Dip
The dip has you support your body on parallel bars, lower yourself by bending your elbows until your shoulders reach a deep stretch, then press back up to full arm extension. It's one of the few bodyweight exercises that loads your chest, front shoulders, and triceps together through a genuinely long range of motion, since your own bodyweight provides resistance through the entire descent and press. Leaning your torso forward shifts more emphasis onto your chest, while staying more upright shifts the work toward your triceps.
Why it works
A dip is a vertical press, similar in pattern to a close-grip bench press but performed with your body moving instead of a bar. Supporting your full bodyweight on straight arms and lowering under control means your chest, shoulders, and triceps all have to control the descent, not just the press back up, which is part of why dips are considered a demanding upper-body strength move even without added weight. The depth you can control, going down until your shoulders reach a deep stretch, is also harder to replicate with a barbell or dumbbell press, which is what makes dips valuable even for lifters who already bench press heavy.
Set up
- Grip the parallel bars and support your bodyweight with your arms fully extended.
- Lean your torso forward slightly if you want more chest emphasis, or stay upright for more triceps focus.
- Cross your ankles behind you and keep your core braced before the first rep.
How to do it
- Bend your elbows to lower your body between the bars.
- Keep your torso lean consistent as you descend.
- Lower until your shoulders reach a comfortable, controlled stretch.
- Press through your palms to extend your elbows and return to the starting position.
- Avoid locking your elbows out hard at the top before starting the next rep.
Form cues
- Keep your shoulders down and away from your ears throughout the set.
- Control the descent instead of dropping into the bottom position.
- Keep your torso lean angle consistent, don't let it shift mid-set.
- Stop the descent once you feel a stretch in your shoulders, not pain.
Breathing: Inhale as you lower your body between the bars, and exhale as you press back up to the top.
Common mistakes
Dropping too fast into the bottom position.
Fix: Lower yourself over two full seconds so your shoulders, not gravity, control the depth.
Letting the shoulders round forward and up toward the ears.
Fix: Actively pull your shoulder blades down before you start the descent and keep them there through the rep.
Going deeper than your current shoulder mobility allows.
Fix: Limit your range to where you feel a comfortable stretch, and build depth gradually over weeks, not in a single session.
How to program it
- Three to four sets of six to twelve reps works well as a main pressing exercise on an upper-body or push day.
- Because dips load your shoulders through a deep stretch under your full bodyweight, most lifters do better with a day of rest between sessions, so two dip sessions a week is a reasonable default.
- Add weight with a dip belt once bodyweight sets get past twelve to fifteen reps, rather than only adding more reps.
Safety notes
- Limit your depth to a range your shoulders can control without pain or pinching.
- Warm up your shoulders with lighter pressing work before a heavy dip set.
- Stop the set immediately if you feel a sharp pain in the front of your shoulder rather than a normal muscular stretch.
Exercise profile
- Force
- Push
- Mechanics
- Compound
- Category
- Strength
Frequently asked questions
How many dips should I do?
Three to four sets of six to twelve reps is a solid target for a pressing day. Once that gets easy, add weight with a dip belt instead of only chasing more reps.
What's the difference between a chest dip and a triceps dip?
Leaning your torso forward during the dip shifts more emphasis onto your chest, while staying upright with your torso keeps more of the work on your triceps.
Can I do dips without parallel bars?
A bench dip trains a similar pressing pattern using a bench or chair behind you, with your feet on the floor to reduce the load, which makes a good starting point before working up to full dips.
Why do my shoulders hurt when I dip too deep?
Going below a comfortable stretch can pinch the front of the shoulder joint. Limit your depth to where you feel a controlled stretch, not pain, and build range gradually as your shoulder mobility improves.