Your triceps, the large muscle on the back of your upper arm, works every time you straighten your arm. You can perform a number of triceps exercises using gym machines, dumbbells or barbells, but dips are one of the few triceps exercises that use only your body weight for resistance. If lifting your entire body weight during dips is too difficult for you, you can employ one of several techniques for doing assisted dips.
Basic Form
You can do dips anywhere you have access to parallel bars that are just wide enough to accommodate your body between them. Some dip bars are angled slightly to converge in front of you, letting you tailor your grip width by adjusting your body position.
The basic form for doing dips mimics real-world movements like pushing yourself up from the floor or from a seated position. Grasp the dip bars, palms facing in, and bend your knees so your straight arms support your entire body weight. Bend your arms, lowering your body until your shoulders are level with or slightly higher than your elbows. Then straighten your arms, pushing yourself back up to the starting position.
Assisted Dip Machine
Some assisted pullup machines have a foldout lever you can kneel or stand on for doing dips. Adjust the weight stack, which dictates how much of your body weight the machine will counterbalance, then grasp the dip handles and stand or kneel on the lever.
Note that you should set a target number of repetitions -- usually eight to 12 -- and adjust the weight until completing the last repetition with good form is a challenge. Once you can do more than your target number of repetitions, decrease the counterbalance weight slightly, effectively increasing the resistance.
Self-Assisted Dips
If you have access to dip bars but not an assisted dip machine, you can give yourself a boost to finish each repetition. Slide a weight-lifting bench or sturdy chair beneath the dip bars, so you can rest your feet on the chair/bench as you do the dips. Push just enough with your legs to complete each repetition. Your goal is to do as much of the lifting as possible with your arms, until they're eventually strong enough to bear the entire load themselves.
Bench Dips
You can do self-assisted dips even if you don't have access to dip bars. Sit on a wide chair or bench, and place both hands to either side of your body, fingers lapping forward over the edge of the seat. Plant both feet on the floor and walk them just far enough forward to scoot your hips off the seat. Bend your arms, lowering your body until your shoulders are even with your elbows. Keep your elbows directly over your hands and your hips as close to the bench as possible. Straighten your arms to push yourself back up, using only as much leg power as necessary to complete the repetition.
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