maratoolBench Dips
How to do the bench dips
- This exercise is one of the most basic and still one of the best for building the triceps (muscles on the back of the arm).
- Place two benches parallel to each other 3-4 feet apart.
- Sit on one bench and place your feet on the edge of the other bench so that your legs are suspended between the 2 benches.
- Cross your feet for support.
- Hold onto the bench with your hands for support and slowly lower body towards the floor by bending your elbows.
- Pause and then return to starting position.
- Note: Do not go below a 90 degree angle as this can cause on your shoulders.
Muscles worked
The prime mover is the triceps brachii, which straightens the elbow, and through its long head helps pull the arm back at the shoulder.
Because more than one joint is moving, the work does not stay in one place: the chest adds pushing force at the shoulder; the deltoids stabilise the shoulder and add force at the top of the range.
How this movement works
The working muscles shorten as they drive the load away from you, and more than one joint changes angle to do it. Load spreads down a chain instead of sitting on one muscle, which is why a compound push handles more weight than any single-joint alternative — and why joint position, not the muscle, is usually what fails first.
It is filed under strength: produce force against resistance for a countable number of repetitions, and progress the resistance over time.
What you need
No equipment at all. The resistance is your own bodyweight, so you progress by changing leverage, range or tempo rather than by adding plates — and you can do it anywhere.
Every exercise using:Body only
These train the triceps too, using equipment this one does not:
- Bench Press - Powerliftingbarbell
- Bent-Over One Arm Triceps Extension with Dumbbelldumbbell
- Cable Lying Triceps Extensioncable
- Close-Grip EZ-Bar Presse-z curl bar
- Dip Machinemachine
Difficulty
Listed at beginner level: the pattern is simple enough to pick up without coaching, and a position that goes wrong mid-set is obvious enough to correct on the next repetition.
Of the 99 triceps exercises in this database, 44 are listed at beginner level.
Illustration: Everkinetic — CC BY-SA 4.0 — license. Modified versions are shared under the same license. Full attribution →
ⓘ Informational only — not a substitute for professional fitness or medical advice.