One-Arm Pull-Up
The one-arm pull-up is a pull-up on a single arm: you lift your whole bodyweight until your chin clears the bar. It loads the lat, elbow flexors and grip of one side close to their limit while the trunk controls rotation, and it is an elite calisthenics and climbing strength skill.
Also called: One Arm Pullups, One-Arm Pullup, Single Arm Pull-Up, One-Armed Pull-Up · Equipment: bodyweight · Pattern: pull
Step by step
- Grip the bar with one hand, palm facing you or turned slightly inwards, thumb wrapped. Let the free arm hang by your side or rest it across your body.
- Hang with a straight arm. Brace your abs, squeeze your glutes and keep your legs together to limit swing and spin.
- Draw the working shoulder blade down and in towards your spine before the elbow bends.
- Pull your elbow down towards your hip, keeping it close to your side. Your body turns slightly towards the bar arm; control that turn with your trunk rather than letting it spin.
- Continue until your chin clears the bar, then pause briefly.
- Come down under control to a full hang with a straight arm, keeping the shoulder set.
- Complete the reps on one arm, then switch arms.
- Shoulder blade down before you pull
- Elbow to your hip
- Tight body, no spin
- Chin over, then control down
- Full hang, shoulder set
In VALDA, these cues are one tap away on the exercise while you train.
What it trains
| Muscle | Role | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Latissimus dorsi | Prime mover | C |
| Biceps brachii | Prime mover | C |
| Brachialis | Prime mover | C |
| Forearm flexors | Prime mover | C |
| Teres major | Secondary | C |
| Trapezius: lower | Secondary | C |
| Rhomboids | Secondary | C |
| Rotator cuff | Stabiliser | C |
| Rectus abdominis | Stabiliser | C |
| Obliques (internal/external) | Dynamic stabiliser | C |
Evidence grades: A = strong research base · B = good · C = limited · D = coaching consensus.
What goes wrong, and the fix
Spinning around the bar arm
Fix: Brace your abs and glutes and keep your legs pressed together.
Pulling from a passive hang
Fix: Draw the shoulder blade down before your elbow bends on every rep.
Elbow drifting out wide
Fix: Keep the elbow tucked close to your side as you pull.
Kicking or helping with the free arm
Fix: Keep your legs still and your free hand away from the bar and the working arm.
Dropping from the top
Fix: Come down under control to a straight arm on every rep.
What the research says
Strength · first choiceSport performance · first choiceMuscle growth
- Building up — A common route is archer pull-ups, one-arm negatives and assisted one-arm pull-ups using a band or a towel held by the free hand, built over months to years. No study has compared routes to the one-arm pull-up.
- Eccentric work — A meta-analysis found eccentric training at high intensities produced greater strength gains than concentric-only training, which is the reasoning behind one-arm negatives as a step.
- Low reps — Research comparing loads finds maximal strength favours heavier loads of about 8 reps or fewer per set, and one-arm pull-ups are typically trained in sets of 1–3.
- Effort — Studies find strength gains are largely insensitive to how close to failure sets are taken, so many lifters keep a rep in reserve on maximal pulling like this.
- Placement — Research on exercise order finds the exercise done first in a session tends to show the larger strength gain, so one-arm work is commonly trained early, while grip and elbows are fresh.
Log the one-arm pull-up in VALDA, with these cues one tap away while you train and your history for it in one place.
General information about exercise technique, not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, your healthcare provider is the right person to ask.