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Band-Assisted One-Arm Pull-Up

This is the workhorse drill for building a true one-arm pull-up. The band gives the most help at the bottom, where the movement is hardest, and tapers off near the top so you still own the finish. Loop a lighter band as you get stronger to keep progressing toward the unassisted rep.

Equipment
Band, Pull-Up Bar
Body part
Biceps, Lats
Type
Strength
Browse by muscle
Latissimus Dorsi
Browse by movement
Rotation, Vertical Pull
Muscles worked
Target
Latissimus Dorsi
Secondary
Biceps Brachii Long Head, Biceps Brachii Short Head, Brachioradialis, Trapezius Middle, Trapezius Lower
Tertiary
Infraspinatus, Abdominal External Oblique, Lower Rectus Abdominals

How to do it

  1. 1

    Hang a resistance band from the bar and grip it in your free hand or slip a foot or knee into the loop.

  2. 2

    Take a full grip on the bar with your working arm, thumb around, and let the free arm assist only through the band.

  3. 3

    Set your shoulder by pulling the scapula down and slightly back before you bend the elbow.

  4. 4

    Drive the elbow down toward your ribs and pull your collarbone up to the bar, resisting any twist of the torso.

  5. 5

    Pause briefly at the top with the chin clear of the bar, then lower under control to a full straight-arm hang.

  6. 6

    Brace the abs and obliques throughout so the body does not swing or rotate.

Tips

  • Keep the working shoulder packed down the whole rep; a shrugged shoulder is where most people fail and strain.
  • Fight rotation actively by squeezing the glutes and bracing the oblique on the free side.
  • Progress by stepping down band thickness rather than adding reps once you can do clean triples.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • The band gets chosen so thick that the bottom of every rep is a free ride, and the hardest inches of the pull, where the work actually is, never get trained.
  • Torso rotation is allowed because the band hides it, so the chest turns toward the working arm and the lat stops pulling in a straight line.
  • Band thickness never changes across months, which makes the numbers climb while the unassisted strength stays exactly where it started.
  • Once the working shoulder shrugs at the start of the pull, the elbow has nothing to drive against and the strain lands on the front of the joint.
  • The descent is dropped because the band catches you at the bottom, giving away the eccentric half that builds most of the one-arm strength.
  • Both arms never get the same treatment, since the stronger side gets the attention; log the reps per side and keep them matched.

Frequently asked

How many band-assisted one-arm pull-ups should I do, and what do I need first?
Ten clean two-arm pull-ups and a comfortable one-arm dead hang are fair prerequisites. Then work 4 to 5 sets of 2 to 4 reps per arm, resting two to three minutes, twice a week. Choose the band that lets you complete the set with the last rep still strict. Progress by dropping to a thinner band rather than adding reps, and when triples feel clean on your lightest band, start mixing in one-arm negatives.
What can I use instead of a band to assist a one-arm pull-up?
A towel or rope looped over the bar and held in the free hand lets you grip lower as you get stronger, which gives finer control than band thickness does, and that is the uneven pull-up. A pulley with a counterweight also works if your gym has one. If you have no bar at all, heavy single-arm dumbbell rows and single-arm lat pulldowns build the pulling strength, though neither teaches the trunk to resist the rotation a hanging one-arm pull demands.
What is the band-assisted one-arm pull-up good for, and when is it the wrong pick?
It is the main strength driver for a one-arm pull-up, because the band unloads the bottom where the movement is hardest and tapers off near the top so you still own the finish. Calisthenics athletes and climbers chasing single-arm pulling get the most from it. It is the wrong pick for general back size, where rows and weighted pull-ups give more volume per minute, and it should wait if your shoulder or elbow is sore, since single-arm hanging concentrates load on one joint.

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