shoulders, chest, and lats while maintaining tension through your core and glutes.
5. To exit the stretch, you may either drop to your feet, or inhale as you reverse the motion, drawing your knees back toward your chest and rolling forward until your feet clear the rings, then extend your legs and return to the initial dead-hang position before dropping to your feet.
6. Always move smoothly and within a controlled range of motion.

GymDaze demonstration

Watch German Hang

Programming relevance

Muscles involved

Primary targets: Anterior Deltoid, Pectoralis Major Sternocostal Head, Biceps Brachii Long Head, Biceps Brachii Short Head, Pectoralis Major Clavicular Head, Pectoralis Minor.

Calisthenics graph

Progression relationships

These relationships describe graph position, not personal readiness.