How Many Assisted Dips Should I Be Able to Do Before I Can Do a Bodyweight Dip

The Assisted Dip Number That Unlocks Your First Bodyweight Dip

You're asking 'how many assisted dips should I be able to do before I can do a bodyweight dip' because you've likely been stuck, adding reps on the machine but getting no closer to the real thing. The answer isn't about reps, it's about the assistance weight: you need to perform 5-8 clean reps with less than 25% of your bodyweight assisting you. For a 200-pound person, that means doing reps with only 50 pounds of assistance or less. Most people get this wrong. They do 15 reps with 100 pounds of assistance, building muscular endurance but not the raw strength needed to move their own body. You're not weak; you're just training the wrong metric. The goal isn't to do *more* assisted reps; it's to need *less* help. When you can handle almost your entire bodyweight on the negative and positive portions of the lift, you're ready. Until then, you're just spinning your wheels on a machine that gives a false sense of progress. The switch from needing 55 pounds of help to needing only 45 pounds is a much bigger indicator of strength gain than going from 10 reps to 12 reps at the same high-assistance weight. Focus on reducing the assistance weight every single week, even if it means your reps drop from 8 to 5. That is the only path forward.

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Why The Assisted Machine Is Holding You Back

That assisted dip machine feels like progress, but it's actively preventing you from developing the one skill you actually need: stability. When you do an assisted dip, a pad pushes up on your knees from a fixed point. Your body is locked into a stable, predictable path. You only have to push. A real, unassisted bodyweight dip is completely different. Your body is hanging in open space. You have to control forward and backward sway, prevent your shoulders from rolling, and keep your core tight, all while pressing your entire bodyweight. The assisted machine trains none of this. It's like learning to ride a tricycle to prepare for a motorcycle. The single most effective exercise for bridging this gap is the dip negative. A negative is when you focus only on the lowering (eccentric) portion of the lift. You get into the top position of the dip and then lower yourself as slowly and controlled as possible, aiming for a 5-8 second descent. This builds strength through the exact range of motion you'll use in a real dip and, crucially, it forces your stabilizer muscles to do the work the assisted machine was doing for them. The bottom of the dip is where most people fail because they lack eccentric strength and control. Negatives build that control directly. The machine builds a false confidence that shatters the moment you step away from it.

That's the secret: eccentric strength from negatives is the key. But knowing that and actually tracking your progress are two different things. Can you remember exactly how long your negative was two weeks ago? Or how many you did? If you can't, you're not training, you're just guessing.

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The 6-Week Protocol to Your First Bodyweight Dip

Stop guessing and follow a plan. This protocol uses a two-pronged attack: one day for building raw strength with assisted dips, and another for building control and eccentric strength with negatives. Train dips twice a week with at least 48 hours of rest in between (e.g., Monday and Thursday).

Step 1: Establish Your Baseline (Week 1)

Before you start, you need to know your numbers. In your first session, do two tests:

1. Assisted Dip Test: Warm up, then find the lowest assistance weight you can use to complete 5 perfect, full-range-of-motion reps. Full range means your shoulders drop just below your elbows at the bottom. Write this number down. This is your starting strength level.
2. Negative Dip Test: Get to the top of the dip bars (use a box or bench to jump up). Lock your arms out. Now, lower yourself as slowly as you possibly can. Have a friend time you or count in your head. How long did it take? 3 seconds? 5 seconds? Write that down. That's your starting control level.

Step 2: The Two-Pronged Attack (Weeks 2-4)

This is the core of the program. You'll have two different dip workouts per week.

• Workout A (Strength Focus): Your goal here is to reduce the assistance. Start with the weight you found in your baseline test. Do 4 sets of 5-8 reps. Each week, your only goal is to reduce the assistance weight by 5 pounds. If you did 5 reps with 60 lbs of assistance last week, this week you will do reps with 55 lbs, even if you only get 4 or 5. You must force your body to handle more of its own weight.
• Workout B (Control Focus): This day is all about negatives. Do 5 sets of 3-5 negative reps. Your goal is to increase the time of each negative. If you started at 3 seconds, aim for 4 seconds this week. Once you can do all sets with a controlled 8-second descent, you are very close to your first dip.

Step 3: The Transition and Test (Weeks 5-6)

Now you'll start integrating attempts at a full dip.

