Chest · Chest press
Band-Assisted Dip
The Band-Assisted Dip mainly trains your chest and triceps. Also working: front delts.
Bodyweight with cable assist
Dip bars
Pull-up assist band
Stable
How to do it
- Clip the assist band to both top cables, press up onto the bars, knees in the band
- Shoulders away from your ears, torso leaning slightly forward
- Lower until your upper arms are roughly parallel to the floor
- Press up: don’t sink into your shoulders at the top
Coach’s tip
The band takes off just as much at the bottom, where the dip is hardest, as at the top. The pinned weight is assistance: pin less as soon as you can hit the top of the rep range with clean form. Position the dip bars so the band hangs straight down from the pulleys.
Noticeably loads the shoulder and elbow. If you tell DCFT that this joint bothers you, the app leaves exercises like this one out and picks a better supported alternative.
Setup
Pulley
Both pulleys at the top, assist band between them, dip bars centered underneath
Grip
Knees on the band, dip bars
Load
Bodyweight with cable assist
Needs two cable towers
You need
Dip bars, Pull-up assist band
Stability
A bench, the floor or the frame takes the counterforce, or the cable pulls straight up or down. Good for heavy sets.
Alternatives
Other exercises for the same movement (chest press). In DCFT you can swap with one tap, and the app only offers what your equipment allows.
Questions about this exercise
What muscles does the Band-Assisted Dip work?
Mainly the chest and triceps. The front delts help.
How do I set up the cable machine for the Band-Assisted Dip?
Pulley: Both pulleys at the top, assist band between them: dip bars centered underneath. Grip: Knees on the band, dip bars. You also need: Dip bars, Pull-up assist band.
Can I do the Band-Assisted Dip on a single cable tower?
Not like this. The Band-Assisted Dip needs both cables at once, so two towers. If you set up DCFT for one tower, the app leaves it out of your plan and uses exercises such as Dumbbell Bench Press and Single-Arm Cable Bench Press instead.
What can I do instead of the Band-Assisted Dip?
For the same movement: Cable Bench Press, Dumbbell Bench Press and Cable Floor Press. In DCFT you swap with one tap.
DCFT
The Band-Assisted Dip in DCFT
In the app this exercise comes with your weight: the plate to pin, what you lifted last time and a rest timer that starts by itself.
Free on the App Store for iPhone. Pro is a one-time purchase with no subscription.