Assisted One-Arm Pull-Up

Pull vertical · reps per side · unilateral The one-arm pull-up with the free hand helping — the help dialed down over months. This level is most of the journey.

The movement

A pull-up on one arm, the free hand giving a fixed, chosen amount of help. Same vertical pull as the standard pull-up, but the working arm carries the load the free hand doesn’t. Over time you reduce the help. Do all reps on one side, then switch.

This level is to the one-arm pull-up what the foot-assisted pull-up (level 6) is to the standard pull-up: a fixed-assist bridge you progressively un-weight.

Set-up — pick one assist convention and keep it

  • Working hand pronated on the bar, thumb wrapped.
  • Free-hand help (choose one, keep it for max tests and daily sets):
    • Band: loop a band over the bar, grip it with the free hand — higher grip = more help, lower = less.
    • Towel / strap: hang one from the bar, free hand grips it lower than the working hand.
    • Fingers: free hand holds the working forearm — fewer fingers = less help.
  • Start from a hang, blades set, body square — don’t let it twist open toward the free side.

The rep — rehearse it before you do it

  • Pull with the working arm, chest leading, chin over the bar; the free hand gives only its set share. → feel the working lat and biceps own the rep; resist the trunk twisting toward the free side.
  • Lower in 2 s to a full hang — controlled, never a drop.
  • Switch sides after all reps on one side.

Breathing

Exhale on the pull, inhale on the lower.

Watch for

  • Adding help as you tire → breaks the calibration; same help rep 1 and rep 5.
  • Trunk twisting toward the free arm → hold the torso square; the obliques work here.
  • Fast, uncontrolled lowering → on one arm this strains the elbow and forearm; keep the lower slow, and keep enough help to control it. (This is why the assist, not unassisted negatives, is the on-ramp here.)
  • Uneven sides → match reps, weaker side first.

Within the level

  • Harder: less help — lower the band grip, lower the towel hand, or drop a finger. Re-test your max when you change the help.
  • Easier: more help — higher band grip, lower the towel hand, or more fingers.

Dose

Set your assist convention, test your max on each side at that convention, then practice at half of the weaker side rounded down, capped at 5 reps per set, same count both sides, weaker side first, spread through the day. When you can do clean reps at minimal help, you’re ready for the one-arm pull-up.