In this blog, I’m going to show you how to set up, perform, and program dips, provide you with progressions, regressions, and tips to help you meet your goals, and teach you how to address any pain you may be experiencing.
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Brief Anatomy & Biomechanics Overview
First, let’s briefly review some anatomy and relevant biomechanics.
Dips are performed with the intention of training three primary muscle groups:
- The triceps brachii located on the back of your arm
- The anterior deltoid, which is the muscle on the front of your shoulder
- The pectoralis major, or your chest
The primary movements involved are simultaneous shoulder extension and elbow flexion as you lower down, followed by (relative) shoulder flexion and elbow extension as you press back up.
The triceps brachii are responsible for elbow extension, while the anterior deltoid and pectoralis major are responsible for shoulder flexion.
I’ll touch on some other nuances in a bit, but I want to start by saying that there is no “perfect” way to perform dips. How you do them will depend on your goals, preferences, equipment availability, and comfort.
Plus, how you specifically perform dips will likely change over time. Think about the first time you tried to squat compared to how you squat now. It probably doesn’t look and feel exactly the same.
My goal is to provide you with options, so you can find what works best for you. Start with what feels good and then slowly adapt through trial and error.
How To Set Up Dips
Regardless of the equipment you’re using, there are 3 general set-ups:
1. The handles or bars are parallel to one another, so your grip width is always constant.
2. The bars are converging, so you can choose to use a narrower or wider grip. All else equal, a wider grip will place a greater demand on your chest.
With this set-up, the direction you face can make a difference as well. For example, if you’re using a dip bar attachment on a squat rack, you might want to face away from the squat rack to give your head and face more clearance.
You may also notice that facing toward the squat rack prepositions your shoulders into more internal rotation, while facing away from the squat rack prepositions them into more external rotation.
3. Rings, which give your shoulders more degrees of freedom. However, this added freedom reduces stability and makes ring dips more challenging initially.
Depending on the size of your hands, the thickness of the bars, and your preference, you can decide if you want to use a regular grip or a thumbless grip.
How To Perform Dips
At the start of the movement, which is typically at the top, you want to push the bars away from you so your shoulders aren’t shrugged up to your ears. This is known as scapular depression.
Some individuals also cue scapular retraction, or squeezing of the shoulder blades, during the descent and bottom portion of the movement to minimize rounding of the shoulders and upper body.
I don’t think this is necessary in most cases. Instead, you can let your shoulder blades move naturally.
This is true of your elbows as well. Unless they’re flared out unintentionally and it’s affecting your performance, you can let them move in the direction that feels natural to you.
I think most technical issues and concerns with the upper body will clear up on their own as you get stronger and become more proficient at the movement.
With regard to the lower body, your knees can be bent or straight. If you’re tall or using a dip bar attachment on a squat rack, your only choice may be to bend your knees.
Your legs can be forward or more in-line with your trunk.
Lastly, you can lean forward a bit or be more upright. Leaning forward will place a greater emphasis on your chest, but don’t get too caught up with this either. Find a happy medium that you can progress over time.
I say this because if your goal is to maximize the strength and hypertrophy of your chest, you’re going to include exercises like incline dumbbell presses and cable flyes anyway. Similarly, if your goal is to maximize the strength and hypertrophy of your triceps, you’re going to include isolation exercises.
Once again, I’m giving you options because your first dip doesn’t have to be perfect or the technique you use for the rest of your life.
Other than that, the four most important things to focus on during dips are comfort, control, consistency, and depth. These all go hand-in-hand. Only go as low as you can consistently and comfortably control.
A general rule of thumb is to lower yourself down until your arms are roughly parallel to the ground and your forearms are vertical so that your elbows form 90 degree angles, but there is no universal standard.
Your comfort, control, and consistency are what matter most.
Dips are hard. Be patient as you develop your strength.
How To Progress Dips
You can progress dips in one of three ways:
- Increase the range of motion
- Add reps
- Add weight in the form of a weight vest, dip belt, or a dumbbell between your legs.
