Weighted dips: technique, loads and progression

Weighted dips are the heaviest pushing movement you can do in calisthenics. With a belt and a few plates, you keep gaining strength when bodyweight is no longer enough. Here's when to start, the technique, the starting weight and a six-week programme.

When to start

The threshold: 12 to 15 clean bodyweight dips. Clean means shoulders at elbow height at the bottom, arms straight at the top, no bounce and no pain.

Below that, added weight gives you nothing that a few extra reps wouldn't. The progression towards this threshold is in dips for beginners.

The technique

The movement is the same as at bodyweight. The load simply no longer forgives sloppy technique.

• Hands: bars a little wider than your shoulders, 55 to 60 cm.
• Shoulders: down, away from your ears, from start to finish.
• Elbows: they go backwards, close to your body.
• The descent: two seconds, until your shoulders reach elbow height. No lower.
• Legs: still. Knees bent and ankles crossed if your bars are low.

Common mistake

Going lower to feel your chest more. With added weight, taking your shoulders below your elbows mostly loads the front of your shoulder. Depth is worth nothing without control.

Triceps or chest?

Weighted dips work your triceps, your chest and the front of your shoulders. Your torso decides the split:

• torso upright, elbows tucked in: more triceps;
• torso leaning slightly forward: more chest.

Keep the same position from one session to the next. It's the only way to compare your loads.

How to carry the weight

Wear the belt on your hips, not on your stomach. Set the chain short: the plate should hang just below your pelvis, between your thighs, without swinging. Plates aren't supplied with the belt.

To compare the two in detail: weighted vest or dip belt.

What weight to start with

Start between 5 and 10% of your bodyweight.

The right starting weight lets you finish 4 sets of 6 with the same range of motion as at bodyweight. If your range shortens on the last set, take a plate off.

The session

1. Warm-up: 2 sets of 8 at bodyweight, then 1 set of 3 at half the load.
2. Weighted sets: those in the programme, with 2 to 3 minutes of rest.
3. End of session: 1 bodyweight set, keeping 2 reps in reserve.

Tip

Climb onto a step to get into position with your arms straight, instead of jumping with the weight. You start stable, with the plate still. At the end of the set, put your feet back down before undoing the belt.

The 6-week programme

Three rules for following it:

• A set where your range of motion shortens ends the weighted sets for the day.
• You only move on to weeks 3 and 4 if weeks 1 and 2 are clean.
• At the end of the cycle, you start again with 2.5 kg more on the starting weight.

Want to add weight to your pull-ups at the same time? The plan that combines the two is in weighted pull-ups: where to start.

Mistakes to avoid

• Adding weight too early. Below 12 clean dips, stay at bodyweight.
• Bouncing at the bottom. Pause before pushing back up.
• Flaring your elbows. They stay close to your body.
• Letting the plate swing. Shorten the chain and squeeze your thighs together.
• Going up by 5 kg in one go. The step is 2.5 kg.

Can your equipment take the load?

A piece of equipment's maximum load counts your weight and your added weight together.

Most dip bars are rated for around 200 kg, free-standing stations and power towers for around 150 kg. Check the figure for your equipment.

If you weigh 85 kg and you're aiming for 40 kg of added weight, you're at 125 kg: bars rated for 200 kg still leave a real margin. Before every session, check that everything is tight, and check the chain and the stitching on the belt.

For the overview of added weight, across all movements, see weighted calisthenics: when and how to start.

Mentioned in this guide Adjustable Dip Bars, 200 kg200 kg · 80 to 93.5 cm, 4 positions · 5 positions90,90 € View product View product