Dip exercises are bodyweight workouts that target your triceps and other important body muscles like chest, shoulder, biceps, abs, and back muscles. It is a compound exercise where multijoint movements are performed that involves many muscles working at the same time. When it comes to having a great chest and triceps, dip exercise is much better than a bench press. If you want to improve your overall strength and good shape in arms then you must do dips.
With dip exercise, your upper part of the body is supporting your lower part and hence it is considered a full-body workout. When done correctly, they will increase muscle mass in the upper part of the body. You can even perform dips at home if there is an availability of two steady objects or parallel bars. Read this article to know about the fundamental techniques of doing dips properly.
How to do Dip Exercise
You need dip bars to do this workout. The bars have to be stable, fixed, and in a parallel position. Let us look at some standard tricep dip form.
- Stand between two parallel bars in such a way that you can grab the edge of the bars.
- Hold the bar slightly more than the distance of shoulder-width apart.
- By leaning forward and elbows flaring, put force on your chest lower your body until your feel some stretch in your chest.
- Keep your legs straight for a while, do the dips continuously for 10 times.
- You have to dip down your body till your arms make a 90-degree angle.
- You can change the position by bending your knees and engaging to the core.
- After completing your dips you can slowly straighten your arms and return to the initial position.
Dip Exercise Variations
Bench or Box Dips
Instead of bars, you can use the bench to perform dips. They are easier to do and are often a good choice for beginners. Place a stable strong small bench on the floor. Face against the bench and your hands should be placed on it. By extending your legs and lifting your buttocks make dips by bending your elbows. Do it for around 10 reps. This form is like a seated version of bicep drips.
Band Assisted Dip Exercise
This version is the same as you do for tricep dips. The only difference is that you have to use a resistance band across your bent knees and then do the dips. This form is good for maintaining mobility and stability throughout your body.
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Russian Dips
This form targets the large muscles of the upper part of your body. It is a bit complicated to perform so make sure you do it with the presence of a spotter. Stand between the two parallel bars. The position should be such that the bars should be under your armpits. Press down your forearm and move your elbows to the upwards position. Keep your chest high and don’t shoot your shoulders.
There are other such variations like weighted dips, gymnasts ring dips and negative reps that you can practice with your instructor.
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Common Mistakes
- When you find dips to do hard, you will panic and end up doing wrong forms. This would certainly put you at risk of injury and strain in your upper body part. So try to first initially practice with the bench and then proceed with dip bars.
- Do not do perform dips too quickly. Doing exercise too quickly will cause muscle tears and tension that will cause you pain. So slow down your dips and let your muscles relax a bit.
- While performing a dip, make sure you do not go too low or too high. If you do this, this will create stress on your shoulders furthermore, less engagement of triceps. Just be neutral in your dip movements.
- Wrong elbow movements will lead you to injure your elbow joints. So proper form of elbow position can prevent you from getting injured.
- Before doing any kind of dip variation, the key to do a good dip is maintaining shoulder stability. Do roll your shoulder in a forward motion. This will hurt you. Before doing the dip, inhale and then push your shoulders in a backward position.
Benefits
- Dips are quite customizable. You can do many forms. This makes it interesting for people because you can switch to many variations and get the same benefit.
- If you want to increase flexibility in your shoulders and arms then dips are an ideal way to opt for.
- Another reason to incorporate dips in your fitness regime is that it improves overall muscular stability, strengthens your joints and gives you a completed developed upper body.
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