Triceps Dips

Triceps Dips

In this lesson you will learn how to do triceps dips on a bench (triceps = back side of the upper arm - opposite of the biceps). If you wanna do your triceps workout at home, you can also do this with a chair, a sofa, on your bed or on the edge of a bath tub. If this triceps dip variation is not hard enough for you, try dips between two benches and put weight on your stomach, or do triceps dips between bars and attach weight to your weight lifting belt. Find more triceps exercises at weight training main.

Execution

  • Put your hands on the edge of a bench, so that your fingers point towards your legs. Distance between hands: Less than 1 foot. If your wrists feel uncomfortable like this, turn your hands in a little. Your arms should stay parallel throughout the entire exercise. Elbows stay close together. You can do triceps dips with bent or extended knees. I personally prefer to extend my knees, because this way I can't help with my legs. Start with your arms fully extended and look straight forward.
  • Move down slowly, inhale and keep your back close to the bench. As you move down, your elbows should move back. A lot of beginners open their elbows sideways when they do triceps dips. That's WRONG!. Make sure your arms remain parallel and don't shrug your shoulders up as you move down. Also keep looking straight forward an move down until your upper arms are parallel to the floor. Some people move down a lot further. Don't do that if you have shoulder problems.
  • Then push yourself back up until your arms are fully extended, squeeze your triceps and exhale at the same time. Keep your elbows close and your arms parallel. The up-motion of the triceps dip can be slightly faster than the down-motion.

Advice

  • Keep your arms parallel throughout the entire exercise.
  • Don't open your elbows sideways.
  • Keep your back close to the bench.
  • Don't move down too far if your shoulders feel uncomfortable.
  • Stretch your triceps between sets and exercises.
  • Triceps dips between bars are a lot harder than this variation of the triceps dip.