Dips, muscle-building exercises

How to do dips?

In bodybuilding, there's a whole range of movements designed to work muscle groups according to the goals and needs of the exerciser.

These movements or exercises fall into two categories.

on the one hand, we have the so-called basic or polyarticular movements, whose role is to stimulate a muscle group in a general way. These include push-ups, deadlifts, squats and thigh presses, as well as movements such as curls and barbell extensions. These movements are good mass builders because they allow you to handle substantial loads and call on the auxiliary muscles.

on the other hand, we find isolation movements, which aim to stimulate a more precise area of a muscle. These movements are often used with more modest loads, as they involve fewer muscle fibres and deliver less power.

The next series of articles will explain the role of each basic movement and its execution.

We'll start with the dips, an often-forgotten basic movement which, depending on how it's performed, can build powerful pectorals or big triceps.

Dips, the basic bodybuilding movement

Dips are a movement performed between two parallel bars, on which the exerciser leans with arms stretched along the body and feet off the ground. From this position, you'll need to bend your elbows to lower your chest vertically between the bars, until the lower pectoral area is level with the bars. Finally, the torso must be pushed back vertically, so as to return to the initial position with arms outstretched.

When the torso remains vertical and the arms at the sides of the body, the muscle group most in demand is the triceps. The triceps are the muscles on the back of the arm. When performing this movement, the entire triceps is called upon.

For work targeting the lower pectoral zone, the torso will need to be in a slight forward inclination. Execution proceeds in the same way as described above, the only change being the torso inclination.

To target the lower pectaoral area, as well as the outer part of the pectaorals, simply bend the elbows and spread them so that the arms are no longer glued to the torso throughout the movement.

To make the movement harder and stimulate the desired muscle (triceps or pectorals), you can add weight to your bodyweight with a disc or dumbbell.

Dips are often performed at the beginning of a session when the focus is on triceps, or at the end when the session is based on pectoral work.

Author Alexandre CARPENTIER

Bodybuilding Champion N.A.C 2012

Alexandre shares his bodybuilding experience with MegaGear blog readers