EXECUTION
- Place two benches parallel to one another approximately two and a half feet apart. The exact distance is determined by the width of your shoulders. Stand in between at the end of the benches and place one hand on each bench with the fingers pointed forward and the elbows pointed directly to the rear. Support your body on straight arms and extend the legs out in front with the feet resting on the floor. For additional resistance, place the feet on another bench.
- When you are ready, inhale and hold your breath as you lower your upper body under control until you feel a stretch in the shoulder joints.
- After reaching the bottom position, keep holding your breath and push yourself upward until the arms are fully extended. Exhale as you pass the most difficult portion of the up phase or when your arms are fully extended at the end of the up phase.
- Pause momentarily in the straight arm position and then repeat. Your eyes should be focussed directly in front during the entire execution.
- Be sure to keep your elbows pointed to the rear at all times.
Training Tips
- Although bench dips are used mainly for triceps development, if you go to a sufficiently deep position you will also strongly tax the upper pecs and the anterior deltoid. These muscles contract strongly at the beginning of the up phase in an effort to bring the arm more in line with the body where the triceps is more powerful to finish pushing you upward.
- To ensure that you get maximum triceps development it is important that the elbows remain facing to the rear at all times during the execution. In addition, the benches should not be situated too far apart which will place the elbows far from the sides of the body. The closer the arms stay in to the sides of the body, the greater will be the stress placed on the triceps.
- To ensure full peaking of the triceps with maximum tension be sure that you fully extend the arms. You can even lock the elbows but without hyperextending the elbows in the up position.
- Be sure to lower the body as much as possible but without over-stretching the shoulder joint. In this way you can also get effective development of the upper pecs through a range of motion that is not achieved in other upper pectoral exercises such as the front arm raise and the incline press.
- During execution do not allow the elbows to move out to the sides as this will take away from stress on the triceps muscles. Instead you will bring in use of the lattissimus dorsi and lower pecs. It may also result in greater stress on the shoulder joint because of the arm rotation that must take place in order to do this variant. Thus, be sure that the hands are only slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- If you go through a full range of motion, body weight is usually sufficient resistance, especially when doing multiple sets with other triceps exercises. However, if you wish to increase the resistance, place a barbell plate in your lap as you do this exercise.
- Since the bench dip can be a difficult exercise for beginners, you should execute this exercise through a short range of motion and then gradually increase the depth. You can also use some weight counter-balance dip machines in which you can set the resistance below body weight.
Major Muscles Involved
In the elbow joint only one major muscle is involved, the triceps brachii, a large muscle that covers the entire back of the upper arm. The triceps has three sections known as the lateral, medial and long heads with a common tendon that inserts on the ulna bone of the forearm. In the shoulder joint the major muscles involved are the anterior deltoid and upper portion of the pectoralis major. The upper pectoralis major makes up about one third of the total muscle mass of this large muscle that covers the entire chest. The anterior deltoid covers the front of the shoulder. In the shoulder girdle the pectoralis minor, serratus anterior and rhomboid muscles are involved. The pectoralis minor is a small muscle located on the front of the upper chest and is covered by the pectoralis major. The serratus anterior lies on the outer surface of the ribs at the sides while the rhomboid is in the middle of the back underneath the trapezius.
Muscle and Joint Actions
In the shoulder joint there is flexion which brings the upper arm from behind the body to a position alongside the body. The upper pectoralis major and the medial deltoid are strongly involved in this action. In the shoulder girdle the scapula is depressed and brought forward via the serratus amterior and pectoralis minor and the rhomboid muscle as the body is raised. In the elbow joint there is extension in which the upper arm and forearm move from a close bent elbow position away from one another to a straight arm position. Because of the rear position of the upper arm when starting the up phase, the medial and lateral heads do most of the work. The long head comes into play as the arms move to a position alongside the body and are straighter.
Sports Uses
For bodybuilders this exercise is especially important for development of the triceps. At the same time you get good development of the upper chest and anterior shoulder if you go through a full range of motion. The middle of the upper back muscles are developed when you raise the body as high as possible on the up phase. Bench dips are very important for all athletes who must push up their bodies during execution of their sports skills. For example, this occurs frequently in gymnastics in working on the parallel bars as well as when pushing up from the floor to hold the body in the “L”-position. Bench dips are very important to develop the ability to forcefully strengthen the arms to either raise the body or to move an implement. Thus they are very important in pushing actions as for example, a wrestler pushing his opponent away or pushing off the floor. The muscles and actions also play an important role in all underhand throwing arm actions such as in bowling, baseball and softball and elbow extension in baseball and softball hitting.