Dip · Bodyweight
How to do more dips
How to do a parallel bar dip properly, the ladder from bench dips through negatives to weighted reps, and how often to train them.
The movement
How to do one properly.
Every rep the same shape, so the numbers mean the same thing on day thirty as on day one.
- 1
Start at the top of the bars, arms locked, shoulders down away from your ears.
- 2
Lean forward a touch and bend your elbows, pointing them back, not out.
- 3
Lower until your upper arms are about parallel to the floor, or as deep as your shoulders allow quietly.
- 4
Press back up to a full lockout. That is one.
- 5
Keep your legs still and slightly in front of you; swinging is a different, worse exercise.
The way up
How to do more dips
Rung 1
Bench dip
Hands on a bench behind you, feet on the floor. Learn the elbow path with less of you on it.
Rung 2
Support hold
Lock out at the top of the bars and hold thirty seconds. Grip and shoulders first.
Rung 3
Negatives
Jump to the top, lower over five seconds, step down. Sets of three to five.
Rung 4
Band
A band across the bars under your knees or feet takes off what you cannot yet press.
Rung 5
Full, then weighted
Strict reps. Past twelve, hang a plate from a belt.
Treat dips like pull ups: three sessions a week, several sets stopped short of failure, two or three minutes between them. Add a rep across the session each week.
Depth is yours to set. Go as low as you can without the front of the shoulder pinching, and make every rep that depth. A half dip counted is still a dip you did not finish.
How it is counted
On the board, however it got there.
No watch counts dip, so nobody's does. Say it out loud in the app or type it in, and it lands the same as a synced session.
Worth 3 points per rep in the app, so a challenge can weigh it against anything else you count.
Questions
Asked about dips
Dips or push ups first?
Push ups until you can do twenty clean ones; the dip is the push up with all of you on it. The support hold and negatives can start alongside.
Do bench dips count as dips?
Log them as dips while you are on that rung, and move up as soon as you can. They work the same muscles with less of your weight.
Does it count from my watch?
No watch counts dip, so nobody's does. Say it out loud in the app or type it in, and it lands the same as a synced session.
Is it free?
Yes. The athlete app is free: logging, challenges and every guide on this site. Coaches pay for their workspace; the people they coach do not.
Other exercises
Everything else we count.
Push up
How to do more push ups
Pull up
How to do more pull ups
Squat
How to do more squats
Plank
How to hold a plank longer
Sit up
How to do more sit ups
Burpees
How to do more burpees
Lunges
How to do more lunges
Jumping jacks
How to do more jumping jacks
Skipping
How to skip rope longer
Extensions
How to do more back extensions
Battle ropes
How to last longer on battle ropes
Running
How to run further
Cycling
How to ride further
Swimming
How to swim further
Rowing
How to row further
Steps
How to walk more steps every day
Hiking
How to hike further
Football
How to get fitter for football
Basketball
How to get fitter for basketball
Tennis
How to get fitter for tennis
Dancing
How to build stamina for dancing
Yoga
How to make yoga a daily habit
Do more dips.
Let someone see it.
Get the app, log what you did or let your watch send it, and hand your friends the code.