To dip or not to dip

lonewolf0420

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Just wondering what everyone's input on this movement, for chest as well as triceps. Do you think it's more beneficial or harmful?
 
AZMIDLYF

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Definitely should be rotated into your split. I go 3 weeks of dips and then sub them out with CGBPs for 3 weeks. Great size builder for triceps.
 
MusclestoGo

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Also one of the best chest exercises out there... if you lean forward. Definitely beneficial.
And CGPDs?
 
Celorza

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Also one of the best chest exercises out there... if you lean forward. Definitely beneficial.
And CGPDs?
CGBP** Close Grip Bench press, and Weighted dips are one of the most over-all complete exercises for triceps and chest , since they involve a lot of the core also to stabilize you when you lean forward (with a wider grip also) for chest , and pure size and strength for closer grip and straight position for triceps :)!
 
DonnyG

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I would dip unless you have weak shoulders. I do 50 dips twice a week and my triceps are probably the most defined part of my arm. It's a great burn. Do 100 if you have the stamina.
 
hugry4more

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Dips Jack me up. Just don't work.for me. Puts a lot of stress on my collar bones resulting in shooting pain. Worked my way up to reping with a 50 lb till I Jack ish up bad. No more dips for me mate ...
 
lonewolf0420

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Thanks for your input, peeps.

I usually do them on chest day and arm day. I never really have had discomfort from doing them (except when I had some tendinitis in my shoulder).

I just seems to come across a lot of conflicting reports on it. But then again a lot of exercises are like that.
 
Rodja

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Dips are as fundamental as pullups, yet they've somehow fallen out of fashion.
 
AZMIDLYF

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Dips are as fundamental as pullups, yet they've somehow fallen out of fashion.
I agree! They have always been a staple in my rotation.
 
Celorza

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I agree! They have always been a staple in my rotation.
They are always there for me on my bench press days lol and pullups/chinups in my deadlift day haha...
 

aceroni

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I LOVE Dips.. If you can do them w/out pain, do them.

I also have to say this.. I was a HUGE proponent of doing upright dips EVERY arm day... Worked my way up to hanging 100lb for 6-8 reps.. Being a dumbass, i ignored the pain in my chest..
Come to find out two weeks later, i INFLAMED the cartilage on my chest b/c i was just doing them too heavy and too often.. Do dips, do them often, but pay attention to your body. If you feel pain, BACK OFF!
Now my chest workouts are suffering b/c i cannot get a deep stretch in any of my presses, pushups, or even flys... =(

moral of the story- if you can do dips w/out pain, dip till you drop
if they hurt / tweak, listen to your body, come back lighter and w/ better form,
hope that helps
 
Geoforce

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Obviously exercises that cause pain should be avoided.

That said it really doesn't get much better for the upper body than dips. A true money exercise. No one who can dip a lot of reps or reps with high weight has crap triceps and/or chest. One of the best movements you can do.
 
Celorza

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Obviously exercises that cause pain should be avoided.

That said it really doesn't get much better for the upper body than dips. A true money exercise. No one who can dip a lot of reps or reps with high weight has crap triceps and/or chest. One of the best movements you can do.
Agreed!
 
JajaNe20

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Dip IT! Only if it doesn't cause pain though!
 
lonewolf0420

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Fortunately they don't cause pain, even with a history of shoulder problems. I usually end then set shy of failure, when I feel my form going out the window. And I stop doing sets (usually four) when I feel like my shoulders have had enough.

Do you guys feel like you get a better response from low rep heavy weighted dips or higher reps?
 
AZMIDLYF

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I don't go lower than 8 reps when doing my weighted dips. I also keep my shoulders locked down when doing them instead of letting the come up like when shrugging. This seems to keep the joint in a better position and painless.
 
Rodja

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Fortunately they don't cause pain, even with a history of shoulder problems. I usually end then set shy of failure, when I feel my form going out the window. And I stop doing sets (usually four) when I feel like my shoulders have had enough.

