5 best dips exercise variations to try   

Want stronger arms and chest? Adding dips exercise variations to your workout routine may be your answer. Dips are a simple bodyweight exercise that trains the entire upper body muscles while emphasizing more on the chest and arms.

Although it primarily targets and strengthens the triceps, this effective bodyweight exercise also hits the front part of the shoulders and your chest. Here, we have listed some of the most popular dips workouts that you can add to your full body, upper body or arms training routine.

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Dips exercise variations to add to your workout

Here are five of them:

#1 Bench dip

Bench dips are a great dips exercise to add to your workout. (Photo via Pexels/Sinitta Leunen)

Bench dips are an easy dips workout that can be done by beginner-level exercisers. This is a great exercise to target the shoulders, chest and triceps.

To do a bench dip:

• Sit straight on the edge of a bench, and place your hands next to your thighs. If you don’t have a bench, you can also do this exercise on a stair or any other elevated platform.
• Once you’ve taken your position, slowly walk your feet out, and lift your hips off the bench while grabbing the sides tightly with your arms extended straight.
• Hinge at your elbows, and lower your body as far as you can. Press through your palms, and push yourself up back to the starting position.

#2 Parallel bar dip

Parallel bar dips are great dips exercise variations that strengthen the triceps and chest while engaging and broadening the shoulder muscles.

To do a parallel bar dip:

• Stand straight in the middle of the parallel bars, and hold the bar at both sides with the palms facing towards the body.
• Jump up, and hold your body above the floor while ensuring that your arms are straight and stable.
• Move your shoulders down and back, and lean slightly forward. To keep your feet off the floor, bend the knees.
• Lower your body, with the elbows forming a 90-degree angle at the bottom of the movement. Do not allow your feet to touch the floor when lowering the body.
• Slowly push yourself back to the starting position, and immediately go for the next rep.

#3 Straight bar dip

Dips exercise targets the chest, triceps and shoulders. (Photo via Pexels/Ketut Subiyanto)

Straight bar dips are basically a chest dips exercise variation that helps strengthen the chest, triceps and shoulders. This exercise requires you to place your hands in front of the body using a pronated grip.

To do a straight bar dip:

• Step up on the straight bar dip station, and hold the bar with your hands using a pronated grip.
• Initiate the dip movement by lowering your body till the forearms get parallel to the floor. Control the movement, and slowly drive back up to the starting position by pressing through your palms.
• Repeat the exercise.

#4 Ring dip

Ring dips are advanced dips exercises that are performed using gymnastic rings. This exercise requires amazing grip and upper body strength and is mostly suitable for advanced exercisers.

It helps develop triceps muscles and also works wonders in improving shoulder flexibility.

To do a ring dip:

• Hold a set of gymnastic rings in each hand, and slowly jump up off the floor.
• Support yourself while balancing on the rings, and keep your elbows locked out, with the thumbs turned out.
• Perform a dip by lowering yourself and keeping your elbows on top of the wrists.
• Push back up and then repeat.

#5 Band-assisted dip

Dips require great upper body strength. (Photo via Pexels/Ketut Subiyanto)

The band-assisted dips are for exercisers who cannot perform bodyweight dips and for people who want to experiment with their training. This exercise is a variation of the triceps dip and is used to strengthen and build muscles in the shoulders, chest and triceps.

To do a band-assisted dip:

• Attach a resistance band to each handle, and step up onto the dip station. Position your knees in the center, and place your hands on the handles using a neutral grip.
• Perform a dip by slowly lowering your body and unlocking the elbows. Drive back up the starting position by pushing your palms.
• Repeat.

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The aforementioned dips exercise variations are the perfect way to develop strength and stamina and build muscles in the chest, triceps and shoulders.

You can also perform dips with weights to challenge your muscles even more. The key is to start slow, especially if you're a beginner, and maintain proper form throughout each rep.