One Arm Pullup

[StevenL]

Anyone have a solid, methodological approach to achieving this move? I've seen a lot of responses to OAP/OAC questions like this: "work on negatives, weighted pull ups, and assisted one arm pullups with rope, towel, grabbing wrist, etc.", but I have yet to see a clearly defined progression to get there. Now, maybe there isn't one, but if there is, can anybody point me in that direction?

[yuri marmerstein]

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try this on

[AlexX]

Here are two guides with clear progressions that have helped me immensly:

http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/232/

http://beastskills.com/OneArmPull.htm

Here is my experience with it:

I don't have a one arm pull-up yet but I am close (pulled from half way to up with left hand). Here is the method I used to get there first I got a two arm chinup plus 90 lbs attached. I then started doing one arm chinups with the aid of a towel using my fist length to assist, as I would progress I would lower a fist length to make it more difficult. When I go to a point of where I was doing 5 fist length for 4 sets of 5. I started negative training. I would slowly lower when I could slowly lower for one rep I added another. Eventually I got 4 sets of 4 but felt like I stalled adding more reps I was free-falling and I plateaud for a while then took a break. When started again I changed my training to only doing one negative per set but pausing at the top middle and just before the bottom, utilizing coach's steady state program for progressions. This had great results and led to me being bale to pull from half way. Now I am continuing to increase the holds and will see how it goes.

And my suggested route of progression:

I would skip the weighted chin-ups and start with the fist length pullups. Once at the 5 fist lengths with 4 or 5 sets of 5, start working sets of a single negative. Next add a hold at the top when you can hold for 5 seconds at just the top and still lower slowly start working sets of a single negative with holds of 3 seconds a the top middle and bottom. Increase the hold times when a set gets too easy.

Hope this helps and keep us updated on your progress.

[Dillon Zrike]

This may not be the specific answer you're looking for but I developed the OAP/OAC without any focused attention on the skill, but simply from BtGB conditioning. The interesting thing is I'm the only one in the gym who can. I attribute this skill to two reasons, and Coach may be able to give you more insight on the answer, I'll ask him about it. The first is I have the best cirque rope climbs, which became fairly easy for me as I can completely control my decent and even pull back up with the one arm. The second is I spent a lot of time working on the inverted muscle up (my all time favorite skill on rings). I had tried to do OAP before but never could. When I finally was able to perform the inverted muscle up without any help or much use of the straps I was pumped. About a week later I was messing around with some pull up variations and discovered that I was able to perform the OAP. Personally I would recommend that in addition to the OAP/OAC work posted by the other members, you add in cirque rope climbs and inverted muscle up work. Of course this should all be in addition to the WODs or your regular BtGB conditioning. I'm sure you will be able to get it much faster than I did and perform it much better than I do with more focus.

Now the only thing is I do not believe that I have a complete OAP/OAC, and neither does the person posted in the video. If you watch closely he does not start with his arm completely locked, and does not go down all the way on any rep. I have been trying to figure out how to pull up from a dead hang and it is unbelievably harder. Currently I am only capable of one rep, but again this is without any focused attention on the skill aside from playing around every now and then.

[yuri marmerstein]

no, hardly anyone starts from a dead hang

the only one I can think of is sisco

[Dillon Zrike]

I am glad to hear that Yuri! Doesn't make me feel so bad about it haha If I ever figure out how to develop the strength necessary to start from dead hang I will be sure to post it here.

[Razz]

I can imagine hanging one arm shrugs. I'm sure Ido could give some advice here.

[AlexX]

Like Yuri said very few people even try the dead hang consistently because of the huge amount of stress on the shoulder joint. John Gill states on his website that he always trained and did one arm work slightly above lockout because of the stress on the joints. It seems that for taller larger folks and even some smaller the stress on the joints is just not something that they can get around of.

Not only that but the bottom portion of the one arm chinup is significantly harder than the motion just above lock out.

[yuri marmerstein]

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but he is a mutant and nobody has that kind of strength unless they were injected with monkey DNA

[Zac Rhyne]

Poundage.

[ashita]

you got also Zef from bar-barian team , you can see him on youtube , he does an amazing OAP as well.

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[StevenL]

StevenL, I found that practicing one-arm chins significantly improved my poundage in Snatching (Olympic lifting). I wonder if the reverse might also be true that learning the basic skill/strength associated with overhead squatting and then to snatching wouldn't be of some assistance - if that is even a route that you'd like to consider.

I used to Olympic lift. I snatched 155 lbs. I don't think it would help the OAC, but I can see how the increased shoulder stability from practicing OAC would help the snatch/overhead squat. Interesting idea.