Do you guys feel like you get a better response from low rep heavy weighted dips or higher reps?
My rep range is pretty broad. I'll occasionally go as low as or up to 20.
 
AZMIDLYF

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I agree Rodja. 8 reps is my lowest when in my low rep phase. I will also do DC sets, drop sets, and SS of as many reps as I can. Variety is the way to go.
 

Mafesto31

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I love weighted dips. My fav dip routine is a drop set starting really heavy and dropping plates until you get to bw for as may as you can bust out.
 
JajaNe20

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My rep range is pretty broad. I'll occasionally go as low as or up to 20.
I agree with Rodja, Mix it up from time to time; your body gets used to the same stimulus over a period of time.
 
asooneyeonig

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http://www.ironmanmagazine.com/doug-brignole-qa-workout-tip-4-dont-do-dips-for-pecs-and-triceps/
This is the last thing that I saw that prompted me to ask the question.


Sorry I can't get the video to embed.
that guy has to be the biggest idiot i have heard of in years. he is a huge part of why people are so confused on how to exercise. people want to believe the big guns and not the science. with enough steroids, enough years, and great genetics, anyone can get big (not necessarily that strong). and they likely got there despite themselves.

my father that is an engineer for the past 40+ years would look at this guy and say he an idiot too. my dad doesnt care about exercise but as an engineer i used to go to him for tips on human movements patterns. he used to teach a class as a professor on structural integrity. this class directly applied to things like hydraulic arms and the forces applied at his college graduate students in the exercise science program had to take the class. so he was able to explain easily to me how to move and work the muscles. even he would be able to look at that vid and know everything was wrong.

so please dont take that advice at all. and anything from that company he represented i would run from.
 
VS91588

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I love doing Dips for Triceps. I changed up my routine and added Weighted Dips and took out Close Grip Bench. CGB is great and if it didnt work than it wouldn't be around but for me I'll admit that I let my ego get the best of me when performing CGB =| ...When I Dip I feel the exercise more in my triceps than CGB. I am 230 and I'll add 100-120lb DB to my chain belt and hot some quality reps. I love it and my triceps grew more when I switched. That's my 2 cents lol
 
AZMIDLYF

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I agree on the CGBP being too egocentric. You have to really slow the movement down and keep form perfect to reap their benefits. Thus, the weights usually need to come down a bit. I also like to throw in bench dips now and then. I seem to get a great contraction with them. Love to do them as a finisher.
 
AutoKal47

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Dips are absolutely great, I love 'em
They used to be considered the upper body squats

I've always had them in my chest day, heavily weighted, lotsa sets, dropsets etc..
but recently I've been starting this protocol: every workout day (6 a week) I do both dips and
pullups/chinups with a 2:3 ratio in favor of these last ones, usually at least 4 sets each,
always weighted to some extent, I swap the timing depending on the day, they can be at the
beginning, middle, as finisher, and of course I keep them on chest day as one of the first 3 exercies,
high volume, big weights.
Gotta love dips! :)
 
lonewolf0420

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Dips are absolutely great, I love 'em
They used to be considered the upper body squats

I've always had them in my chest day, heavily weighted, lotsa sets, dropsets etc..
but recently I've been starting this protocol: every workout day (6 a week) I do both dips and
pullups/chinups with a 2:3 ratio in favor of these last ones, usually at least 4 sets each,
always weighted to some extent, I swap the timing depending on the day, they can be at the
beginning, middle, as finisher, and of course I keep them on chest day as one of the first 3 exercies,
high volume, big weights.
Gotta love dips! :)
So post back day and post chest day, your still performing that protocal?
 
