If you’ve never been able to do one, an unassisted dip might seem like it will take forever to do one – if you even get there. Well I’m going to make that far off goal a little more approachable through the magic of progression.
Not to be confused with the awesome song by Freak Nasty, the dip is a great indicator of upper body strength. Targeting the shoulders, chest and triceps I would consider it one of the big lifts, along with squats, deadlifts, pullups and shoulder press. Argue if you want, but it takes a strong mofo to dip with more than bodyweight.
The dip is useful to improve any pushing movement like the shoulder press and bench press by increasing shoulder stability and triceps strength. It’s also a good alternative for the decline bench to target the outside and lower portions of the chesticles.
But I understand the trepidation. Hanging yourself over two parallel bars with nothing supporting you is a little nerve racking – especially if you have never done it.
Rather than throwing you in the deep end to learn how to swim, let’s tackle the shallow end first. Doing an unassisted dip is easy once you build a foundation of strength which in turn will give you the confidence to strap 125lbs of additional weight to your dip.
In this in-depth guide I’m going to show you how to progress from 0 lifetime dips to building strength with seemingly stupid and sometimes non-related exercises. I guarantee if you follow this to the T, you’ll be teabagging that assist pad in no time.
This is the non-related exercise I was talking about. The close grip bench press is more or less the same movement as the dip just in a different playing field. Sort of like the difference between ice hockey and street hockey.
I call the close grip bench press background music because it can help if you combine it with the dip progression but it’s not necessary. If you want to speed up results, do these in the background once a week.
1 time per week add in 3 sets of 4-8 reps on your chest or arm day. Once you can hit 8 reps on all three sets, add 10lbs and repeat.
For all levels of dips from here on out perform 3 sets of 4-8 reps 1-2 times per week with at least 1-2 days in between. A Monday – Wednesday would be fine. Add them into an arm day or a day you are working chest. Once you can get all 8 reps on all three sets move to the next level.
If you’ve never done a dip, then this is where you should start. Likewise, if you have the upper body strength of an 8-year-old girl or are an 8-year-old girl.
We’ve now hit the big time…almost. There are a few ways to skin the assisted dip cat and one way to not do it. The assisted dip machine is the od man out. Here is why:
The assisted dip machine, at least the ones that I’ve seen, take the core completed out of the movement so you can’t practice the movement correctly. You can rest your body on the pad so when you go to do a real dip you’re swinging on the parallel bars like a monkey. Swinging is bad.
There are 2 better ways to get the practice in that will increase your progression quicker. Banded dips and placing your feet on a bench behind you. Both will require you to brace your core and prevent you from swinging once you go unassisted.
This is it. The moment you’ve been waiting for and never thought would happen. The infamous unassisted dip.
By this time, you’ve built up enough strength to support your weight through the close grip bench press and the different dip levels you’ve conquered. It’s time to man (or woman) up and go raw dog.
Let me be the first to congratulate you on your first unassisted dip. You are among a select few who can perform a perfect bodyweight dip.
So now that you’ve mastered the bodyweight dip, here is how to make it 17% more awesome 53% of the time.
After you’ve mastered the skill of the perfect dip, we need to up the ante a little with some added weight. There are a couple ways to do this with only one being correct.
PUTTING A DUMBBELL BETWEEN YOUR LEGS
You could shove a dumbbell between your feet by position the dumbbell vertical and gripping the handle with your feet like some kind of orangutan.
Another, and disgusting, way is to grip the dumbbell with your thighs. Ever so gently rubbing against your genitals.
I’ll let you decide if this is how you want to live your life.
GETTING A WEIGHT BELT
For $30 on Amazon (Affiliate Link) you can invest in a weight belt.
I mentioned earlier that the dip works the shoulders, triceps and chest. But the way I’ve instructed you hits the chest in a very limited fashion. Sorry. The work is mostly being done by the other two.
In order to hit the chest with a vengeance, you need to alter your position slightly. And by slightly I mean almost completely. Switching up the position like I’m going to show you will develop your breasts into a chest.
What exercise have you always wanted to do but don’t know how to get there? Let me know below.
If you know someone who could benefit from this article, please share it on Facebook or Twitter. 2 out of 3 people are obese today, let’s start a change.
Dave
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