Exercise library / Middle back

One Arm Chin-Up

Main muscles
Middle back
Also works
Biceps, Forearms, Lats
Level
Expert
Type
Compound · Pull

How to do it

  1. For this exercise, start out by placing a towel around a chin up bar.
  2. Grab the chin-up bar with your palm facing you. One hand will be grabbing the chin-up bar and the other will be grabbing the towel.
  3. Bring your torso back around 30 degrees or so while creating a curvature on your lower back and sticking your chest out. This is your starting position.v
  4. Pull your torso up until the bar touches your upper chest by drawing the shoulders and the upper arms down and back. Exhale as you perform this portion of the movement. Tip: Concentrate on squeezing the back muscles once you reach the full contracted position. The upper torso should remain stationary as it moves through space and only the arms should move. The forearms should do no other work other than hold the bar.
  5. After a second on the contracted position, start to inhale and slowly lower your torso back to the starting position when your arms are fully extended and the lats are fully stretched.
  6. Repeat this motion for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
  7. Switch arms and repeat the movement.

Quick answers

What muscles does the One Arm Chin-Up work?
Mainly the middle back, with help from the biceps, forearms, lats.
What equipment do I need?
Other equipment.
Is it good for beginners?
It is rated expert level, so learn simpler versions first.
How do I track progress on it?
Log each set and beat the weight or reps from last time. Liftrung shows your last set beside the next one and estimates your one-rep max from your sets.

More middle back exercises

Exercise descriptions: free-exercise-db, public domain.