How to Do Dips: A Beginner's Guide

To do a dip, support your body on straight arms between two parallel bars, lower yourself slowly until your elbows are bent to about 90 degrees, then press back up until your arms are straight again. Most beginners should start with bench dips or assisted dips, keep the shoulders down and only go as deep as feels comfortable.

Dips are one of the best bodyweight moves for building pushing strength, and you can do them with almost no kit. A sturdy bench, a set of parallel bars at the gym or an assisted dip machine is enough. This guide covers the muscles they work, the cues that keep your shoulders happy, a step-by-step progression ladder, the common mistakes and how to fix them, and a 4-week plan that fits around your running.

What muscles do dips work?

Dips are a compound pushing move, which means several muscles share the work at once.

• Triceps: the muscles on the back of your upper arm. They straighten your elbows as you press up, and they do a lot of the work.
• Chest: your pecs help drive you up, especially if you lean your body slightly forward.
• Front of the shoulders: the front deltoids help move your upper arm forward as you rise.
• Supporting muscles: your upper back, the muscles around your shoulder blades and your core all work to keep you steady.

Staying more upright tends to put more emphasis on the triceps, while a forward lean tends to bring in more chest. Neither version switches a muscle off, so do not worry too much about it as a beginner. A small forward lean is comfortable for most people.

How do you do a dip with good form?

These cues are for a bar dip, but the same ideas apply to bench dips and assisted dips.

1. Set up tall. Grip the bars with your palms facing in, roughly shoulder-width apart. Jump or step up so you are supported on straight arms.
2. Pack your shoulders. Push the bars away and draw your shoulders down, away from your ears. Think proud chest.
3. Set your legs. Bend your knees and cross your ankles, or keep your legs straight and slightly in front. Squeeze your glutes so you do not swing.
4. Lower slowly. Lean forward a little and bend your elbows, letting them travel back rather than out to the sides. Take about 2 to 3 seconds on the way down.
5. Stop at a comfortable depth. A common guideline is to stop when your upper arms are roughly parallel to the floor, or your elbows are bent to about 90 degrees. Go less deep if your shoulders feel pinchy.
6. Press up. Breathe out and push through your palms until your arms are straight, keeping your shoulders down the whole time.

Should beginners start with bench dips or bar dips?

Bench dips are easier because your feet take some of your weight. Sit on the edge of a sturdy bench or box, place your hands just outside your hips with fingers pointing forward, then slide your bottom off the edge. Keep your back close to the bench as you lower and press up. Bent knees make it easier, and straighter legs make it harder.

The trade-off is that bench dips take your hands behind your body, which stretches the front of the shoulder. Some people find this uncomfortable, especially if they go deep. Keep the range short, and if bench dips still bother you, skip straight to assisted bar dips or a machine. Bar dips are harder, but many people find the position kinder on their shoulders once they have the strength.

What is the best dip progression for beginners?

Work up the ladder one step at a time. Move on when you can do the target with clean form on two sessions in a row.

How do assisted dips work with bands or a machine?

Assisted dips let you practise the full movement before you can lift your whole body weight. On an assisted dip machine you kneel or stand on a pad that pushes you up. On most of these machines, a heavier setting on the stack means more help, so reduce the weight over time. With a band, loop a resistance band across the bars and rest your knees or feet in it. A thicker band gives more help.

Check bands for nicks or tears before you use them, and step in and out of them carefully. Bands help most at the bottom of the dip and least at the top, so they feel different to a machine. Both are fine. Use whichever your gym has.

What are the most common dip mistakes, and how do you fix them?

• Shrugging the shoulders up to the ears. Fix: start every rep by pushing the bars away and drawing your shoulders down. If you cannot hold that position, go back to support holds.
• Going too deep. Fix: stop around 90 degrees at the elbow. More depth is not better if it hurts.
• Elbows flaring out wide. Fix: think about pointing your elbows behind you, like you are closing a drawer with them.
• Dropping fast and bouncing out. Fix: count 2 to 3 seconds on the way down and pause briefly before pressing up.
• Swinging the legs. Fix: cross your ankles, squeeze your glutes and brace your stomach.
• Chasing reps with half reps. Fix: drop back a step on the ladder. Five good reps beat twelve messy ones.

How many dips should you do, and how often?

For most beginners, 2 to 3 sets of 6 to 12 reps, twice a week, is a good place to start. Leave at least a day between dip sessions, and finish each set with one or two reps still in the tank rather than grinding to failure. Rest around 90 seconds between sets.

Once you can do 3 sets of 10 to 12 full bar dips with clean form, you can make them harder by slowing the lowering phase, adding a pause at the bottom, or adding a small amount of weight. Add load slowly. Your triceps and elbows need time to catch up.

What does a 4-week dip plan look like?

This plan suits someone who cannot yet do a full bar dip. Do two short sessions a week, at the start of an upper-body workout while you are fresh.

Do not worry if your first full dip takes longer than four weeks. Just repeat week 4 until it comes. Pair dips with a pulling move such as rows or pull-ups to keep your upper body balanced. If you want more pushing work, our guide on how to do a push-up properly is a natural partner to this one.

Who should skip dips?

Dips ask a lot of the shoulder, so they are not for everyone. Skip them, or stick to a very short range, if you have shoulder pain, a history of shoulder dislocation or instability, or pain at the front of the shoulder, elbow or wrist when you try them. If pain does not settle within a few days, see a physio before you try again. Your GP or a pharmacist can also advise.

You can still train the same muscles in other ways. Close-grip push-ups, cable or band triceps pushdowns and pressing moves all work the triceps and chest. Our guide on how to bench press properly covers a solid option if you train in a gym.

How do dips fit into a hybrid week with running?

Dips mainly load the upper body, so they take very little from your legs. That makes them easy to fit around running. A simple approach is to put them on an upper-body strength day, or after an easy run, and keep them away from the day before a HIIT session that is heavy on push-ups or burpees, so your triceps are not already tired.

• Monday: easy run, then upper-body strength with dips and rows
• Tuesday: intervals or tempo run
• Wednesday: lower-body strength
• Thursday: rest or mobility
• Friday: easy run, then a short dip and pull session
• Saturday: long run
• Sunday: HIIT class or rest

If you prefer a structured split, our upper lower split for beginners shows how to organise strength days around a running week. Edge treats running, strength and HIIT as one plan, so moves like dips sit alongside your runs rather than competing with them. With Edge Pro you can message a real coach anytime if you are unsure where they fit.

This article is general guidance, not medical advice. If you are new to exercise, returning from injury, pregnant, or managing a health condition, speak to your GP before starting, and see a physio for any niggle that does not settle.