Since the triceps muscle makes up two-thirds of your arm’s mass, it’s no secret that triceps-focused exercises, like certain variations of dips, should dominate arm day. Tricep dips (or bodyweight dips) are a classic, time-tested exercise known to not only add strength and size to your arms, but your chest and shoulders as well.
With no dumbbells (or gym) in sight, you can tone your arms and strengthen your upper body simply by making dips a regular part of your exercise routine.
While this move looks easy (minus the thick chains around a veteran diver’s neck), proper form can take a little time to master and is imperative to avoid injury.
When proper form is mastered, dips are a much safer alternative to other movements such as the bench press. “Because you’re moving your body by gravity rather than moving resistance by gravity, dips are actually safer on the shoulders than the bench press,” says Michael Wittig, ISSA CPT, board-certified nutritionist and eight-time professional champion. natural.
Wittig shares his top tips to help you improve your diving experience while avoiding bad form and injury.
Pain with triceps dips – Your body is telling you something
If you feel pain when performing triceps dips – not the burning sensation we all love, but the kind of pain you know you shouldn’t be going through – the best thing to do is stop doing the dip. exercise immediately. Pain can range from not stretching and warming up properly to possible injury.
“If a movement causes pain, stop that movement,” says Wittig. There are always other exercises that can be done and prevention is better than cure. “If you have chronic elbow problems [or past injuries] see a physical therapist and wear elbow compression sleeves,” advises Wittig. This will provide support to the elbow area when exercising.
When performing dips, pain may be felt in the shoulders, chest, elbows, and triceps. If you have warmed up properly, stretched, and are still experiencing pain, contact your doctor for further instructions. Now is not the time for the “No Pain No Gain” mentality.
If parallel bars dips cause you pain or are too difficult to perform correctly. Wittig recommends that you “consider bench dips and even self-assisted bench dips with your feet on the floor and your knees bent at a 90 degree angle.”
Simply put, pain is telling you something – listen by stopping exercise and consulting your doctor if the pain persists.
Having trouble with dips? Try that
“Dips require a fair amount of functional strength to perform enough reps to be beneficial,” says Wittig. He adds that there are also a few variations and ways to perform dips. “Some may get confused with the different variations, or just not be strong enough to perform effective reps.”
So when pain isn’t the issue but it’s hard to complete dips with the correct form, there are a few ways to fix this.
“If you’re not strong enough [yet] to do bar dips, start with bench dips,” says Wittig.
And if you encounter the same situation with bench dips, Wittig encourages you to try the variation mentioned above by placing your legs at a 90° angle with your feet on the floor. This will help your upper body slowly and safely build the strength it needs to keep progressing with different variations of dips.
And if you’re struggling with all the variations, Wittig recommends staying away from dips altogether and strengthening your triceps by performing triceps push-ups. Eventually, your triceps will gain strength and you can progress!
Always talk to your doctor about mobility issues or if you have an injury. Remember to warm up and cool down properly and always listen to your body.
“Because dips are bodyweight movements, you can give it another try and see if they cause pain,” says Wittig. Keep in mind that dips are safer than pressing movements. If they’re in pain, just choose another movement that doesn’t cause pain and focus on building strength in those areas.