• Start Every Session with an Attempt: At the beginning of both Workout A and Workout B, after a good warm-up, attempt one full bodyweight dip. Get to the top, lower yourself under control, and try to press back up. It might be a half-rep. It might be a shaky grind. That's fine. You are teaching your nervous system the full movement pattern.
• Evolve Your Training: After your attempt, proceed with your scheduled workout. For Workout A, continue reducing the assistance weight. You should be using very little help by now (10-30 lbs). For Workout B, make your negatives harder. Try pausing for 2 seconds at the very bottom of the negative before finishing the descent. This builds immense strength in the weakest position.

What If You're Stuck?

If you hit a wall and can't reduce the assistance weight or increase your negative time for two consecutive weeks, it's time to add supporting exercises. Your dip strength is limited by your triceps, chest, and shoulder strength. Add these to your routine:

• Close-Grip Bench Press: 3 sets of 6-8 reps. This builds powerful triceps.
• Overhead Press: 3 sets of 6-8 reps. This builds shoulder strength and stability.
• Weighted Push-Ups: 3 sets to failure. This mimics the pressing pattern of a dip.

Don't just do more dips. Get stronger overall, and your dip will follow.

Your First Dip Will Feel Awful. Here's What's Normal.

Getting your first bodyweight dip is a huge milestone, but the path isn't linear, and the first rep won't be pretty. Here’s what to realistically expect so you don't quit.

Weeks 1-2: You will be incredibly sore, especially from the negatives. The soreness in your chest and triceps might even make you feel weaker on other lifts. This is normal. Your body is adapting to a new, intense stimulus. Your main goal here is consistency and mastering the controlled negative. Don't expect to see huge strength gains yet; you are laying the foundation.

Weeks 3-4: The soreness will decrease. You'll notice a real change in control during your negatives. The descent will feel smoother, less shaky. You should have successfully dropped the assistance weight on the machine by 10-20 pounds from your starting point. You might attempt a bodyweight dip and be surprised that you can control the entire way down and maybe even push up an inch or two from the bottom. This is a massive win.

Weeks 5-6: This is where the breakthrough happens. Your single attempt at the start of your workout will feel different. One day, you'll push from the bottom, and it will be a slow, ugly, grinding rep, but you'll get to the top. That's it. That's your first dip. It will probably be the hardest single rep of any exercise you've ever done. From here, the goal is no longer just getting one rep; it's about owning it. The journey from 0 to 1 dip is ten times harder than the journey from 1 to 5 dips. Once you unlock the movement, adding reps becomes a much faster process.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Best Dip Frequency for Progress

Train dips twice per week. This provides enough stimulus for growth and enough time for recovery. One session should be your heavy, low-rep strength day (reducing assistance), and the other should be your control-focused day (negatives). Training them more often, like 3-4 times a week, will likely lead to elbow or shoulder pain and stall your progress due to under-recovery.

Chest Dips vs. Triceps Dips

To target your chest more, lean your torso forward during the dip. To target your triceps more, keep your torso as upright as possible. When you are working towards your first bodyweight dip, do not worry about this distinction. Just focus on performing a clean, full-range-of-motion rep. Your form will naturally be a hybrid of the two. You can specialize later once you can comfortably perform 8-10 reps.

Using Bands Instead of a Machine

Resistance bands are a superior tool to the assisted dip machine. A machine provides the same amount of help throughout the entire lift. A band provides more help at the bottom (the hardest part) and less help at the top (the easiest part). This variable resistance better matches your natural strength curve. The progression is the same: start with a thick band and work your way to thinner and thinner bands over time.

The Importance of Full Range of Motion

Half-reps build half-strength. To get a full dip, you must train the full movement. A proper rep means lowering yourself until your shoulders are slightly below your elbows. Going deeper can put unnecessary stress on the shoulder joint. Stopping high, with your arms at a 90-degree angle, avoids the hardest part of the lift and will not get you stronger where you need it most.

Essential Support Exercises for Dips

If your progress stalls, the problem may not be your dip programming but your overall pressing strength. The three best assistance lifts for improving your dip are the close-grip bench press, the overhead press, and the weighted push-up. These build the raw power in your triceps, chest, and shoulders that will directly carry over to your ability to push your own bodyweight.