Ring Resistance Band Assisted Single Arm Pull-up

How to do the Ring Resistance Band Assisted Single Arm Pull-up

1. 1Set the rings at a height that gives you a complete dead hang with feet clear of the floor. Loop a resistance band through the ring on your working side so it forms a secure foot or knee loop hanging below.
2. 2Grip the ring with your working hand, palm facing toward you or in a neutral position. Step one foot or knee into the band loop, then lower yourself into a dead hang, letting the band bear a portion of your bodyweight.
3. 3Before pulling, pack the shoulder on your working arm — actively depress and retract the scapula so the shoulder joint is stable rather than elevated and loose.
4. 4Brace your core and hold a hollow-body position: ribs down, abs engaged, free leg long or crossed behind the banded leg to minimise swing.
5. 5Drive your elbow forcefully down and back toward your hip, keeping the ring close to your torso rather than letting it drift outward.
6. 6Pull continuously until your chin clears the height of the ring on the working side, maintaining as upright a torso as you can throughout.
7. 7Lower yourself under full control back to a dead hang, resisting gravity the entire way down rather than dropping, to maximise lat and bicep engagement on the eccentric.
8. 8Complete all planned reps, then switch sides, matching the band setup and rep count.

Form tips

• Choose a band that challenges you near the end of each set but still allows clean form throughout — if you are rotating or kipping to finish reps, move to a heavier band.
• Keep the free hand off your body, the band, and the ring strap — tuck it at your side or across your chest so it cannot quietly share the load and inflate your rep count.
• Let the ring rotate with you instead of fighting it: allow the palm to turn from facing you toward neutral as you rise, so the wrist and elbow follow a comfortable path.
• Start each set with your weaker arm and cap the strong side at the same reps and band tension, so the assistance you remove over time comes off both arms evenly.
• Progressively move to lighter bands over time: treat each band as a step on a ladder, and only move down once you can hit your target reps with controlled form and a full descent.

Common mistakes

• Using a band that provides too much assistance and performing the movement without true muscular effort — this builds a false sense of progress without developing the lat strength needed for an unassisted rep.
• Failing to pack the shoulder before pulling, which allows the scapula to elevate and places the shoulder joint in an impingement-prone position at the start of every rep.
• Letting the torso rotate excessively toward the working side during the pull — this compensates for insufficient pulling strength and shifts load away from the back muscles.
• Dropping out of the bottom of the rep instead of resisting the descent, which wastes the eccentric portion of the movement and significantly slows strength development.
• Driving the elbow outward rather than down and back toward the hip, which reduces lat recruitment and places a disproportionate share of the load on the biceps and rear deltoid.

Frequently asked questions