Dips - Triceps Version
Also works: Chest · Shoulders
The same parallel-bar dip as the chest version, re-aimed at the arms: torso vertical, elbows tracking straight back along your ribs, and a stop at roughly 90 degrees of elbow bend. That upright posture is the whole difference, and it turns a chest movement into one of the heaviest triceps lifts available without a barbell.
Own the movement
Set up first, then execute. Every cue below is something you can check on your next set.
Before the first rep
- Choose bars roughly shoulder-width apart. Wide bars force the elbows out and hand the set to your chest.
- Jump or step up to a supported position with elbows almost straight and shoulders pulled down away from your ears.
- Squeeze your glutes and brace your abs so your legs hang as one piece rather than swinging.
- Cross your ankles behind you and keep your legs slightly in front of your hips to stop the torso tipping forward.
- Look straight ahead, not down. Dropping the chin drags the chest forward into the lean you are trying to avoid.
Every rep
Breathing & tempo — Inhale as you descend, hold the brace at the bottom, exhale on the drive up. Two to three seconds down, up under control — never a bounce out of the bottom.
Before you load it
- Stop at 90 degrees of elbow bend. Deep dips load the front of the shoulder capsule and are the main reason people give up on the movement.
- If you feel a sharp pinch at the front of the shoulder rather than a stretch, get off the bars. That is a position problem, not a toughness problem.
Sets, reps & load
Where to start, and what to change when it stops being hard.
Bodyweight is the starting load and it is already substantial. Ten strict upright reps is the point at which to hang a belt on: start at 5-10 kg and add 2.5 kg once you clear 8 clean reps. If bodyweight is out of reach, use a band under the knees or the assisted machine rather than doing half-range reps.
What goes wrong
The errors that show up most often, and the cue that fixes each one.
Cut the reps in half and keep your sternum stacked over your wrists. Film one set from the side — most people believe they are upright when they are 20 degrees over.
Stop at a right angle. Below that the front of the shoulder takes the load off the triceps, and the extra range buys you irritation rather than growth.
Cross the ankles and squeeze the glutes so the lower body is dead weight. When the swing appears, rack the set and add reps next session instead.
Actively push your shoulders away from your ears before you descend and hold that. A shrugged bottom position is the single most reliable route to front-shoulder pain in dips.
Why bother
Torso angle decides who does the work. Lean forward 30 degrees and the sternal chest takes over; stay stacked vertically over your hands and the shoulder has almost no adduction to contribute, leaving elbow extension to move your entire bodyweight.
That matters because most triceps training tops out at 25-30 kg on a cable. Here you are pressing 70, 80, 90 kg from the first session, which puts the lateral and medial heads under a load no pushdown will ever match.
Where it fits
Treat it as a main press, not an arm finisher. Early on a push day, 3-4 sets of 6-10, before you fry the triceps with isolation work. Twice a week is workable if one session is bodyweight and the other is weighted; three heavy dip sessions a week is how front-shoulder pain starts.
If this one isn't it
No kit, too hard, or too easy — here's where to go instead.
Same job, different kit
When this gets easy
Asked and answered
How is this different from a chest dip?
Only torso angle and elbow path. Chest dips lean forward with elbows flaring out to load the sternal pecs; the triceps version stays vertical with elbows tracking back along the ribs. Same bars, same descent, entirely different muscle doing the work.
Can I do these on rings instead of bars?
Yes, and rings are harder in a useful way — the rings rotate, so your shoulders have to stabilise the position rather than being held in it. Expect to lose 3-5 reps the first session. Turn the rings out at the top and keep the same vertical torso; if you find yourself leaning to stay balanced, go back to fixed bars until the pattern holds.
I cannot do a single dip. What now?
Use bench dips or the dip machine to build pressing strength, and add slow negatives: jump to the top, take five seconds to lower, step off. Three sets of three negatives twice a week usually produces a first full rep within a month or two.
Do dips build triceps better than pushdowns?
For raw size, yes — the load is many times higher. What they miss is the overhead position, so the long head is trained short. Run dips as your heavy triceps press and add an overhead extension for the stretch.