Dips

Overview

Dips are an excellent chest exercise which places primary emphasis on the lower and outer chest, triceps, and anterior deltoids (front shoulders). It can be performed while supporting the body over two parallel bars or by using a machine which mimics the same motion. This is a high-intensity, basic exercise which is great for building upper body mass.

Setup

The movement for the parallel bars and the machine variations is essentially the same, however, setup is slightly different. When using the parallel bars, a step or bar is usually available to help you get up to the bars. On many of the parallel bars you might see, the bars are actually not parallel (even though they are called “parallel” bars), and this allows you to choose how far apart your hands will be. The ends of the bars farthest from the supports are usually farther apart, while the ends nearest to the supports are closer together. Placing your hands further apart will focus on the pectorals, while taking the closer grips will emphasize the triceps. Mount the bars and support your weight with your hands and bend your knees.

For the dip machine, the seat and knee supports should be adjustable. Move the seat to the position that works best for your height and allows you to fully extend your arms. Move the knee support pads down so that they firmly hold your knees in place when performing the exercise. Take the grips and exhale while pressing forcefully downward until the arms are extended.

Movement

Allow the elbows to slowly bend as the body is lowered on the bars (or the elbows are raised on the dip machine). Continue to bend the elbows as far as comfortably possible to achieve the full range of this movement. Then, forcefully press downward to return the arms to their fully extended position.

Tips From the Trainer

Bending the knees, leaning forward on the parallel bars, and taking a wider grip all place greater stress on the chest muscles. To focus more on the triceps, try bending the knees less and allow your upper body to be erect, and also take a narrower grip on the bars.

While your weight can be easily adjusted on the dip machine, this is not as easy when on the parallel bars. To increase the weight, special weight belts allow for a chain to be attached to your waist which can hang weights below you. To go lighter, some gyms offer a parallel bar machine which has a support that presses upward on your knees. Increasing the weight on the machine increases the support to your knees and makes the workout easier to perform. This is a great alternative for those who aren’t quite ready to press their full body weight just yet.