Triceps exercise
Assisted Dip (Machine)How to do it, with form in numbers
- Also works
- Front delts
- Equipment
- Machine
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
How do you do the Assisted Dip?
- Grip the dip handles, palms facing in, and kneel on the pad.
- Start with arms straight, shoulders down, body leaning slightly forward.
- Bend your elbows until your upper arms are parallel to the floor.
- Press back up until your arms are straight, without locking hard.
Cues
- Shoulders down, chest up
- Elbows point straight back
- Stop at 90° elbows
Common mistakes
- Shrugging at the bottom: keep shoulders pressed down from your ears.
- Sinking too deep: stop when your upper arms are parallel.
- Elbows flaring out: keep them close to your sides.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
Starting position
An assisted pull-up/dip machine with a counterweighted kneeling pad. The two parallel dip handles sit about shoulder-width to slightly wider apart (1.0–1.2× shoulder width); grip with the palms facing in (neutral), thumbs wrapped, wrists straight. The lifter steps up, grips the handles, then kneels on the pad with both knees: knees bent about 90°, shins roughly horizontal behind, feet together, hips slightly bent (about 10–20° flexion). The pad pushes up under the knees and takes part of the body weight; it travels up and down with the lifter.
The movement
The body sinks straight down between the handles and presses straight back up, keeping the same forward lean. Only the elbows and shoulders move; the knee and hip angles stay fixed and the kneeling pad rides down and up with the knees. No swinging.
End position
(turnaround point): Elbows bent to about 90° (accept 85–100°), so the upper arms are about parallel to the floor and the shoulders are level with, not below, the elbows. Elbows point straight back and stay close to the body, about 15–25° out from the torso in the front view. Forearms near vertical. Shoulders still down; chest up.
Tempo
2.5 s lowering, about 0.5 s at the bottom (no bounce), 1.5 s pressing, about 0.5 s at the top.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Handle spacing | 1.1× shoulder width | 1.0–1.2× | |
| Grip | neutral, palms in | — | |
| Knee flexion on the pad | 90° | 80–100° | |
| Hip flexion | 15° | 10–20° | |
| Torso lean from vertical | 15° | 5–25° | |
| Elbow at top | 172° | 165–178° | |
| Elbow flexion at bottom | 90° | 85–100° | |
| Upper arm at bottom | parallel to floor | 0–10° below | |
| Elbows out from torso, front view | 20° | 15–25° | |
| Lowering / pressing time | 2.5 s / 1.5 s | 2–3 s / 1–2 s |
The targets our 3D demo was built to, from the references below. Bodies differ, so treat the ranges as a guide for your own build.
For coaches
Use this demo in your clients’ programs
The Assisted Dip is in Trainaq’s exercise library. Add it to a workout, and your client sees this demo in the free Trainaq app above the sets they log.
Sources
