Weighted dips are a compound exercise that works to develop the muscles in the upper body such as the pectoral muscles, anterior deltoids and triceps. Dips are typically performed on parallel bars using body weight. When your body weight alone is no longer challenging, it's time to add a weight belt in which a weight plate or dumbbell hangs from a chain between your legs while your perform the movement.
Chest Dips
Place each hand on one of the parallel bars. With straight arms, hold your body up over the bar with your shoulders positioned above your hands. Lower your body toward the bars as far as you can. Press your body back up to your starting position until your arms are straight. Crossing your feet behind your body and keeping your knees slightly bent will help you lean forward more during the movement, which will engage more of your chest.
Training with Dips
Weighted chest dips work the lower and outer portion of the pectoral muscles. Use chest dips in your training as an alternative to similar exercises such as decline presses and flys, or as a part of your overall chest routine. Include dips anywhere in your routine. However, depending on your strength and experience level, you may want to perform them after heavy bench presses. Dips can also be a good upper-body warm-up before heavy lifting, as long you do not do them to the point of fatigue.
Triceps Dips
Do weighted triceps dips on the parallel bars similar to how you do chest dips, but keep your torso straight and upright during the movement instead of leaning forward. Or place two flat benches parallel to one another. Put your hands on the edge of one bench, and rest your feet on the other bench. Your torso-leg angle should be about 90 degrees. Bend your elbows back until your hips drop below the bench and your upper arms are parallel to the floor. Add a weight plate on your legs to make the exercise more difficult. Resting your feet on the floor out in front of you or with your bent knees makes the exercise easier.
Considerations
Dips require a significant amount of upper-body strength to perform. Beginners may opt to use a dip machine or an assisted pullup machine that has parallel bars. This allows you to develop the muscles required to perform dips. Once you are able to perform three sets of 10 to 20 repetitions of body weight dips with perfect form, you add a weight belt. Always perform dips carefully, because they can cause stress to the shoulder joint, notes Frederic Delavier, author of "Strength Training Anatomy."
References
- ExRx.net: Weight Chest Dip
- "Encyclopedia Of Modern Bodybuilding"; Arnold Schwarzenegger;1985
- "Strength Training Anatomy"; Frederic Delavier; 2001
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