The parallel bar dips give you the perfect opportunity to work out a number of muscles at the same time.
Ostensibly, this is mainly a chest exercise, but they also help form impressive arms by pounding the shoulders, the upper pecs and the triceps. Besides, anybody can bench press but doing bar dips in proper form is a crowd puller for sure!
Equipment:
You will need a pair of parallel bars and a removable box before you’re ready to go. The bars should be shoulder width apart. Larger men and women may feel comfortable with wider spacing.
You might want to stand on the box before starting off as this allows you to get into the starting position faster and more easily.
How to do Parallel Bar Dips?
Starting position:
- Place your palms on the parallel bars and grab the bars tightly so that the palms are facing each other. Push the standing box away from you.
Man Doing Parallel Bar Dips
The Movement:
- Lift your feet up as you exhale. Hold the arms straight and lock out your elbows.
- Breathe in as you bend your elbows and take the dip towards the floor
- As you come down, the elbows must be parallel to the bars and in line with your wrists
- Stop the dip when your upper arm is parallel to the floor. Going below this level will put tremendous pressure on the shoulders
- Do not pause at the bottom of the movement. Exhale as you push yourself up to return to your starting position. You must feel the stretch in your chest muscles as well as your triceps
- Pause for a second at the top of the movement. Go to the next rep.
Tips:
- Holding the arms slightly wider than shoulder width apart brings more pressure on the chest and lats.
- Dip your head and move the body slightly forward as you push down
- Fill your lungs fully when you reach the bottom position. Having air in the chest gives structural support as well as provides more power.
- For additional resistance, attach additional weight to the belt or wear ankle weights.
The parallel bar dip exercise can have two variations. The first is the normal dip where you dip until the upper arms are parallel to the floor. In the full dip, however, you will lower the body as far down as it will go, even relaxing the shoulder to achieve the lowest possible position. While rising from the full dip, the chin is pushed into the chest and you must lean into the dip to get the necessary power.
In conclusion
The parallel bar dip is a difficult exercise, no doubt. But, when proper form is combined with sufficient number of reps and a good nutrition program, you can look forward to a wonderfully attractive upper body, with broad, fuller chest and powerfully built triceps.
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