Dip
Machine dip
Works
Also works
Equipment
How to do it
- Adjust the machine's seat so the handles sit at torso height.
- Sit with your back supported and grip the handles with a neutral grip.
- Press the handles down by extending your elbows.
- Keep your elbows close to your body during the press.
- Return under control until your elbows bend to about 90 degrees.
- Keep your back supported and avoid shrugging your shoulders.
Common mistakes
- Flaring the elbows out while pressing
- Shrugging the shoulders toward the ears
- Doing half reps without bending fully at the bottom
What the evidence says
Comparing bench, bar and ring dips with motion capture and EMG, the bench dip drove the shoulder to nearly 90° of extension — considerably more than the other two — and still produced lower peak triceps activation than the bar dip. A worse ratio between what it stimulates and what it demands of the shoulder.
McKenzie A, Crowley-McHattan Z, Meir R, Whitting J, Volschenk W. «Bench, Bar, and Ring Dips: Do Kinematics and Muscle Activity Differ?». International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022. View the study
In a review dedicated to the dip, the authors flag end-range glenohumeral extension as a vulnerable position that the training literature had overlooked. It doesn't say the dip is dangerous: it says depth is the variable to watch, and that nobody had been watching it.
McKenzie AK, Crowley-McHattan ZJ, Meir R, Whitting JW, Volschenk W. «Glenohumeral Extension and the Dip: Considerations for the Strength and Conditioning Professional». Strength and Conditioning Journal, 2021. View the study
What isn't settled: This is the thinnest of the five families. No training study has measured how much dips grow anything, nor compared them against pressing. The forward-lean-for-chest vs upright-for-triceps distinction everyone repeats has never been measured head-on. And no data defines how deep to go: end-range shoulder extension is known to be the sensitive zone, but not at what angle it becomes one.
Other variations
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