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Dips

A demanding bodyweight push movement for chest and triceps that loads both muscle groups more heavily than most pressing exercises.

Setup

Grip the parallel bars and lift yourself up. Arms extended, body hanging between the bars, slight forward lean if targeting the chest.

Movement

Lower with control. Bend your elbows to lower your body, keeping the forward lean consistent, until your shoulders are roughly level with your elbows. Don't go excessively deep. Going too low can strain the shoulder joint, especially under fatigue — a moderate, controlled depth is safer and still effective.

Return

Press back up. Extend your arms fully, maintaining the same torso angle throughout the rep.

Common Mistake to Avoid

Going too deep, especially as fatigue sets in. The deepest part of the dip is also the most stressful on the shoulder joint — depth should be controlled, not maximized.

Equipment Dip bars or parallel bars
Primary Muscles Chest (lower pectoralis major), triceps
Secondary Muscles Front shoulders

Why it matters

Dips load the chest and triceps with your full bodyweight through a deep range of motion that few other exercises replicate. Leaning the torso forward shifts more emphasis onto the chest, while staying upright shifts more onto the triceps, making this a genuinely versatile exercise depending on how it's performed.

How to do it

  1. Grip the parallel bars and lift yourself up. Arms extended, body hanging between the bars, slight forward lean if targeting the chest.
  2. Lower with control. Bend your elbows to lower your body, keeping the forward lean consistent, until your shoulders are roughly level with your elbows.
  3. Don't go excessively deep. Going too low can strain the shoulder joint, especially under fatigue — a moderate, controlled depth is safer and still effective.
  4. Press back up. Extend your arms fully, maintaining the same torso angle throughout the rep.

Common mistakes

  • Going too deep, especially as fatigue sets in. The deepest part of the dip is also the most stressful on the shoulder joint — depth should be controlled, not maximized.
  • Losing the forward lean and going fully upright. If chest development is the goal, an upright torso shifts too much emphasis onto the triceps instead.
  • Using momentum or bouncing out of the bottom. Bouncing reduces control and increases the risk of shoulder strain at the most vulnerable point in the rep.
  • Attempting full dips before building adequate strength. Like the pull-up, assisted or partial-range dips are a legitimate way to build toward full bodyweight dips.

Sets & reps by level

Beginner

Start with assisted dips (band or assisted machine) or bench dips (hands on a bench, feet on the floor) for 3 sets of 8–10 reps.

Intermediate

3–4 sets of 6–10 unassisted reps, controlled depth.

Advanced

4–5 sets of 8–12 reps, adding weight with a dip belt once bodyweight reps stop being challenging.

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