Tip Do This Instead of Standard Dips 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 Do This Instead of Standard Dips Don' t let this classic exercise wreck your shoulders Keep building your chest with this simple tweak by Gareth Sapstead September 28, 2020February 25, 2021 Tags Training You don't need to completely swap out the V-bar dip to make it feel better on your shoulders. It's a go-to exercise for building triceps and chest. But unless your shoulders and elbows have a clean bill of health, things can get a bit dicey... so you'll need to modify them a bit. Dips put your arms behind your body into glenohumeral (shoulder) extension. That's okay if it's controlled and your shoulders are built for it. But most aren't. This puts excessive force through the anterior ligaments of your shoulders and can pinch on the rotator cuff and long head of the biceps tendon. Instead of trashing the dip completely, try this simple technique tweak: Lean forward and lead more with your chest. You might have to take your legs behind you more too, but this isn't essential as long as you can get your torso more angled forward and less vertical. This results in a fraction less glenohumeral extension and better chest activation, which will support your shoulders more. Also, play around with the width of grip you're using to better align your elbows and shoulders. A trial and error approach is best. How to Do It Jump up to the V-bar and start at the top. Stick your neck out and angle your shoulders forward. You want your torso in a slight forward angle as opposed to vertical. Keeping your feet and legs back helps. Lead with your chest and only go down as far as you're comfortable. Stay away from the painful range or motion. If there's still pain, try narrow-grip floor presses or decline presses as your next option. 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 Powerlifting Tricks For Regular Joes I've come to the realization that not everybody is interested in entering powerlifting competitions, but they are interested in improving their training by using powerlifting concepts. So here are a few things I picked up in the powerlifting pits that you can use to reach whatever lifting goals you may have. Training Jack Reape September 11 Training Tip Tight Hip Flexors Probably Not There are three other likely problems. Here they are. It Hurts Fix It, Training Lee Boyce August 24 Training The Truth About Ass-to-Grass Squats Some people say the only correct way to squat is ATG. And some people are a little smarter than that. Here's the truth. Bodybuilding, Powerlifting & Strength, Squat, Training Charles Staley May 5 Training Leg Curl First Squat Later Squats rule, but doing hamstring curls first will make your legs even bigger and your squats even stronger. Here’s why. Legs, Squat, Training John Meadows October 8