Tricep Dips Exercise Guide: Master The Triceps Dip
The Ultimate Guide to Mastering Tricep Dips for Stronger Arms
Tricep dips are one of the most effective bodyweight exercises for sculpting and strengthening the backs of your upper arms. This powerful strength training move works your triceps brachii through their full range of motion to build visibly bigger and more defined triceps muscles.
In this comprehensive guide, you’ll learn proper tricep dip technique, common form mistakes to avoid, specific benefits of tricep dips, and challenging dip variations to take your training to the next level. Read on to fully master this move for seriously pumped up arms!
What Muscles Do Tricep Dips Target?
Tricep dips primarily target your triceps brachii, the three-headed muscle located on the backside of your upper arm between your elbow and shoulder joint.
They also heavily recruit the shoulders’ deltoid muscles for stability, as well as your pectoralis major chest muscles. Your core will be active throughout the exercise to keep your body stable and balanced in the dip position.
So tricep dips train multiple upper body pressing muscle groups at once, making them an extremely efficient strength exercise that saves you time.
5 Benefits of Incorporating Tricep Dips Into Your Routine
Before diving into proper triceps dip form, check out these 5 notable benefits this functional exercise offers:
1. Build Bigger, Stronger Triceps
Tricep dips take your triceps through a large range of motion while lifting your full bodyweight as resistance. This makes them fantastic for eliciting serious strength and size gains.
2. Improve Overall Upper Body Pushing Strength
The powerful pressing movement pattern utilized in this exercise translates to better performance in other upper body pushes like push ups, bench press, shoulder press, and more.
3. Bodyweight Training You Can Do Anywhere
Dips can be efficiently performed virtually anywhere there are parallel bars, sturdy benches, chairs, railings, or other elevated surfaces. No gym or equipment required!
4. Save Time With a Multi-Joint Compound Exercise
As a compound move, dips train multiple upper body muscle groups at once by incorporating movement at your shoulders and elbows. This allows for total upper body gains in an efficient, time-saving package.
5. Enhance Shoulder Health and Stability
When done with proper form, dips can strengthen the muscles surrounding the shoulders to improve function and help prevent injury in this vulnerable joint.
Now that you know the many upsides to regularly performing triceps dips for building muscular arms from all angles, let’s cover the necessary form checklist.
How to Do Tricep Dips with Perfect Form
Implement these essential form tips when doing tricep dips to maximize results from each set while minimizing injury risk:
1. Maintain Proper Posture in Starting Position
- Stand in between a set of parallel bars or in front of a secure chair or bench you’ll be dipping on.
- Position your legs straight and hip-width apart, feet flat on the floor.
- Initiate the move by engaging your core and glutes, then bend your knees slightly while straightening your back.
- Place your hands just outside shoulder-width apart on the bars/chair for balance and stability.
- Straighten your legs to lift yourself off the ground as you walk your feet forward a few inches. Don't lock the knees out straight - maintain a very slight bend.
- Your body should form a straight line at the top, not leaning excessively forward or backward. Keep your core braced.
2. Control the Descent by Slowly Bending Elbows
- With your arms extended but not locked, slowly lower your body by bending at the elbows only.
- Focus on keeping your elbows tucked in close to your sides as you descend, rather than allowing them to flare out. Make an arrow shape with your arms.
- Descend until your elbows form around a 90 degree angle - but don't dip so deep that your upper arms drop below parallel to the floor.
- Maintain control on the way down without relying on momentum or fast dropping. This protects the shoulders.
3. Press Through Palms to Return Back Up
- Once you reach the bottom stretch position of the dip with elbows at 90 degrees, begin pressing your body back up to the start by straightening your arms.
- Keep driving those elbows down and back to really isolate the triceps muscles here! Don't rely on shoulders or momentum.
- Powerfully squeeze the triceps to straighten your arms until you return to the top start position with arms extended but not locked.
Repeat for your desired number of high quality repetitions!
4 Common Tricep Dips Mistakes to Avoid
Many form mistakes compromise results and inflate injury risk with this exercise. Be sure to avoid these frequent triceps dip blunders:
Flaring Elbows Outward
Allowing your elbows to flare out away from your body puts excess strain on the shoulder joint and limits triceps activation. Always keep elbows pointed straight down in line with your sides throughout the movement.
