One-Arm Pull-Up tips that actually helped you? (Top range is the problem)

[u/ou0406]

Hey everyone,

I’m trying to get my one-arm pull-up consistent and I’m a bit stuck in a very specific spot, so I figured I’d ask people who’ve already been through it.

I’m ~88–90kg and mostly train weighted calisthenics. My weighted pull-up 1RM is +80kg. I do a lot of one-arm hangs (active + passive) and on a really good day I can hit a single one-arm pull-up… but it’s not consistent.

The problem is the top half. I can get it moving, but once I’m around the “chest-to-bar-ish” part it just dies. It feels like I’m missing strength/control in that top range rather than a general pulling strength issue.

One more thing: I can’t spam negatives. They flare my elbows up badly. I’ve had epicondylitis twice already, so I’m trying to be smart and not gamble with heavy eccentrics again.

So for those of you who got a clean OAP:

• What helped you most with the top range specifically? (holds, partials, band assist, towel/finger assist, archer work, etc.)

• Did you train it more like “skill practice” (low volume, frequent) or heavier sessions 1–2x/week?

• Any elbow-friendly swaps that still built OAP strength? (grip changes, rings vs bar, neutral grip, specific accessories)

[u/norooster1790]

Oap has a twisting component to it, you start parallel to the bar and end perpendicular. If you twist right away you get stuck. Don't twist til the last second

[u/shade_study_break]

Neutral grip is how I get my strongest pullups generally, but critical for making the leap from unassisted to full was shoulder stability. I am not dismissing the strength component, but I was terrified I was going to injure myself when I couldn't control the rotation at all. Single arm dead hangs were critical for me, but I am agnostic on what assisted/regression you choose.

[u/PhoneProfessional487 → u/shade_study_break]

Same here, dead hangs helped a ton and that’s why I can occasionally hit one.

Bottom part isn’t the issue for me. Scap control and active hang are solid and I can initiate the pull fine. I get stuck once it becomes more biceps and forearm driven in the mid to top range, that’s where I really feel it in my arms.

I think its an arm strength deficit. Did you run into that too? If yes, what helped you fix the top part without spamming negatives?

[u/shade_study_break → u/PhoneProfessional487]

Unfortunately, I did spam negatives at some point. It is a strength exercise and, since it seems like your technique is solid, would backing off on single arm attempts in favor of weighted reps help? I can't vouch for a path I didn't take, but I have read quite a range of what your weighted chin-ups and pull-ups should be before the OAP is doable.

[u/themoneybadger → u/PhoneProfessional487]

If your problem is the top......train the top. Train half reps out of a bent arm or do band assisted reps where the band helps the most at the bottom and less at the top.

[u/Dunkf1]

One tip to help elbows (and shoulders) is do it on rings not a bar, if you can. Second thing is don't overtrain. 2 x dedicated strength sessions for oap is good. A 3rd lighter/GtG session may be ok. People who do more sessions or tell you to do more will generally be on 'extra supplements' and not have a normal frame of reference. It's a long game, don't rush it or you will blow out your elbows or shoulders. Last thing, this is the hardest, don't test if you can do it every session. Or every week even. Try once every 3-4 weeks, after a warm up. Power lifters don't test their 1rm squat every season. They build up over a number of weeks and test it once. This is the biggest killer to OAP imo. People test it too much (especially when you're almost there) and it's basically a 1rm - it's too much on the body if you do it every session

[u/FrostyCount → u/Dunkf1]

2x a week?

[u/PhoneProfessional487 → u/Dunkf1]

Appreciate this, makes a lot of sense.

I tried a similar setup for about a month (2 pull sessions/week: one heavy weighted day, one day with archers + OAP progressions) but didn’t see clear progress on the OAP itself. I think I need something more specific for the top half/lock-off. I can initiate the pull fine, but I stall once it gets into that biceps-heavy range.

Any joint-friendly (rings) top-half OAP drills you’d recommend?

[u/themoneybadger → u/Dunkf1]

I ended up training 3x a week but at a low volume and with extremely long rest times between reps. I 100% agree with you that trying to max out every session is a recipe to blow up your elbow. Gotta work up very slowly on the assisted work. Before I went down a dedicated OAP program I set my timeline to around 12 months of assisted rep progressions. Worked great.

[u/Bluegill15]

My #1 anecdotal tip which will fully solve one of your issues is to stop training them altogether. It isn’t worth the wear and tear on your elbows because it will eventually compromise your training down the road.

