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Calisthenics
Calisthenics

One-Arm Pull-Up Progression

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DefinitionA short reference note, not a full lesson.
Definition

Assisted single-arm work — archer → one-arm negatives → assisted one-arm (towel/band/finger) → full one-arm pull-up — the elite top of the vertical-pull ladder.

Detail

The one-arm (one-armed) pull-up lifts the entire bodyweight with a single arm, requiring maximal Latissimus Dorsi and Biceps Brachii strength, very strong grip (Forearm Flexors), and trunk control to resist rotation. It is reached through a sequence of decreasing assistance, governed by the unilateral-loading logic of Progressive Overload Without Weights:

  1. Archer pull-ups with progressively less help from the straight arm. → Archer Pull-Up
  2. One-arm negatives — pull or jump to the top one-armed, then lower slowly (eccentric overload).
  3. Assisted one-arm pull-up — the free hand grips the working wrist/forearm, a towel, or a band looped on the bar, removing a tunable amount of assistance.
  4. Full one-arm pull-up — a strict rep on one arm, body kept from twisting.

Wrist/elbow tendons and the shoulder take very high load; build slowly with thorough warm-up. Grip and elbow conditioning often limit progress as much as pulling strength.

Key facts

  • Steps: archer (decreasing help) → one-arm negatives → assisted one-arm (wrist/towel/band) → full one-arm pull-up.
  • Demands maximal lat/biceps strength, strong grip, and anti-rotation trunk control.
  • Elite skill; high wrist/elbow/shoulder load — progress patiently.

Connections

Sources

Cited in text — not yet linked
Authored from established calisthenics / gymnastics-strength consensus.

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Atlas Connections

Biceps Brachii
The strongest flexor of the elbow joint (long and short heads); flexes the elbow, supinates the forearm, and weakly flexes the shoulder; a 2-joint muscle (ROM 135°).
Forearm Flexors
The forearm flexors — flexor carpi ulnaris and flexor carpi radialis — flex the wrist; trained with wrist curls.
Latissimus DorsiClosely related
A 2-joint back muscle; its strongest action is adduction (drawing the arm to the side from side-horizontal, rotating inward), with extension second.
Archer Pull-UpClosely related
A wide-grip pull-up where you pull up to one hand while the other arm stays straight along the bar — shifting most of the load to one side as the bridge toward the one-arm pull-up.
Full Pull-UpClosely related
A strict pronated-grip pull-up from a dead hang to chin over the bar and back down, with no kipping — the bodyweight benchmark for vertical pulling strength.
Progressive Overload Without WeightsClosely related
Six levers — leverage, range of motion, tempo, unilateral loading, added reps, and density — let bodyweight training keep getting harder even though the load (your mass) is fixed.
Pull-Up ProgressionClosely related
Dead hang → scapular pull → negative → band-assisted → full pull-up → chin-up variations → archer → one-arm — the road to a strict pull-up and beyond.