Beginner

Bench Dip

A simple bodyweight move you can do anywhere, the bench dip lets beginners build triceps strength before progressing to parallel-bar dips. Keeping the torso upright and close to the bench keeps the emphasis on the arms. Add a plate on your lap once bodyweight becomes easy.

Equipment
Bench
Body part
Triceps
Type
Strength
Browse by movement
Vertical Press
Muscles worked
Target
Triceps Brachii Long Head, Triceps Brachii Lateral Head, Triceps Brachii Medial Head
Secondary
Deltoid Anterior, Pectoralis Major Sternocostal

How to do it

  1. 1

    Sit on the edge of a bench and place your hands beside your hips, fingers forward.

  2. 2

    Slide your hips off the bench so your weight rests on your hands.

  3. 3

    Keep your back close to the bench and legs out in front.

  4. 4

    Bend your elbows to lower your hips until your upper arms are about parallel to the floor.

  5. 5

    Keep your elbows tracking straight back, not flaring out.

  6. 6

    Press through your palms to extend your elbows back to the top.

Tips

  • Keep your body close to the bench; drifting forward strains the shoulders.
  • Don't sink so deep that your shoulders feel pinched, stop around parallel.
  • Bend your knees to make it easier or extend your legs to make it harder.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • Only the heels of the hands rest on the bench so the wrists bend sharply backward, and the wrist gives out long before the triceps do; set the whole palm on the bench with the fingers curled over the front edge.
  • The heels dig in and the legs push you back up, which makes the set look strong while the triceps barely change from week to week.
  • The bench is left free-standing and creeps backward under the press; back it into a corner or pick a step that is fixed in place.
  • Elbows fan outward as fatigue arrives, moving the load off the triceps and onto the front of the shoulder in a position that joint does not enjoy.
  • Shoulders round up toward the ears at the bottom and the neck pokes forward, turning a triceps exercise into a shrug you cannot see from where you are sitting.
  • Sets run into the thirties because bodyweight is light in this position, when a plate resting on the thighs turns the same three sets back into strength work.

Frequently asked

How many bench dips should a beginner do?
Three sets of 10 to 15 reps with the knees bent and the feet flat, resting about a minute, two or three times a week. Stop each set two reps before the elbows start to wander outward. Once 15 reps feel easy, walk the feet out to straighten the legs, and after that rest a light plate across your thighs and go back to sets of 10. Both changes add load without adding the depth that makes this movement uncomfortable.
How do you make the bench dip easier or harder?
Easier: bend the knees deeply and bring the feet in close, which leaves more of your weight on the floor, and cut the depth so the upper arms stop above parallel. Harder: straighten the legs, then put the heels on a second bench, then add a plate on the lap, then pause for a second at the bottom of each rep. If the front of your shoulder objects at any stage, switch to close-grip push-ups rather than working through it.
Are bench dips bad for your shoulders?
They can be, for some people. The hands sit behind the torso and the shoulder rotates inward as you descend, which is the position most shoulders find provocative, so anyone with front-of-shoulder pain should train the triceps another way. Kept shallow, close to the bench, and free of extra depth, they are fine for most beginners and build real triceps strength with nothing but a chair or a step. They also stop loading well once bodyweight is easy, so a parallel-bar dip or a close-grip press is the better long-term home for triceps work.

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