One-Arm Chin-Up
Muscles worked: Back, Biceps (assisted by forearms).
How to do it
- For this exercise, start out by placing a towel around a chin up bar.
- Grab the chin-up bar with your palm facing you.
- Bring your torso back around 30 degrees or so while creating a curvature on your lower back and sticking your chest out.
- Pull your torso up until the bar touches your upper chest by drawing the shoulders and the upper arms down and back.
- After a second on the contracted position, start to inhale and slowly lower your torso back to the starting position when your arms are fully extended and the lats are fully stretched.
Coaching cues
The two cues IronPack shows on this exercise's card mid-workout:
- Start with the working shoulder packed
- Assist hand on wrist until ready
Logging it
IronPack suggests working in the 1 to 5 rep range, progressing in 1 kg jumps when you own the top of the range. Bodyweight movement: log added weight only, and your records account for your logged bodyweight. Records are tracked automatically at every rep count from 1 to 12. Check your estimated 1RM from any hard set.
Related exercises
- Deadlift - back, glutes
- Pull-Up - back
- Chin-Up - back, biceps
- Lat Pulldown - back
Track the one-arm chin-up properly
IronPack logs every set, tracks your records at every rep count, shows these form photos mid-workout, and turns the training into a card game you play with your mates.
Get IronPack free on the App StorePhotos and steps: free-exercise-db (public domain). Cues, muscle weighting and logging guidance are IronPack's own app data. Last generated 2026-07-17.