Dips are a great exercise that works the pecs and also stretches and helps the flexibility of the shoulder.
Dips mainly build muscle in the…
- Chest
- Triceps
Dips can be done on a set of parallel bars, which most gyms will have. Or you can do them on a set of gymnastics rings, which will involve much more stabilizing muscles, core and abdominal work.
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About the Dip
Proper dip form
To perform the dip, find a set of parallel bars at your gym or local park or use a set of gymnastics rings. This description is geared towards gymnastics rings, but the dip is versatile and can be applied anywhere.
- Take a deep breath and start with your arms locked all the way out on the bars. If you want to, you can also bend your knees and cross your ankles in the back.
- Descend until your chest goes below your hands
- Push up with your arms and return to the full locked out position
- Thats 1 rep
Common Dip Mistakes
- Short range of motion - This simply means you're not going all the way up or all the way down when performing the dip. This is a major mistake many people make when doing dips.
- Going too fast - If you go really fast when doing dips, you are going to short the range of motion like we talked about above. Slow your rep speed down a bit.
Muscles used when doing dips
- Pecs
- Triceps
- Deltoids
How to make dips harder
- If you are using a dip bar, you can always wear a weight belt and add plates to make your dips harder. You can also wear a weighted vest or a bookbag with weights in it.
- If you are using a dip bar, try switching to a set of gymnastics rings. Rings make this exercise MUCH harder as you also have to use stabilizing muscles as well. Most people who can do 15-20 dips on a dip bar, can do about 3-4 on gymnastics rings.
Where do I start if I'm a beginner? (weights, reps, sets)
Dips are a very tough exercise for beginner's who don't have much strength built up. The good news though, is that most commercial gyms have an assisted dip machine. The assisted dip machine can help you learn the motion and form required to perform dips. To start get on a dip machine and pick a good amount of assistance (4th or 5th one down). Bend your knees and put them in the rubber part which holds them. If you can perform 10 dips or so on this setting then stick with it. If it feels like a trampoline shooting you back up, lower the amount of assistance. Perform the following
- 3 sets
- 10 reps
Vic, I love the idea of using gymnastic rings. I like the setup you show here. I must get a set of those! I am going to try my best. I had nerve damage and radiculopathy on my left side from an auto accident and was not able to do dips for years, but I rested completely, then went slow. Almost ten years after I can do 20 reps with bodyweight.
@ Chris C: 20 dips is no joke! Congrats on your recovery from injury. A ten year journey back to strength is true dedication.
Vic, thanks for the great tutorials. I am relatively new to lifting so these explanations help a lot. One question I have: is it a good idea to do a couple sets of body weight exercises before using barbells or dumbells?
Thats not a bad idea at all. Bodyweight exercises are a great warmup, and they also are good to use when you dont have the barbell movement down yet (ex… bodyweight squats)
- Vic
I’ve been doing dips for a while, but only tried weighted dips for the first time the other day, I wasn’t sure what weight to use so I started with only 10 pounds.
Having that little bit of added weight really helped my form and stabilized my position during the exercise. I would recomend adding light weight to you dips, even if you are having trouble with body weight. I managed to get in a 5×5 with a 45 pound plate when all i’m used to doing is body weight . It felt great, can’t wait till next week.
i was wondering how to lose fat on stomach and fat on the sides of my pecs so it can be more cut. i workout 5 times a week and do wieghts on tuesday, thursday,and saturday, and i do cardio wedsday, and friday i eat alot everyday but i eat mostly junk food on Sunday and monday to get capories to use at the gym. what i want to know is how i can get six-pack lose the gyno on my pecs and still get big and strong which is what i want to achive. im 6′1 220 pounds and was 200 around January and am now 220 from eating more food. My friend who is a personal trainer says i should eat alot of carbs but should i lower my carb intake right before i go to sleep? and what about sugar? please help me and get me in the right direction. thanks
what is the % of bodyweight you lift while doing dips??
Honestly, I don’t know for sure. But I’d guess it’s pretty high as the only thing you aren’t lifting is your arms.