You’ve probably seen someone at the gym—face bright red, shoulders hiked up to their ears—pumping out reps on the dip bars like their life depends on it. It looks impressive from a distance. But honestly? Most of those people are one rep away from a nasty rotator cuff tear. Learning how to do dips correctly isn't just about moving from point A to point B; it’s about understanding the delicate geometry of your shoulder joint and how to load it without snapping something.
Dips are often called the "upper body squat." That's a heavy title to live up to. It’s a compound movement that hits the pectorals, the anterior deltoids, and the triceps with an intensity that few other bodyweight exercises can match. But there is a reason many physical therapists cringe when they see them performed in a commercial gym setting.
✨ Don't miss: Is 39.2 Degrees Celsius to Fahrenheit a Dangerous Fever? What You Need to Know
The Brutal Truth About Your Shoulder Position
Your shoulders are the most mobile joints in your body, which also makes them the most unstable. When you’re suspended between two bars, your entire body weight is resting on that joint’s ability to stay "packed."
Most beginners make the mistake of letting their shoulders "shrug" upward toward their ears as they descend. This is a recipe for impingement. If you want to perform how to do dips correctly, you have to keep your scapula depressed. Think about pushing the bars away from you even before you start to bend your elbows. You want a long neck. Imagine you're trying to show off a necklace. If your shoulders are touching your ears, you’ve already lost the battle.
Lean matters too. If you stay perfectly upright, you're smashing your triceps. That’s fine if that’s the goal. But for most people, a slight forward lean—about 15 to 30 degrees—is the sweet spot. This engages the lower chest fibers and takes some of the sheer stress off the elbow joint.
Grip Width and the "Shoulder-Width" Myth
We’re all built differently. A 6'4" powerlifter has a much different frame than a 5'2" gymnast. Yet, most dip stations have fixed bars. If the bars are too wide, you’re putting an incredible amount of lateral tension on the shoulder capsule.
If you have access to V-shaped bars, use them. Find the spot where the bars are just slightly wider than your shoulders. Too wide? You'll feel a "stretching" sensation in the front of your shoulder that feels more like tearing than a muscle pump. That is your subscapularis screaming for help. Don't ignore it.
The Depth Debate: How Low Should You Actually Go?
There is this obsession in fitness circles with "full range of motion." While generally good, the dip is an exception where "too deep" can be "too much."
The standard advice is to go down until your shoulders are slightly below your elbows. For some, this is fine. For others, particularly those with tight pecs or poor thoracic mobility, this depth causes the head of the humerus to tilt forward. This is known as anterior humeral glide. Basically, the bone pops forward in the socket and grinds against the soft tissue.
Stop when you feel a stretch in the chest, but before you feel a "pinch" in the front of the shoulder. For many, this means the upper arm is roughly parallel to the floor. Don't chase depth at the expense of joint integrity. It's just not worth the six months of rehab.
The Role of the Elbows
Keep them tucked. Well, mostly tucked. You don't want them flaring out like chicken wings at a 90-degree angle to your torso. This creates a massive amount of internal rotation. Instead, aim for about a 45-degree angle.
Think about "screwing" your hands into the bars. This external rotation torque helps stabilize the shoulder. It’s the same principle as the "bend the bar" cue in the bench press. It keeps everything tight.
Why Your Core and Legs Actually Matter
It’s an upper body move, sure, but a floppy lower body ruins the kinetic chain. If your legs are swinging around like a pendulum, you're losing force. You're also making the movement way harder to balance.
- Cross your ankles? It's common, but it can sometimes lead to an asymmetrical hip tilt.
- The "Hollow Body" position: Pull your ribs down, squeeze your glutes, and keep your legs slightly in front of you. This is how gymnasts do it. It creates a solid pillar of tension.
- The "Tuck": If the dip station is short, you might have to bend your knees. That’s fine, just keep them still.
Focus on the "down" part of the movement. The eccentric phase—the lowering—is where the most muscle damage (the good kind) happens. Don't just drop. Control the descent for a count of two or three seconds. Then, drive back up with intent. Lock out your elbows at the top, but don't "snap" them. A soft lockout is usually safer for the joints.
Common Obstacles and How to Fix Them
If you can't do a single bodyweight dip yet, don't just jump on the bars and hope for the best. You'll likely use momentum and ruin your form.
Start with eccentric-only dips. Jump to the top of the position and lower yourself as slowly as humanly possible. This builds the specific strength needed for the upward phase. Alternatively, use a resistance band looped over the handles to provide a "slingshot" effect from the bottom.
Sometimes the issue isn't strength; it's pain. If you feel a sharp pain in your sternum—the middle of your chest—stop immediately. This is common in younger lifters and is often related to the cartilage where the ribs meet the breastbone (costochondritis). It usually means you're going too deep too soon or your chest is too tight. Take a break, work on your posture, and move to push-ups for a while.
Progressive Overload: Going Beyond Bodyweight
Once you can knock out 12 to 15 clean reps of how to do dips correctly, it's time to add weight. A dipping belt is the standard tool here.
When you add weight, the stakes get higher. The weight should hang between your legs, but be careful it doesn't start swinging. A swinging 45-pound plate can pull you out of alignment mid-rep. If you don't have a belt, you can hold a dumbbell between your feet, though this is much harder to stabilize as the weight gets heavier.
Interestingly, some of the strongest bench pressers in history, like Pat Casey, swore by heavy dips. He supposedly did reps with over 200 pounds attached to his waist. You don't need to do that. But adding 10 or 20 pounds can trigger new growth that bodyweight reps just can't touch.
Equipment Variations
Not all dip bars are created equal.
✨ Don't miss: Is it safe to drink green tea while pregnant? What you actually need to know
- Parallel Bars: The gold standard. Stable and predictable.
- Gymnastic Rings: The "final boss" of dips. Because the rings move, your stabilizer muscles have to work overtime just to keep you from shaking. Only try these once you are a master of the stationary bar.
- Bench Dips: Honestly? Skip them. Putting your hands behind your back on a bench puts the shoulder in an extremely vulnerable position of internal rotation and extension. It’s an inferior movement for the triceps compared to the bar dip or even a close-grip push-up.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Workout
To truly master the movement, stop thinking of it as an accessory "finisher" and treat it like a primary lift.
- Assess your mobility first. If you can't reach your arms behind your back comfortably, your chest is too tight for deep dips. Spend two minutes stretching your pecs before you even touch the bars.
- The "First Rep" Rule. Your first rep should look exactly like your last. If you start "kipping" or using your legs to kick yourself up, the set is over.
- Film yourself from the side. You’ll be shocked at how much your shoulders might be rolling forward. What feels "straight" usually isn't.
- Adjust your frequency. Because dips are so taxing on the joints, doing them every day is a mistake. Twice a week is plenty for most people to see significant strength gains without developing chronic tendonitis.
Focus on the tension in the muscle, not the number of reps. If you do 5 slow, controlled, perfect reps, you will get more out of it than 20 "trash" reps. Respect the movement, and it will build a massive chest and arms. Disrespect it, and you'll spend your time in a physical therapy office talking about your labrum.
Start your next session with a thorough warm-up of the rotator cuff—think face pulls or external rotations with a light band. When you get to the bars, do one set of 5 reps with just your body weight, focusing entirely on keeping your shoulders down and your core tight. Only then should you start your working sets. If you feel even a "twinge" of bad pain, move to a different exercise. There is no such thing as a "mandatory" lift in fitness; your longevity is more important than your ego on the dip bar.