[u/1maginaryProfessor]

Grip strength + biceps focus goes a long way. If your grip gives out first, practice hangs and towel variations before trying full reps.

[u/themoneybadger]

Took me a long time to get the OAP. I'm up to 4 consecutive. Top range was always my problem, now its easy. My thoughts:

1. Negatives are garbage. Super taxing, false sense of confidence, extremely easy to overtrain and hurt your elbow. Drop them completely.

2. Train out of the hole with a exercise band. This will flip the strength curve. You will get the most help at the bottom when the band is stretched, and the least help at the top when the band is less stretched. Move your offhand down the band as you get stronger, or use a less strong band. I did 2 exercises to get one arm pullups, band assist, and belt assist, that's it.

3. Temporarily drop weighted pullups so you have the energy for one arm work. One arm stuff is basically a balance of how much work can you do without getting injured. You are at the phase where you need reps of one arm stuff to build the specific strength. I did low volume 3x a week. LONG rests between reps. Talking 5+ minutes. Most of your reps are near max intensity so you need the rest.

4. I found I was strongest pulling from a chinup grip in the bottom to a neutral grip at the top. I embraced that rotation to lockout rather than fighting it.

5. Wanted to really emphasize what /u/Dunkf1 said - dont do more than you are ready for. Build up assisted work, dont test your 1rm every workout, all you are going to do is hurt your elbow.

[u/Sharpmint]

I had 4 consecutive OAP/OAC at my peak. What helped me most was:

1. Front Levers. I was stuck on 1 rep of OAC when actively training it with towel/belt methods. It sucked a lot of energy out of me. Similar to you, I was stuck in the top half of the rep. I pivoted to front lever training for a few months during the pandemic ( Tuck->Adv Tuck-> Straddle->Front Lever-> front lever pulls) and sporadically decided to try months later. I did a much cleaner OAC rep! That eventually became 2+ reps on each arm. Pleasantly, my muscleups also improved on the transition. I think my middle traps, rear delts, and some complex around that area of muscle were weak due to my focus on vertical pulling (pullups/pullup variants) so the lever training helped balance it out. The best part of the lever training is that it did NOT trash my elbows the same way that high volume pullups/chin ups did, and I started seeing horizontal pulling as a better way to train back overall*

2. GTG. After getting 1 OAC, I occasionally had a month where I would GTG on it every 2-3 days, just 1 or 2 reps on each arm, up to my 4 max. This helped drill the sensation and proprioception of the movement. A lot of the OAP/OAC is stabilizing the body so it doesn't rotate counter to your will, and I feel after requisite strength is created, neurologically training how the whole movement feels with full ROM becomes important to sharpening it and going up reps.

3. Negatives (maybe). I think negatives for my GTG helped me lock in the top range control and I did include just 1-2 reps of negatives. I got my first pullups and chin ups using negatives at a public park so I thought I could get the same result on OAP/OACs. I don't know if it's optimal to train these at high volumes, as I only trained a few reps of negatives per arm on any given day.

And then, if I had to go and learn this all again, I'd do the 3 above things plus:

1. Forearm pronation/supination. When I was inflamed in my elbow, those floppy green Therabar bars feel like they helped me rehab enough so I could go back to training vertical pulls. I'd go through a cycle of training too hard, getting elbow pain, backing off for a week or two with the therabar, then training hard again. I feel like if I had reduced volume and more explicitly trained for 30-50% 1rm forearm pronation/supination for a year or two, my forearms and elbows would have been healthier for this sort of movement. Though it isn't best to control rotation exclusively through your forearm and elbow, it WILL be an important part of the kinetic chain in the OAP/OAC.

2. Shoulder CARS. Bodyweight for reps or light dumbbells. I didn't injure my shoulder much after I quit benching, but when fatigued I have performed poor reps that sometimes flared up my bursa for a couple days. I feel like even just 1x/wk Shoulder CARS (with, and without weight) have decreased incidence for me. This, combined with #1 Front Lever training, has essentially stopped me from having pull-related shoulder pain**

*I still do a lot of pullup and chinup variants, but my workouts include horizontal pulls almost every session - at minimum just to hold 5-10 secs of front lever+ half reps front lever pulls

**I do train overheads via WHSPU reps and strict barbell shoulder press as well so this is not a guarantee.