One Arm Chin-Up

What it is

This is an advanced upper body exercise that deeply challenges your strength and stability. You will pull your body up primarily using your middle back muscles. Your biceps, forearms, and latissimus dorsi, or lats, also contribute significantly to the movement.

Technique tips

• Use a towel on the bar for gradual strength progression.
• Start with a slight torso lean and an open chest.
• Initiate the pull by driving your elbow down toward your hip.
• Exhale as you pull up, contracting your back muscles at the peak.
• Control your descent, allowing a full lat stretch at the bottom.
• Keep your core tight to prevent unwanted body swing.

How to track your progress

Log the weight and reps of each set. Straddly turns every set into an estimated one-rep max, so a heavier single and a strong set of eight both count as progress, and it flags a personal record the moment you beat your best.