Home / Exercises / Lever Triceps Dip (Plate Loaded)
Lever Triceps Dip (Plate Loaded) animation

How to do the Lever Triceps Dip (Plate Loaded)

TricepsMachineBeginner

The lever triceps dip machine strips away the balance demands of a bodyweight dip, letting you load the triceps directly and build real pressing strength from day one. Master this movement and you lay the foundation for every push pattern in your training.

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Muscles worked

Primary
Triceps
Secondary
Front deltsChest

Step-by-step

  1. Adjust the seat so your shoulders align with the machine's pivot point and grip the handles firmly at your sides.
  2. Press down through the handles by extending your elbows until your arms are fully straight, squeezing the triceps hard at the bottom.
  3. Pause briefly at full extension, then control the weight back up slowly, resisting the plates the entire way.
  4. Reset your posture at the top before initiating the next rep, keeping your chest tall and shoulders away from your ears.

Common mistakes

  • Letting the shoulders shrug upward during the press, which shifts load off the triceps and into the traps. Fix this by actively depressing your shoulders before and during every rep.
  • Using a weight so heavy that you cannot reach full elbow extension, which cuts the triceps short of their peak contraction. Drop the load until you can lock out cleanly on every single rep.
  • Bouncing the weight stack between reps, which bleeds tension from the muscle and increases injury risk. Fix this by maintaining control through the full range and pausing briefly at the top without letting the plates crash.

Pro tip — Focus on initiating the press by thinking about driving your forearms straight down rather than pushing with your hands. This subtle mental cue increases triceps recruitment and reduces the tendency to accidentally engage the anterior deltoid.

Sets & reps by goal

Build muscle3–4 sets × 10–15 reps
Get stronger3–4 sets × 6–8 reps
Lose fat / tone3 sets × 12–20 reps

Rest: 60–90 sec between sets.

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