Regular Dips

Regular Dips Basics

Primary muscles worked: Triceps

Synergist Muscles: Pecs

Mechanics: Compound

Equipment: Dip Apparatus or Parallel Bars

How To Perform Regular Dips

• Grip a dip machine or parallel bars with a neutral grip so that both of your thumbs are on the inside portion of the apparatus. You should have your arms in full extension.
• Cross your feet and bend your knees bringing the heels towards the butt until your upper and lower thigh make a 90 degree angle.
• Now, lower your body down by bending at your elbows. You should lean slightly forward to help with chest muscle recruitment during the lift.
• When your upper arms become parallel to the floor, push yourself back up to full extension. The majority of the work during this ascension will come from your triceps.
• After you have reached full extension, you may begin another rep.

Regular Dips Tips

• Keep your elbows in alignment with your shoulder throughout the lift. Do not allow your elbows to flare outward.
• If regular dips are too difficult, perform bench dips until or assisted dips until you have enough tricep strength to perform regular dips.

Regular Dips and Sports Application

The actual movement of the tricep dips can easily be seen in a sports such as gymnastics with the parallel bars event. Though very beneficial to these athletes, the tricep dips is a fundamental exercise that almost all athletes can benefit from. It develops strength, balance, and coordination in the triceps which is important for sports that require extension of the arm at the elbow joint. Strong triceps will allow athletes to shoot further, hit harder, and throw faster making the triceps dips a must learn exercise for an athlete. The one exception to this are athletes with shoulder issues. These individuals may be better served utilizing another exercise due to the stress placed on the shoulders during this particular lift.