How To Get A One Arm Chin Up

Getting a one arm chin up is actually pretty straight forwards - not easy, but straight forwards…

First I would focus on strength… Build your weighted chin ups up to past 50% of your bodyweight for 3-5 reps.

Here’s some hypothetical athletes…

Hypothetical athlete A weighs 80kg and can do 5 chin ups with 20kg around his waist.

Total weight = 100kg

- Athlete A builds to a set of 3 chin ups with 20kg around his waist.

- He takes 10% off his total weight and waits 3 minutes

- He performs a set of 5 chin ups with 10kg around his waist.

- He takes 10% off and waits 3 minutes

- He performs a set of 7 chin ups with no extra weight added.

Next session, athlete A adds 1.25kg to his heavy 3... At this stage, I’d advise training this session 2 - 3 times per fortnight. After 16 sessions, he will have added 20kg to his heavy 3, taking him to the +50% mark…

* Please note, he started with reps in reserve - make your life easier and do the same.

Hypothetical athlete B weighs 60kg, and can do 3 chin ups with no additional weight.

Total weight = 60kg

- Athlete B builds to a set of 3 chin ups with no weight added.

- He waits 3 minutes

- He performs 3 sets of lat pull downs in the 8-12 rep range.

Next session, athlete B builds to a set of 4 chin ups, then, if he completed all 3 sets of 12 reps, will add weight to his lat pull downs too... At this stage, I’d advise training this session 2 - 3 times per week. Once athlete B has 10 chin ups, it’s time to add weight and look more towards athlete A’s program…

Hypothetical athlete C is overweight and can do 0 chin ups with no additional weight.

- Athlete C performs 3 sets of lat pull downs in the 8-12 rep range.

Next session, athlete C will add weight to his lat pull downs, assuming all 3 sets were 12 reps... At this stage, I’d advise training this session 3 times per week, dialing in on the diet, and getting some steps in. When this athlete has some decent weight on the lat pull downs, we’d try a few chin ups, and move more towards athlete B's routine…

So that’s strength building loosely covered, next I would focus on the actual technique… For this, I’d use single arm ring rows with a slight false grip…

The single arm ring row will, if performed a certain way, teach you to wrap your body around your arm, which I know sounds a bit weird, but that’s what happens with a one arm chin up - you coil yourself around your own arm. The semi false grip - when your pinky knuckle sits over the top of the bar, slight bend at the wrist - creates tension from your wrist all the way down to the lat… Essentially it activates (for want of a better term) the big pulling muscles of your arms and lats, and without it your one arm chin up will be dead in the water… Strong wrist flexion goes a long way… This movement will give you a feel for how the one arm chin up is performed - it’s not a vertical pull, it’s a coil… Once you know how to coil and you’ve built some decent pulling strength, try a one arm chin up!

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/3e4a5f_bc44c8e8d08848579a8166bb03a282f0/720p/mp4/file.mp4

Here’s a simple template you can use / adapt / whatever…

Chin Ups - 3 Sets

(3-5-7 / lat pull downs)

Single Arm Ring Rows - 2 Sets

(8-12 with a false grip)

Wrist Curls - 1 Set

(Max reps)

I would definitely include bicep and lat openers in the warm up, too, but you do you…

Hope this helps!

(And if you do need a little help, and you’re local to Haywards Heath, hit me up!)

Cheers,

~ Collins 

..................................................................................................................................... Neil Collins is a personal trainer and movement specialist based in Haywards Heath. With over 15 years of experience, he helps people overcome pain, improve the way they move, and build functional strength and impressive skills.