How to do a Chest Dip
Reviewed by JP Michelsen, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
About Chest Dip
Dip (Parallel) Bar
Instructions for Proper Form
Chest Dip is a variation of the standard Dip and primarily targets the pectoral muscles, along with the shoulders and triceps. By leaning forward during the movement, more emphasis is placed on the chest. This compound bodyweight exercise is effective for building upper body strength and muscle mass, and can be a great addition to upper body workouts for more experienced lifters.
- Suspend yourself on a set of parallel bars. Allow your torso to lean forwards and your elbows to slightly flare out away from your body.
- Control your body as you descend into the starting position. If you feel a stretch in your chest this is a good sign you are in the correct position.
- Engage your chest to raise your body while driving the palms of your hands down through the parallel bars. Don’t lock out your elbows at the top of the movement.
- Maintain good body positioning by keeping your torso at a slight forward angle.
- You should feel this exercise primarily in your chest, but may feel some tension in your triceps as well.
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Alternative Exercises to Chest Dip
1. Machine Fly
98.2 mSCORESWAPPED 964 TIMESMachine Fly is a variation on the more standard Dumbbell Fly. This isolation chest exercise primarily targets the chest, but also recruits the shoulders. The use of a machine makes the exercise more stable allowing you to focus on exertion or learn the movement with minimal risk of injury. This is a great exercise for beginners looking to learn the movement, or advanced lifters looking to push this movement to it’s limit.
- Beginner
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- Fly Machine
2. Dumbbell Bench Press
99.7 mSCORESWAPPED 816 TIMESDumbbell Bench Press is a variation on the standard Bench Press. Like Bench Press, this compound exercise primarily targets the chest, while also training the triceps and shoulders. The use of dumbbells allows for greater instability which can help you become more stable on pushing movements in general, while also isolating each side of the body to prevent you from compensating for any weaknesses between sides.
3. Cable Crossover Fly
97.3 mSCORESWAPPED 771 TIMESCable Crossover Fly is an isolation exercise that targets the chest. It’s a variation on the more standard Dumbbell Fly, and can easily be adapted to further isolate specific areas of the chest. Using cables to add resistance allows you to keep more consistent tension on your chest, as well as control the angle that the resistance is coming from.
- Beginner
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4. Dumbbell Incline Bench Press
99 mSCORESWAPPED 764 TIMESDumbbell Incline Bench Press is a variation on the more standard Barbell Incline Bench Press. This compound exercise primarily targets the chest, but the incline also places more emphasis on the shoulders. The use of dumbbells makes this exercise more unstable than its barbell counterpart, while also forcing you to address any strength discrepancies between sides.
5. Dumbbell Fly
98.3 mSCORESWAPPED 728 TIMESDumbbell Fly’s are one of the most common isolation chest exercises, and for good. It primarily targets the muscles in the chest, but also recruits the shoulders for stability. The use of dumbbells ensures that you’re targeting each side of the body independently, and prevents compensating for any weaknesses between sides. In addition the isolated nature of this exercise is a great way to fatigue your chest, and focus on building both muscle mass and increasing strength in your chest.
6. Assisted Dip
85.2 mSCORESWAPPED 634 TIMESAssisted Dip is an easier variation on the more standard Dip. Similar to other dip variations, this is a compound exercise that primarily targets your triceps. Unlike the standard dip, you can reduce the resistance of this exercise by kneeling on a counterweight to assist you. Kneeling on the pad also adds more stability to the movement which makes it easier to focus on exertion rather than stability. This is a great exercise for anyone looking to work towards performing full bodyweight dips.
- Beginner
- Triceps
- Assisted Weight Machine
7. Machine Bench Press
93.5 mSCORESWAPPED 593 TIMESMachine Bench Press is a compound exercise the primarily targets the chest, shoulders, and triceps. The use of a machine forces you to use a fixed range of motion which can be a great way to learn the movement, or to focus your effort on exertion rather than stability.
- Beginner
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- Bench Press Machine
8. Barbell Bench Press
99.2 mSCORESWAPPED 587 TIMESBench Press is one of the three Powerlifting movements, and one of the most common upper body exercises. It’s a fantastic compound exercise that can help you build strength in your chest, shoulders, and triceps. It’s a staple in most fitness programs, and is often used as a metric for tracking upper body strength in general.
9. Push Up
94.5 mSCORESWAPPED 574 TIMESPush Ups may be the most recognizable exercises out there. It’s one of the best bodyweight exercises you can do, and is a great way to develop functional strength in your upper body for pushing movements. It’s fantastic for beginners, or anyone with limited equipment, while still being a great addition for even the most seasoned lifters.
- Intermediate
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10. Dip
93.9 mSCORESWAPPED 509 TIMESDips are a compound, bodyweight triceps exercise, and an incredibly common exercise. The exercise requires you to raise and lower yourself in a suspended position by flexing and extending your arms. With the standard variation, this is mostly accomplished by engaging your triceps, however other variations can shift this to be more of a chest exercise.
- Beginner
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- Dip (Parallel) Bar