Introducing: one-arm chins

The idea of doing a one-arm chin is one that chases a lot of people into madness, or sore elbows at the very least.

However, I would say that unless you’re a very big man, you’ve probably got a half-way decent chance of getting one.  Why do I say that?  Well, I’m nothing special and I’ve got one.  I haven’t suffered particularly to get one.  It was fun training and I never really got hurt or injured. 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98OT5UkfHRU

This isn’t the world’s greatest example of a one-arm chin because I don’t do it from a complete dead-hang and there is a fair amount of kicking on the way up!  Over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to be working on those points.  Because, hey, nobody’s perfect…

Anyway, this is my brief guide to getting a one-arm chin.  I am sure there are lots of other ways but this one worked for me.

Start with regular two-arm pull ups and chins

Grow to love regular chin ups and pull ups.  I mean really love them.  You have to create a base for your body to build on and doing them a couple of times a week just isn’t going to cut it.  For more on pull up training, check out my articles:

• How to do more pull ups
• How to do different variants of pull ups and chins

Build a great weighted chin

I think this is the key to developing both the muscular size and the tendon strength that you need to ultimately get a solid on-arm chin.  I suspect that trying from day one to put all of the stress on one arm by doing assisted one-arm chins is going to cause two problems.

• First, you are going to get tendonosis at your elbow.
• Second, you are going to struggle to use enough weight to cause hypertrophy, which means you are stuck with neural development, which is great but not as good as having both.

You can build up your weighted pull up and chin strength using a harness to hold more weight.  Check out my article on building a weighted pull up for more details.

I worked up to doing 75% bodyweight for a 3RM before I started training one-armed but I guess if you are in a hurry then 50% might be OK.  Just for clarity, that means if you weigh 80kg (175lbs) then you should be able to do three chins with 40kg (90lbs) strapped to your behind.

Start doing assisted one-arm chins

You can use a pulley system to take weight off when you start doing one-arm work.  Check out my article on how to do an assisted one-arm chin for more details on what I do and how to set up the pulley system.

I started by taking off 25% of bodyweight, which is 20kg (45lbs) if you weigh 80kg (175lbs).  I found that multiple sets of singles with a minute’s rest twice a week gave me the best results with little elbow pain.

I found that multiple sets of doubles twice a week gave me a little elbow pain but nothing major.  Triples even once per week really beat me up, though.

Keep your weight down

You have to keep your weight down.  When I start adding muscle/fat in the winter, I lose my one-arm chin immediately.  I also get my best increases in pulling strength when I cut weight.  You have to remember that this is a relative strength exercise and trying to bulk up while working for a one-arm chin is silly and will lead to pain and suffering.

Be patient

Ultimately, you just have to be patient and work hard and consistently without overdoing it.  In time, the strength will come to you.

Best of luck…

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