Celorza

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Dips are absolutely great, I love 'em
They used to be considered the upper body squats

I've always had them in my chest day, heavily weighted, lotsa sets, dropsets etc..
but recently I've been starting this protocol: every workout day (6 a week) I do both dips and
pullups/chinups with a 2:3 ratio in favor of these last ones, usually at least 4 sets each,
always weighted to some extent, I swap the timing depending on the day, they can be at the
beginning, middle, as finisher, and of course I keep them on chest day as one of the first 3 exercies,
high volume, big weights.
Gotta love dips! :)
Couldnt agree more here, I love the low volume Heavy heavy weight combo for this on chest day , and keeping a high volume other days , for me its 4 days a week when I lift, and when I do chest and OH press I always keep them in , chest day will be heavy for around 5 sets around 10-15 reps , and OH press day will be for high volume and sometimes weighted ^^ it feels amazing!!! I am now curious to throw them in at a ratio like that , normale chins/pull ups for me are the other 2 days , 1 day chins , one day pull ups on deadlift and squat day respectively oO!!!
Anyway xD cant replace or take out the dips!! Even less for what a phoney like the one in the video says, he is a schmuck :D!

On a side note: Made the almond butter cookies and the cheesecake today :'3 bless you buddy , keep it up with the recipes!! I still got left over frozen chicken from the latest recipe!
 
Docmattic

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I do them three times a week. I love them.

start off at 15-20 reps for a warmup
then 45lbs for 8-10 reps (failure) then drop set with no weight until failure for two sets
Then Finnish off with 12-15 reps with no weight.
 
dalexander

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Dips are great because they are muli-joint very effective! Risk to reward, if you have shoulder problems work with ur PT and rehab!!
 
lonewolf0420

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yep
now post chest day happens to be my only day off, but the one before, yes
Wow, I would think that all the chins on on top of regular back routine over work the back, but everyone is different.

I don't think that dipping for me more than twice a week would start to create shoulder problems.

Thanks for your posts.
 
AutoKal47

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Wow, I would think that all the chins on on top of regular back routine over work the back, but everyone is different.

I don't think that dipping for me more than twice a week would start to create shoulder problems.

Thanks for your posts.
I don't know your stats but think this: when's the last time you've seen someone and thought "damn his back is too big!" :D

What I'm saying is, the back is such complicated complex of muscles and it's really the base for any lift.
In my opinion people tend to focus too much on arms, chest, legs and never enough on the back, especially the trap/mid back
if anything is always the lats ya know? My chest started to grow again after a stall when I started to really focus on my back,
my arms (I have long a## arms that look thin no matter what) same thing.. This is why I keep - and why the protocol is that way -
the ratio always in favor of pullups/chinups. Different grips, different width, side to side (my fav!) etc..
plus is really challenging if you do it with proper form.

As for the shoulder problems with dips, that is something to watch out for, it depends on your body type and overall is very subjective
I hurt my left shoulder pretty badly some month ago doing DB press, it took a while to heal 100%, dips didn't bother me at all
but DB and BB presses were, so like I said, subjective :)
If it hurts tho', once you're sure is not your form, don't do it or do volume instead of heavy weight on a given exercise,
don't power thru the pain especially with shoulders, don't be like me lol
 

grunted

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dips hurt? that sucks, and ithought i had it bad with straight bar bicep curls! if you can do them without pain, do them leaning forward and backward. and theyre awesome.
 
Docmattic

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I managed a new PR on dips last night

20 body weight dips to warm up
66pounds x8
45 pounds x10
25 pounds x 7
bodyweight x12

I also see chins in the discussion now

For back i did:
5 sets of 12 pullups

then later for more influence on the arms
1 set 15 chins
1 set of 10 with 22 pounds
3 sets of 6 (BW) with a 10 second negative supersetted with cable curls.

Those last three sets bring pain!
 
lonewolf0420

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Thanks for your input.

I'm all for a wide back, I just don't want to over train my back. Chin's also exhaust my shoulders.
 
drivehard

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I am doing an expanded Madcow program right now, and throw dips in on bench day (M&F)

I am trying to keep to the 5x5 program on anything I add to the workout, so my dip workout looks like this.
5 x bodyweight
5 x bw + 90 lbs.
5 x bw + 135 lbs.
5 x bw + 180 lbs.

going to up it all 5 pounds on Friday.
I was stalled out for a long time on my bench, got a huge jump when I added weighted dips. Now its mandatory at least twice a week.
 

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