Leaning Too Far Forward
Creating an overly steep angle with your torso shifts tension off the triceps and makes the move easier by recruiting momentum. A slight lean is fine, but don’t let your body slope more than about 30 degrees forward from vertical.
Bouncing Repetitions
No partial or bouncy reps that rely on gravity! Slowly lower under control until you feel a deep stretch, then power back up without momentum by squeezing your tri’s. Quality over quantity here.
Dropping Too Low
Don’t allow your upper arms to drop much below parallel to the ground, as this overstretches the shoulders while removing tension from the triceps. Stop your descent around the 90 degree mark.
With these form pointers and mistakes to avoid, you’re fully prepared to safely and effectively perform dips for bigger, markedly stronger triceps!
How to Make Tricep Dips Easier on Your Body
If you currently lack the upper body strength necessary to lift your full bodyweight for dips, have no fear! Here are some simple tips to make triceps dips more achievable:
- Bend your knees and cross your feet behind your body - this removes some weight to reduce resistance.
- Perform assisted dips using a dip/pull-up machine with counterbalance weights. Gradually decrease the assistance.
- Loop resistance bands around the dip bars/chair and place your knees or feet inside the bands. This provides a boost!
Building up the required power to pump out full, proper bodyweight dips develops great triceps power. Use these form modifications as needed until you have the pure strength to control the full movement pattern.
Advanced Tricep Dip Variations for Muscle Confusion
Ready to spice up your triceps routine and confuse those muscles into newfound growth? Attempting new challenging dip variations forces triceps fibers to adapt in fresh ways:
Weighted Tricep Dips
Add mass to your arms by holding a dumbbell between your feet or placing a weight plate across your thighs. Begin very light until you perfect the new challenging form!
Bench Tricep Dips
Sit on the edge of a bench, chair, or stair and straighten your legs front of you. Place palms just outside hips and lower your glutes towards the floor without touching before pressing back up. Killer!
Diamond Tricep Dips
Shift triceps activation by placing your thumbs and index fingers together in a diamond shape when gripping parallel bars. Having hands closer together challenges balance/stability.
Decline Tricep Dips
Utilize dip bars positioned on a decline or angle to let gravity pull you down into an ultra-deep triceps stretch. Experiment with angles to find your sweet spot!
Mixing up your usual routine by attempting new challenging dip variations leads to complete and balanced triceps development. Give them a shot!
Ideal Tricep Dips Set and Rep Scheme
What’s the optimal set, rep and frequency range for maximum triceps growth? Here are evidence-based recommendations:
- Shoot for 3-5 sets of 8-15 quality reps per set
- Spread sets out over your entire upper push workout
- Allow at least 48 hours rest between triceps training sessions
- Increase weight/reps over time within pain-free range
This set/rep approach elicits excellent triceps hypertrophy when combined with proper nutrition and rest periods for tissue recovery.
For focusing more on pure triceps strength over size, opt for heavier weight in the lower rep range - work up to 3 challenging sets of just 5 quality reps using added resistance. But never sacrifice your form!
How to Know You’re Doing Tricep Dips Correctly:
Still having trouble getting the form down on tricep dips? Implement this checklist to guarantee proper technique:
✅ Maintain upright posture - don’t overly lean forwards
✅ Keep core braced and glutes/legs engaged
✅ Elbows always face down in "arrow" position
✅ Control descent until ~90 degree elbow bend
✅ Use triceps to press back up to start
✅ Don't hyperextend joints at top
✅ Quality over quantity! Strict form.
Run through these cues during your sets to ensure your triceps get optimally trained each rep while staying injury-free.
Have Any Tricep Dip Questions?
Still have any lingering questions about effectively performing dips for sculpted arms? Here are answers to some FAQs:
How Much Do Tricep Dips Work Your Triceps?
Tricep dips are one of the most direct ways to train the triceps. When done properly, they target all 3 triceps heads through a large range of motion while extending the elbow against resistance. This makes them fantastic for triceps development.
Can I Do Tricep Dips Every Day?
