Dips

Nothing has been better than Push Ups for my bodybuilding workouts and push ups alone got me ripped up fast, so naturally I have a love for them! I’ve tired pull ups and dips in the past and loved them but my diet and form were off. I feel there could be plenty of gains to get from doing daily chest dips (with perfect form) whilst sticking with my nutrition protocol in my program.

What should I do? Results could be interesting!

• 100 dips a day only?
• 200 dips a day only?
• 300 dips a day only?

Chest Dips

Bodybuilding and want to develop the chest? Want that huge wide sweeping Greek God ‘carved from stone’ Chest!? Want to take your Push Ups game to the next level? Better start doing dips for the chest then! Just like the legendary Push Ups the dip hits every muscle in the upper body. Know as ‘The Upper Squat’ and ‘Number 1 Chest Exercise’ this incredibly powerful move targets way more than just the pecs! We already know, just like the Diamond Push Up that when you utilise bodyweight exercises correctly you get a bigger testosterone and growth hormone boost compared to just isolation exercise (think bicep curls) PLUS more calories are burned meaning a reduction in body fat over time. This puts dips right at the front of your chest workout to build a rock hard armour plate AND lose the ‘man boobs’ (hate that saying) along the way.

Chest Dip Rules

1. Don’t go lower than parallel.
2. BEATHE IN as your lower yourself.
3. Keep your shoulders BACK and DOWN.
4. Keep your scapular retracted at ALL TIMES.
5. Do not lock out your elbows at the top of the rep (keep tension on the muscles not the joints)
6. ‘Bring your hands together’ as you push back up to utilise full mind muscle connection and increase actual tension in the chest.
7. Take your time to slowly progress on dips to build muscle mass and avoid injury.

How To Do Chest Dips Properly

Firstly you’ll need two parallel dip bars. Now sure you can try and balance on two chairs but man that doesn’t sound too stable! Maybe opt for a pull up and dip station (tower than includes a pull up bar and parallel dip bars).

• Assume the position by getting in between the two bars.
• Straighten your arms and take your bodyweight off your feet.
• Bend your knees with your feet behind you causing you to lean forward and thus ‘lead with your chest’.
• Engage core/abs.
• Keep head in line with your spine as you lower yourself keeping your shoulder blades retracted AT ALL TIMES (unlike the push up).
• Bend your elbows as you lower yourself and BREATH IN!
• STOP when your arms are parallel with the floor or your shoulders are level with your elbows. Pause and push up.

Dips For Chest Benefits

Dips for chest are going to get you building a WIDE CHEST. This is why the dip complements Push Ups so well. The Diamond is going to carve out that ‘inner chest line’ and the dip is going to WIDEN out your chest giving you that ‘sweep’ from shoulder to shoulder.
 
Better than the BENCH. Some ‘don’t feel it in their chest’, many bench very high loads and still have a small or underdeveloped chest. Why are they not doing Push Ups!? Anyway, do dips correctly and be prepared for unparalleled growth!
 
CORE ACTIVATION is insane! Moving your whole upper body without support (bench) means your abs/core get a workout in the process. That’s an awesome chest AND six pack, hello summer.
 
As the chest dip is comparable to the decline press we can see that the deltoids will be used less which means your chest will be working harder during the dip than flat bench which of course means – MORE CHEST MUSCLE!

Dips For Shoulder Health

Dips can be great for shoulder heath but form is CRITICAL. Never go below parallel. Sure, get a stretch but then push back up. At the bottom of the rep your shoulder muscles will be strengthened and stretched, giving you improved flexibility.

Dips For Chest Form

Let’s run though a check list for chest dips form to make sure you’re doing dips for chest development.

• DO NOT LET YOUR SHOULDERS ROLL FORWARD.
• Don’t shrug your shoulders against your ears.
• Make sure your shoulders are BACK and DOWN and LOCK IN THIS POSITION.
• Raise your chest and keep your CHEST UP before you lower yourself. Chest pain in your collarbone happens if you round your back.
• BREATH IN and HOLD as you lower yourself.
• DIP DOWN but don’t break parallel.
• DON’T SWING! Keep your CORE/ABS engaged at ALL TIMES.
• DO NOT LOCK OUT your elbows at the top of the rep.
• Don’t ‘relax’ at the bottom of the rep.
• EXHALE and BREATH OUT as you push back up.
• Don’t go too low. Full ROM takes time to build up but no need to go lower than parallel as shoulders will roll forward putting them at risk.

Best Abs Workout

Hold the ab crunches for a second! The best ab workout in the world is already in The Push Ups Program! The Plank or the ‘Plank Push Up’ will sculpt the abs like no other. All bodyweight exercises where you’re moving your whole body through space means that your core is going to be in constant engagement (think holding a plank) so once again the dip will be strengthening the abdominals just like The Push Ups Program does. So dips along with push ups and pull ups/chin ups end up giving you a powerful effective ab workout for a six pack.

For a great ab workout to develop a rock hard six pack (or even 8!) work the midsection with 200 Push Ups a day. The Plank is one of the best and most basic exercise for the ab muscles AND it’s already built into the push up movement! The simplicity and minimalism of the push up strikes again! No need to do a separate exercise for your six pack, if you’re doing push ups then you’re already doing an ab workout! This dedicated and effective core workout is already in my program and you didn’t even know it! When I dialled in my nutrition and lost belly fat I was surprised to see a six pack without having done loads of weighted ab exercise, a great bonus to the power of push ups and bodyweight workouts!

Dips Everyday Results

I’ve been doing dips every other day and have seen increases in tricep size and strength and, perhaps more interestingly – traps!

What’s your experiences with Dips for chest and Dips for triceps? Let me know your thoughts below in the comments!