What muscles do dips work?

The chest and the triceps, with the front of the shoulders helping. Leaning forward favours the chest; staying upright favours the triceps.

Are dips bad for your shoulders?

Not for most people at a depth they control. Pain at the front of the shoulder at the bottom usually means going too deep or letting the shoulders roll forward; stop a little higher and keep your shoulders down.

I cannot do a single dip. Where do I start?

With an assisted dip machine, a band under your knees, or slow negatives: jump to the top and lower yourself over three to five seconds. Most people build up to full dips within a few weeks.

Are dips better than the bench press?

They are different. Dips move your body through space and need shoulder mobility; the bench press is easier to load and progress in small steps. Both train the chest and triceps, and many programmes use both.

Dips: Muscles Worked and How to Do Them

Dips: muscles worked and how to do them

Dips train your chest and triceps, with the front of your shoulders helping. Supporting yourself on two parallel bars, you lower your body by bending your elbows and press yourself back up: a bodyweight press that loads the upper body heavily.

How you hold your body decides which muscles work hardest. Leaning forward puts more of the work on the chest; staying upright puts more on the triceps. They are hard at first, so most people start with an assisted version.

At a glance

Main muscles: Chest
Triceps
Also works: Shoulders
Movement: Push down (dip)
Equipment: Dip bars, Bodyweight
Type: Compound (several joints)

Front

Back

How to do a dip

Grip the parallel bars and jump or step up until your arms are straight and you are supporting your bodyweight, shoulders down and away from your ears.
Bend your knees and cross your ankles if your feet would touch the floor, and lean your torso slightly forward.
Bend your elbows to lower yourself slowly, keeping them pointing back rather than out to the sides.
Go down until your upper arms are about parallel to the floor, or as low as your shoulders stay comfortable.
Press through your hands to straighten your arms and return to the top.

Cues that help

"Shoulders down": stay tall at the top, not sunk into your shoulders.
"Elbows back": they point behind you, not out to the sides.
"Lean for chest, upright for triceps".
"Controlled bottom": no dropping into the deepest position.

Common mistakes

Going too deep too soon. If the front of your shoulders hurts at the bottom, stop higher; depth can grow over time.
Shoulders shrugging up towards your ears at the top or the bottom.
Elbows flaring out wide, which strains the shoulders.
Swinging the legs to get up. If you cannot press up cleanly, use an assisted version.

Chest dips or triceps dips?

On the same bars you can bias either muscle. For the chest, lean forward, let your elbows travel a little wider and go a bit deeper. For the triceps, keep your torso upright, elbows tight to your sides, and focus on straightening the arms.

Bench dips, with your hands on a bench behind you, are a different and easier exercise. They train mainly the triceps, but put the shoulders in an awkward position for many people.

Sets, reps and progression

Assisted dips (a machine, or a band looped over the bars under your knees) until you can do 8 or more clean reps.
For muscle with bodyweight: 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 15 reps.
Once 15 is easy, add weight with a dip belt or a dumbbell held between your feet.
Rest 1.5 to 2.5 minutes between sets.

Variations and alternatives

Assisted dip machine: a counterweight takes part of your bodyweight.
Weighted dips: a dip belt with plates for stronger lifters.
Negative dips: jump to the top and lower yourself as slowly as you can.
Bench press and incline dumbbell press: the chest and triceps with a bar or dumbbells.
Tricep pushdown and skull crusher: the triceps on their own.

Tracking your dips

PushBeyond logs the reps of each set, and any added weight, and charts the history of the exercise. Its muscle map counts dips for your chest and triceps, with your shoulders as a helper.