It's best to avoid doing dips (or any single exercise) every day. Your triceps need at least 48 hours of rest between strength training sessions to recover and grow. Excessive dip volume could overtrain muscles and increase injury likelihood.
Where Should You Feel Tricep Dips?
You should feel tricep dips directly in the triceps muscles! Specifically, they target the lateral and medial triceps heads that straighten the elbows. You'll also feel them partly in front shoulders which stabilize the movement.
How Many Tricep Dips Per Day for Muscle Growth?
Shoot for 3-5 quality dip sets of 8-15 reps each, 2-3x per week for optimal triceps growth. Spread sets out over your upper push workouts and increase difficulty over time. Any more could overtrain. Allow proper rest between dip sessions.
Can You Do Tricep Dips on the Floor?
Yes, you can! The easiest way is to sit on the floor with knees bent, place palms behind you with fingers facing forward, then straighten arms to raise hips and bend elbows to dip down. Make sure hands are planted sturdily.
How Many Tricep Dips Per Set?
Aim for 8-15 dips per set if muscle growth is the goal. This rep range causes metabolic stress and muscle damage known to stimulate hypertrophy. For pure strength, do fewer reps (3-5) per set with added weight. Do multiple hard sets per session.
Take Your Triceps to the Next Level!
Now that you’re armed with this comprehensive guide, it’s go time! Grab those parallel bars and start pumping out quality tricep dips to sculpt eye-catching arms. Just be diligent about maintaining proper elbow position, control, and depth on each rep.
Implement the form checklist during every triceps workout to guarantee you get the most out of this super efficient move.
Here’s to building bigger, stronger triceps and powerful, capable arms from every angle - something to certainly dip into! Just dip it.
Summary of Tricep Dips for Stronger Arms
My Take on Triceps Dips: Are They Worth the Hype?
As someone who has been strength training consistently for over a decade, I've tried just about every arm exercise there is. Triceps dips tend to be one of the most hotly debated moves out there. Supporters claim they are one of the most effective bodyweight drills for sculpting eye-popping arms. But critics argue they put too much strain on the shoulders compared to other options.
So what's the real deal on dipping for bigger triceps? After trial and error, I've landed on a nuanced opinion. Here's my personal take:
The Pros: When Executed Properly, Dips Deliver
There's no denying dips can elicit serious arm gains. The deep stretch at the bottom directly targets all three triceps heads through a large range of motion. And the fact you lift your entire bodyweight makes for unparalleled resistance. Talk about an efficient exercise!
I also love the multi-tasking element. Dips train the pecs, delts, core and more in one fluid motion. It's a time saver that just makes sense to program into upper body workouts.
The Cons: Easy to Butcher Your Shoulders If Form Falters
Here's where critics have a point. Dips can wreak havoc on your shoulders if not respected. Going too low, leaning too far forward, or flaring those elbows out rather than keeping them tucked are all recipes for pain.
I've made these mistakes before and it has lead to some nagging shoulder injuries over the years. Had to take time off dipping which stalls arm progress.
The Verdict: Worth Including If You Respect Shoulder Health
So are dips worth including or not? In my opinion, yes - BUT only if you are willing to leave your ego aside, follow form cues religiously, control range of motion, and listen to your body.
Prioritize quality over quantity with every set. And be prepared to swap dips out for a period if shoulders start aching. There are plenty of supplementary lifts like pushdowns you can swap in.
If respected, I believe triceps dips deserve a spot in most upper body routines. Just don't get sloppy with them in pursuit of new bench press PRs or you might pay the price.
What are your thoughts on the great triceps dip debate? Have you built impressive arms with them or do you steer clear? Share your hot take! I'm open to changing my stance if your experience points elsewhere.
Bonus: I asked 5 fitness professionals for their opinion on the Tricep Dip Exercise: Here are their responses:
Benefits of Tricep Dips
"Tricep dips are a great exercise to build the strength in the back of your arms (triceps). When performing tricep dips, be careful not to round your shoulder muscles or keep your upper arms still at the top of the movement - common mistakes that can make this best tricep exercise more difficult. You can make this exercise easier by moving your hands closer together on the bench dip.
This allows you to use your triceps and return to the starting position while keeping proper form. Pain while doing dips may indicate improper technique - keep your biceps tucked in and focus on using your triceps to extend your arms on the way down.
