Dips

Dips are a closed-chain pressing exercise performed between two parallel bars. The body hangs vertically and is lowered by flexing the elbows and allowing the shoulders to extend, then driven back up through combined tricep extension and horizontal adduction of the chest. Torso angle is the primary variable: staying upright emphasizes the triceps; leaning forward shifts demand to the lower chest.

Depth is where most people either shortchange the movement or exceed their shoulder capacity. Full range of motion means the upper arms reach at least parallel to the floor — less than that and you are doing a glorified tricep extension with poor shoulder mechanics. Descending past 90 degrees at the elbow is fine for most people if the shoulders are healthy and controlled; bouncing out of the bottom is not.

Dips pair well with horizontal pulling work. For every set of pressing, some volume of face pulls or cable rows keeps the shoulder girdle from developing imbalances. Weighted dips progress quickly — a 10-lb plate hanging from a belt each week adds up to serious loads by the end of a training block.

LiftProof logs dips under bodyweight push movements. Once you are adding external load, switch to the weighted variation in the exercise picker so progression tracking stays accurate.

• Lock the shoulders down and back before you lower — no shrug creeping in
• Control the descent; two seconds down is a minimum
• Lean forward for chest emphasis, stay upright for triceps
• Drive the elbows back, not flared out to the sides
• Exhale through the sticking point at the top

• Partial reps — dropping only halfway defeats the purpose; go to at least parallel
• Shrugging at the top — actively depress the scapulae before and during the rep
• Flared elbows — they should track back, not out; flaring loads the shoulder capsule badly
• Too much forward lean when targeting triceps — pick a torso angle and commit to it consistently

• pull up→
• bench press→