Assisted Dip Machine
Why it matters
The Assisted Dip builds strength and size in your chest, front deltoids and triceps. As a compound movement, it trains several muscles together and carries over to real-world strength and power.
How to do it
- Adjust the seat and any pads so the working joint lines up with the machine’s pivot, set the pin to your working weight, and keep contact with the support pad throughout.
- Support your weight on the handles or bars with your arms straight and your shoulders pulled down.
- Set a slight forward lean and brace before you lower.
- Lower under control by bending your elbows until your upper arms are about parallel to the floor.
- Keep your elbows tracking back rather than flaring wide.
- Press back up until your arms are straight.
Coaching cues
- Lower until your upper arms reach about parallel to the floor.
- Keep your elbows tracking back over your wrists, not flaring out.
- Lean your torso forward slightly to bias the chest, or stay upright to bias the triceps.
- Think about squeezing your chest to drive the movement, not just pushing with your arms.
- Follow the machine’s guided lever path smoothly and control the weight back to the stack.
Watch out for
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Shrugging the shoulders up toward the ears at the bottom.
Shrugged shoulders put your shoulder in a weaker, more exposed position at the bottom.
Instead Keep your shoulders pulled down and away from your ears throughout.
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Only dipping a few inches instead of reaching depth.
A shallow dip trains a small slice of the range and much less of your chest and triceps.
Instead Lower until your upper arms are about parallel to the floor.
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Letting the elbows flare wide as you press.
Wide elbows put your shoulders in a weaker position to press from.
Instead Keep your elbows tracking back over your wrists.
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Letting the weight stack slam down at the bottom.
A slammed stack means gravity did the lowering, not your muscles.
Instead Control the return so the plates settle without banging.
The detail
- Tempo
- Lower for about two counts, then press up with intent.
- Breathing
- Breathe in as you lower, exhale as you press up.
- Range of motion
- Lower until your upper arms are about parallel, then press to straight arms. Take the chest through its full working range each rep.
- Setting up
- Adjust the seat and any pads so the working joint lines up with the machine’s pivot, set the pin to your working weight, and keep contact with the support pad throughout.
- If you are new to it
- Use band or machine assistance, or keep the range shallow, until you can control full-depth reps.
- Once it is easy
- Add a pause at the bottom or progress the difficulty once you own full-depth reps.