An exercise guide for how to properly do tricep extensions and other moves targeting these muscles can help you learn how to do tricep exercises easier and build strength safely, avoiding injury. Keep your body in a straight line as you dip down, using your triceps to return to the starting position."
Build The Strength With The Best Tricep Exercise: Use Proper Form
"Tricep dips are an excellent exercise for targeting the upper back and arm muscles, particularly the triceps. To perform them with proper form, start by positioning yourself on a dip station with your palms facing inward and your hands gripping the parallel bars.
Keep your neck neutral and your shoulder blades pulled back. As you lower your body, ensure your elbows stay close to your body and are pointed towards your feet. For a more challenging variation, extend your legs in front of you instead of keeping your knees bent and feet flat on the ground.
This helps in lifting more of your bodyweight, making the dips more difficult. To complete the movement, push through your palms to lift your hips off the ground and move your entire body back to the starting position, keeping your shoulders down to help you move efficiently. Dumbbell tricep exercises, such as the dumbbell tricep extension, can be a perfect workout superset when performed on a bench at a gym.
This combination not only strengthens the tricep muscles but also engages the upper back and shoulder, providing a comprehensive upper body workout."
Tricep Dips Common Mistakes Like Dipping Too Low or Not Keeping Elbows Tucked
"Tricep dips are widely recognized as one of the best exercises for enhancing arm strength, particularly in the triceps, shoulders, and upper back. To perform them with proper form, begin by positioning yourself on parallel bars, with your hands placed directly underneath your shoulders.
Engage your core and hold your body in a plank-like position, ensuring your shoulders are pulled back and your shoulder blades are retracted. As you prepare to dip, lean forward slightly while keeping your shoulders still and back, to avoid putting undue strain on them.
When dipping, it's crucial to avoid dipping too low as this can lead to a saggy posture and put additional strain on your shoulders. Instead, lower your body by bending your elbows until they are at about a 90-degree angle, lifting your bodyweight with control. Step-by-step instructions often emphasize the importance of maintaining a strong core throughout the exercise to keep your body aligned and to prevent your shoulders from rounding forward.
Remember, the key to effective tricep dips is not just in the downward motion but also in the upward movement, where you push through your arms and shoulders to return to the starting position. This exercise not only improves arm and shoulder strength but also contributes to overall upper body conditioning."
Remember to Execute The Tricep Dip or Bench Dip With Proper Form
"Tricep dips are a great exercise to isolate and strengthen the triceps muscles on the back of the upper arms.
For proper tricep dip form, the exercise is performed on parallel bars, allowing you to lift your body up by straightening your arms and then lowering back down by bending at the elbows. When lowering into the dip, it is important to keep your torso straight and your shoulder blades retracted back. Leading with the elbows pointing backwards behind your body rather than out to the sides, and keeping your shoulders back and down engage the triceps through their full range of motion for maximum toning and definition.
Executed properly with control, parallel bar tricep dips are an efficient bodyweight move to target shape and build the back of the arm."
Lean Forward & Aim For a Full Tricep Extension
"Tricep dips are a great exercise for isolating the triceps muscles in the back of the upper arms and promoting toning and definition.
When performing tricep dips, be sure to keep the shoulder blades retracted back to maintain proper form and prevent injury.
Tricep dips are a great exercise that target the triceps muscles on the back of the upper arm. To perform tricep dips with proper form, use parallel bars while keeping your shoulders pulled back with your shoulder blades retracted and holding your body in a straight plank position. Sit on the edge of the bars then straighten your arms while lowering your body.
Bend your elbows to dip down, putting strain on the triceps muscles. Press back up straightening the arms again. Keep the elbows pointing back behind you, keeping your shoulders back and stabilizing through your full core as you perform each rep with control. Done properly, tricep dips isolate the triceps for definition and shaping of the back of the arm."
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PS: Make sure you check out the rest of our Tricep Training Guides:
12 Best Long Head Tricep Exercises
Top 17 Tricep Extension Exercises
Perfecting the Triceps Pushdown
10 Best Medial Head Tricep Exercises
10 Best Lateral Head Tricep Exercises
The Best Triceps Stretches to Loosen and Improve Flexibility