All about the Dips Exercise
(Chest)
BENEFITS & MUSCLES WORKED: Chest, Shoulders, Arms, Core, Stability, Coordination
START POSITION: Jump up onto the Dip bars and push up until your arms are straight. Cross your feet behind you and lean slightly forward. Your Chest should be pushed slightly outwards, and your head should be facing slightly downwards (not straight ahead).
Ready to start.
NOTES: Difficulty Rating: 82%
Begin lowering yourself down and keep going until your Upper Arms are parallel to the floor. There’s no point in lowering it further because it increases the risk of injury, but I do see some people adjusting their stance.
The return journey back up again is a little more complicated than the downwards move, and so you should be breathing out on the way up and in on the way down. Your whole body should be suspended in the air by your hands at all times, and your feet must not touch the ground. If they do, then you can try bending your knees a little, but this probably means that the machine is inadequate. Sometimes you have to say no to an inadequate machine or one that has not been adequately maintained, rendering it both dangerous and uncomfortable.
Beginners may only be able to do one or two Chest Dips, which is normal because this exercise is very challenging. If you can’t do one perfect Push-up, then you probably won’t be able to do any Dips either. Persevere with your fitness journey and keep doing more of the easier exercises until you are ready for these.
There are several variations of the Dip exercise which you might like to explore:
Dip Variations
Although most people will be happy with just the one type mixed in with a wider training regime.