The secret is in the time spent
hanging, not in the
weight used. Extenders are the perfect example. They only use grams of force, but are able to constantly produce gains via tractive cell division. Same holds true for standard
weight hanging with the difference being the
weight used. When you use progressively heavier
weight, the body adapts by thickening the shaft and base in response to counteract the force. So essentially, if you hang with progressively higher
weight at the same time period intervals as an extender, it will get both thicker (mostly base) and longer at the same rate as an extender. To create base girth with very little length gains, heavy hang for short periods of time vs the hours an extender is worn.