About The Dips Exercise

Overall, the dips exercise trains the front of the shoulder, the chest and the triceps. However, the muscle recruitment depends on the technique used to perform the repetitions. If the trainee leans forward while performing the dips exercise, maximal activation occurs at the chest. If you were to maintain an upright posture while performing the dips exercise, maximal recruitment is drawn from the triceps. It is important to note that if you’re performing parallel bar dips with an upright posture (the triceps version), then the range of motion should be limited to reduce the risk of sustaining a shoulder injury.

Parallel Bar Dips Video

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How To Do The Dips Exercise

1. Grasp the bars with each hand and support yourself with your arms extended.
2. Inhale and if targeting the chest, tuck the chin down, bend the elbows and lower your body down until the arms reach a 90 degree angle while leaning slightly forward. A stretch should be felt within the chest and shoulder region.
3. Inhale and if targeting the triceps, keep the chin up and bend at the elbows while maintaining an upright body position. The arms should not bend beyond a 50-60 degree angle. Bending the arm too much and going down too low will place unnecessary stress on the shoulder joint.
4. Exhale, extend the arms and drive the body back up to starting position.
5. Repeat until the desired number of repetitions are completed.

Parallel Bar Dips Variations

When performing the dips exercise using the parallel bar, you can attach a barbell to your weight belt (using a chain) and by doing so, you can increase the resistance, thus – the difficulty of the exercise.