Strength Training · Bodybuilding · Calisthenics
Assisted Dip
The assisted dip uses a counterweighted machine to reduce how much bodyweight you lift while training your chest and triceps through a lowering and pressing motion.
- Beginner
- Compound
- Low injury risk
- Rest 1 min 30 sec
How to do it
- Select the machine's assistance setting.
- Grip the dip handles from the machine's access steps.
- Place your knees or feet on the support pad, as directed by the machine.
- Position yourself over the handles with straight arms and a slight forward lean.
- Bend your elbows to lower your body until your upper arms are about parallel to the floor.
- Press through the handles to return to the starting position.
Form cues
- Keep your shoulders away from your ears.
- Keep your forearms nearly vertical.
- Maintain the same torso angle.
- Exhale as you press.
Common mistakes
- Bouncing on the support padLower smoothly without using the pad's rebound to start the next press.
- Elbows spreading wideLet your elbows track backward rather than flare out to the sides.
- Snapping the elbows straightFinish each press with controlled elbow extension rather than a hard lockout.
Safety
Lowering beyond your comfortable shoulder range can strain the front of the shoulder, especially as you fatigue. The moving support pad can also cause a loss of balance during mounting or dismounting.
- Use enough assistance to complete every rep under control; on counterweighted machines, a heavier selected weight provides more help.
- Shorten the lowering range if you feel shoulder discomfort.
- Follow the machine's mounting and dismounting instructions, keeping hold of the handles while the pad moves.
- End the set when you can no longer control the descent.
If you have ongoing shoulder or elbow pain, choose a comfortable alternative or ask a physiotherapist for guidance before doing dips.
Muscles worked
Primary muscles
Secondary muscles
Equipment
- Assisted Pull-Up / Dip Machine
Sets and reps
- Sets
- 2–3
- Target
- 8–12 reps
- Rest
- 1 min 30 sec
Record the machine's assistance in your notes so you can compare sets accurately.