Tip Master Dips for Chest & Triceps Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip Master Dips for Chest & Triceps Everything you need to know about dips plus some quick videos to make sure you' re doing them right by Christian Thibaudeau June 4, 2016September 26, 2022 Tags Arms, Chest, Tips, Training Dips are awesome. The problem is, most people use incorrect form. This has given the dip a bad reputation as a "shoulder killer." And some lifters use correct form but they do the wrong type of dip for their goal. Are you dipping mainly for chest development? Or are you doing it to target more of the triceps? Watch this quick video. Chest Dip Guidelines Torso forward Legs forward Medium to wide hand width "Gunslinger" elbows position Contract the abs to maintain form Don't lock out the elbows at the top position Shoulder drops slightly below the elbow in bottom position Head neutral: Don't look up or down. To build the chest, do full-range dips with an additional load of 50% bodyweight for 6-8 reps. Triceps Dip Guidelines Torso more upright Legs back Narrower hand width Elbows closer to the body Squeeze the glutes to maintain form Lock out elbows in top position Shoulder drops slightly below the elbow at bottom Head neutral: Don't look up or down. Dips bother some lifters' shoulders because they have pre-existing, underlying shoulder issues that need to be addressed. But assuming that your shoulders are healthy and functional, what can you do about it? Usually feeling something in your shoulder when doing dips is a technique issue, specifically with what happens in the shoulder/deltoid when performing the dip. If you're turning the dip into a shoulder exercise, you're doing it wrong. Look at the delt in both of these dips videos. Chest Dip Triceps Dip These are done with proper technique. You can see that while the delt is "rotating" (upper arm moving backward while going down) it isn't moving forward. It stays in its socket. The biggest mistake with dips is letting the shoulder move forward as you go down. It protrudes out of its socket. This puts a tremendous amount of stress on the shoulder joint and its muscles. If you want to make dips safer for the shoulders, make sure to lower yourself while keeping the shoulder joint in its socket. You do that by contracting the upper back as you go down (pinch shoulder blades together) exactly like you would do in a bench press. It might make the dips tougher at first because you're using the proper muscles to do the job instead of leveraging your way up. But as you become efficient with that technique you'll become much stronger, your strength gains will more easily transfer to barbell pressing lifts, and you'll stimulate more triceps and chest muscle growth. Also, the first sign of a good or bad dip is body swing. Those who aren't doing the dip properly tend to move their torso and legs during the exercise. Those who are very good at dips seem to keep their torso and legs fixed on a sliding rail. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training Tip 3 Jumps for an Explosive Squat Accelerate through your sticking points. Master these three jumps. Athletic Performance, Exercise Coaching, Squat, Tips Chad Wesley Smith November 1 Training Tip The Breathing Squat Challenge Force new leg growth with this classic training method. Here's how to do it. Challenge Training, Legs, Metcon, Squat, Tips, Training Bret Contreras August 24 Training 4 Reasons Why You re Not Making Progress Training slumps are inevitable. But there’s a reason they happen. Here’s what’s causing yours, and what to do about it. Bodybuilding, Training Mike Robertson November 4 Workouts Refined Physique Transformation Christian Thibaudeau's transformation from dud to stud put him on the map. Looking back, he'd do things a whole lot differently and a whole lot better. Check it out. Bodybuilding, Diet Strategy, Training Christian Thibaudeau June 18