The dip belt is the best option for progressive overload. Weight plates are typically preferred over dumbbells and kettlebells because you can hold them between your thighs to keep the weight from swinging.
There is no specific number of bodyweight repetitions you need to be able to perform before you can begin adding weight, but 15-20 unbroken reps is a simple, conservative guideline. If you do eventually add weight, start with small progressions, such as 2.5-5 lb increments, or 1-2 kilograms.
How To Regress Dips
You can regress dips, or make them easier, using one of these three variations:
1. Machine Assisted Dips. These machines allow you to rest your knees on a platform to offload as much of your bodyweight as needed throughout the entire range of motion.
2. Band Assisted Dips. A band allows you to offload your bodyweight the most at the bottom of the movement where dips are hardest. Just wrap a band around the bars or handles and rest your shins on it.
3. Eccentric-Only Dips. Lower yourself down as far as you can comfortably control, stop the movement instead of trying to push yourself back up, restart from the top, and repeat.
Paused dips and tempo dips, which are more like alternatives rather than regressions, are also great options for developing strength and control.
Some individuals recommend bench dips as a regression, but I think they usually lack sufficient carryover to regular dips.
How To Prepare For Dips
If you want to improve your preparation for dips, one of the best things you can do is just work on your overall upper body pushing strength. Exercises can include push-ups, deficit push-ups, and any other pressing exercises available to you.
If you lack shoulder extension range of motion or you want to improve your tolerance to this movement, you can perform shoulder extension-specific exercises, such as
- Standing Shoulder Extension with a Dowel
- Prone Shoulder Extension with a Dowel
- Shoulder Extension Rocking and the
- Reverse Plank
Any of these options can be performed for 2-3 sets of 10-15 repetitions.
And hopefully this goes without saying, but a lighter body weight will make dips easier, assuming weight loss doesn’t result in a reduction in upper body strength.
How To Fix & Avoid Pain With Dips
Are dips more dangerous than other exercises?
Not inherently, but dips can be problematic for some individuals because they require the strength to support your entire body weight through a range of motion that most people don’t expose themselves to on a regular basis.
Anterior shoulder pain and sternal pain, often referred to as costochondritis, are probably the two most common issues.
Rather than looking for fancy fixes, I think most of these cases can be resolved with appropriate preparation and proper programming.
As a physical therapist, here’s the 5-step process I’d recommend:
- Evaluate your volume and intensity. Reduce the total number of sets performed per day or week as needed, as well as the load being used if you are doing weighted dips.
- Reduce your effort. If you’re taking every set to failure, try leaving a few reps in the tank. You can also consider changing your rep scheme here if it’s helpful.
- Modify your tempo, range of motion, set-up, technique, or any other variable that might be contributing to your symptoms. Remember, I provided different options so you can find what works best for you.
- Implement one of the regressions I mentioned earlier, such as machine-assisted dips, band-assisted dips, or eccentric-only dips.
- Reconsider your preparation. If all else fails, you might just need to take some time off dips as you build up your capacity to better tolerate them.
Your overall programming can play a factor as well.
How To Program Dips
Although performing dips with a higher frequency may lead to more rapid improvements in strength, some individuals might be better off doing them one time per week, at least initially. Plus, variability in your program can be useful.
For example, if you’re a beginner performing full body resistance training two times per week, you might do dips on one day and push-ups on the other. Or you could swap push-ups for a flat press, incline press, overhead press, or a machine press.
If you’re someone training three times per week, the same thought process applies.
I’ll end the blogby reiterating this one more time – Dips are hard. Be patient as you develop your strength while focusing on control, comfort, and consistency.
Looking for rehab or performance programs? Check out our store here!
Want to learn more? Check out some of our other similar blogs:
How To Perform Nordic Hamstring Curls, How To Perform Reverse Nordics, How To Grow Your Glutes
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