In January of 2023, I could do around 6 bodyweight dips… barely. Fast forward to now, and dips have quietly become one of my strongest movements. There’s almost always some hesitancy before doing them. Dips are hard.
When I started seriously tracking my progress, I was hovering around 230 lbs for reps. Nothing fancy. Just solid, consistent sets. By adding weight I can already see a difference in strength when returning to body weight dips.
Looking at the data, I’ve increased my weighted dip load by 20% since my first recorded set. My all-time max for reps hit 275 lbs (45 lbs added. started at bodyweight 230lb), and my estimated one-rep max now sits at 348 lbs.
Each week, I do one heavy dip workout and one bodyweight dip workout. I do the heavy first, then the lighter. That mix has been huge for maintaining both strength and clean reps. If I have 20 minutes before or after dinner I try to through in an extra set or two. While the data shows some progress over time I could always do a better job of tracking my sets to display a more clear picture.
Although sometimes devastating… I have come to enjoy dips. They are a phenomenal upper body strength builder when programmed like a main lift. They aren’t just an accessory anymore. I treat them with the same intent as squats, deadlifts, or pullups.
Next up: 300 lbs for reps.
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Data at the right time Weighted Dips Zero to Pull-Up Hybra: The Beginning