Bench dips: how to do it
Main muscles: Triceps lateral head, Triceps medial head. Helpers: Triceps long head, Lower chest, Front delts (anterior deltoid). Below: step-by-step form, common mistakes, a muscle map, reps and rest, and what to swap it for.
Equipment
Bodyweight
Reps
10–18
Rest
75 s
Muscle group
Arms
How to do it
- Hands on the edge of the bench under the shoulders, legs out in front, hips close to the bench.
- Lower until the elbow is at about 90°, elbows back rather than out.
- Press up with the triceps, do not let the shoulders rise to the ears.
Common mistakes
Going too deep and hurting the shoulder, hips too far from the bench.
Muscles worked
primary·secondary
- Primary
- Triceps lateral head, Triceps medial head
- Secondary
- Triceps long head, Lower chest, Front delts (anterior deltoid)
A secondary muscle gets roughly half the stimulus of a set — that is also how the log’s stats count it.
Programs that use it
- Home, 3 days3 × 10–18
Alternatives: similar exercises
Dips
Bodyweight · Lower chest, Triceps lateral head, Triceps medial head
Close-grip push-ups
Bodyweight · Triceps lateral head, Triceps medial head
Skull crusher
Barbell · Triceps long head, Triceps medial head
Cable pushdown
Cable · Triceps lateral head, Triceps medial head
Overhead dumbbell extension
Dumbbells · Triceps long head, Triceps medial head
Triceps kickback
Dumbbells · Triceps long head, Triceps lateral head
Log your sets — the app suggests the next weight
GymAssist tracks the load on each of 40 muscles, paints it on a body map and uses double progression to tell you when to add weight.
Free forever for the first 500