All about the Dip Bars
(Triceps)
BENEFITS & MUSCLES WORKED: Triceps, Chest, Shoulders, Core
START POSITION: Grab both bar handles and launch yourself upwards, straightening your arms and locking the elbows as you go. Allow your legs to dangle straight down, and then ensure your body has stopped swinging from the initial jump. Now, you can cross your feet over each other at the back. You’re ready to go.
NOTES: Difficulty Rating: 80%
Bar Dips are an old-school classic ‘bodyweight exercise’. Most beginners find these very uncomfortable and awkward, and many won’t even be able to do one rep. That’s where the Assisted Dips machine comes into play (image right). This is a fabulous invention that incorporates a reverse pulley system, providing an adjustable upward force on a padded ‘plate’ that you kneel on. And now anyone can do a few reps with the correct technique to build on their upper body strength – until eventually they can do several reps with perfect technique without any assistance (just lifting their free-swinging bodyweight).
This machine is probably my overall favourite gym machine because it usually has overhead bars, which means you can also use it for Assisted Pull-ups to work on your back muscles. Fantastic!
2 Important Points about Tricep Dips (similar to Chest Dips):
1) The same exercise is used both in Chest workouts and Triceps workouts, except that they differ slightly in form. For more Triceps activation, keep your body as vertical as possible (although a slight lean forward is almost unavoidable). For greater chest activation, tilt your body forward by 15-25°. You can also tilt your head and neck slightly, provided it doesn’t feel too awkward. This will help give a greater impact to the Chest muscles.
2) How far should you dip downwards? This depends partly on your physique and shape. For most people, you should stop dipping down as soon as your upper arm is parallel with the horizontal bars you are gripping. For very fit and able individuals, it’s okay to go a little lower than this, but be cautious. As a lot of stress will be put through your elbow and shoulder joints, please keep them safe. Train smart.
Finally, this discussion would not be complete without mentioning the fantastic combined muscle group effect of this exercise. All Dips will work the Chest, Shoulders, Triceps, Arms, and Core in varied amounts. When I was an 800m track and middle-distance runner, I would complement my training schedule with some intense gym workouts, primarily targeting the body areas that supported my main running training. I firmly promise that if you are a sprinter or middle-distance runner seeking to shave many seconds off your Record times, then you will find the Dips exercise invaluable.