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Parallel bar dips
It's the bench press you do with your own body, and some call it the squat of the upper body. It's very effective, and also the exercise where the most shoulders suffer, almost always from going lower than the joint allows.
What it works
- Chest, especially the lower part
- Triceps, which take over when your body is upright
- Front delts and everything that holds your shoulder blades in place
How to do it
- 1Get up and set yourself
Bars at shoulder width or a little more. Get up with your arms straight, shoulders away from your ears and shoulder blades squeezed down.
- 2Choose your lean
Body upright: more triceps. Leaning forward with your legs slightly in front: more chest. Choose before you start and keep it.
- 3Lower under control
Elbows back, not flared out. Lower until your elbows are at roughly ninety degrees, and only go further if your shoulder allows it without discomfort.
- 4Push
Rise by pushing the bars down, without shrugging. At the top, straighten your elbows without snapping them locked.
- 5Don't swing
Legs together and still, crossed or slightly in front. If your body is swinging, your technique has already gone.
The mistakes you see most
- Going too low. It's the mistake that ruins the most shoulders. Going well past ninety degrees puts the shoulder in a very demanding position; if you feel a pull at the front, you've gone too low.
- Letting your shoulders hang at the top. If you stay hunched at the top, with your ears between your shoulders, the joint takes load it shouldn't. Shoulders down, chest up.
- Flaring your elbows. Out in a cross, like in the bench press, is the fast track to discomfort. Elbows back.
- Adding weight too soon. Until you can do eight or ten clean reps with your own bodyweight, the dip belt with plates isn't needed.
Variations
- With a band or on an assisted machine. The band or the machine takes away part of your weight. It's the progression for getting your first one.
- Negatives. Jump up and lower as slowly as you can. It's what brings your first dip fastest.
- Bench dips. Hands on a bench behind you and feet on the floor. Much easier, although it's harder on the shoulder; don't overdo the range.
- Weighted. When they come easily, a belt with plates or a dumbbell between your feet.
Frequently asked questions
For chest or for triceps?
Both, depending on your lean: upright loads the triceps and leaning forward loads the chest. Neither version is the right one: they're two goals.
I can't do a single one
Start with negatives and the assisted machine, two or three days a week, and add bench press or push-ups as well. They usually show up within a few weeks.
The front of my shoulder hurts
Go down less, don't go past ninety degrees and check that you're not hanging at the top with your shoulders shrugged. If it still hurts, switch to bench press or push-ups and get it checked.
Dips or bench press?
They're similar and go well together. The bench press lets you adjust the weight precisely; dips add holding your body and are usually felt more in the lower chest.
And to keep track of what you lift
In the Reverfit Workout app every exercise comes with its animation, and you log the weight and reps set by set, with what you did last time right in front of you. Free and with no ads.
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