Are Dips Good For Your Back?

Dips can be a difficult strength-training exercise because they require you to lift your own body weight. Those who lack the strength to perform traditional dips can, however, make certain modifications. Most of the major muscles are involved when performing dips, but they're not the primary movers.

Dips

Dips are completed by placing your hands on a pair of dip bars so your body is in the center of the bars. Lift your body off the floor by extending your arms. Your hands should be directly under your shoulders. Keep your hips straight as you bend your elbows, lowering your body until you feel a slight stretch in the front of your shoulders. Extend your elbows to return back up to starting position. Those who lack the strength to do regular dips can complete bench dips instead. Sit on the edge of a bench and place your hands on the edge of the bench on either side of your hips. Extend your legs out straight, either placing them on a second bench or on the floor. Slide your hips forward so they clear the bench, placing all of your weight on your hands. Bend your elbows, lowering your hips down below the bench seat. Continue down until you feel a slight stretch at the front of your shoulders, then extend your elbows to return to starting position.

Major Back Muscles

The major muscles of the back include the trapezius, latissimus dorsi, levator scapulae and the rhomboids. The trapezius, levator scapulae and rhomboid muscles all work around the scapula, elevating, depressing and retracting it during movements that involve the shoulder, the Department of Neurobiology and Developmental Studies at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences explains. The latissimus dorsi is the largest muscle in the back; it primarily works to extend your shoulder, but also assists in shoulder adduction, or moving your upper arms toward the center of the body.

Muscles Used in Performing Dips

Both regular dips and bench dips develop the same muscle groups. The primary mover of the exercise is the triceps brachii, at the back of each of your arms. The triceps contract to extend your elbows as you press up and control your elbows as they bend, or flex, as you slowly lower down. Your deltoid, or shoulder muscle, also contracts to assist by flexing your shoulders. According to a computer analysis of the dip exercise by the 4Crane Computing company, the latissimus dorsi assists in shoulder adduction. Your rhomboids downwardly rotate your scapula and your lower trapezius causes scapular depressing.

Effective Back Exercises

While dips do recruit most of the major muscle groups in the back, you can isolate them more effectively by performing strength-training movements in which they are the primary movers. The ExRx website suggests exercises that target the latissimus dorsi, trapezius, levator scapulae and rhomboid muscles such as lat pulldowns, pullups, shrugs and rows.