Dips. The path to progress. - Bodybuilding training

An effective exercise that works the pectoral muscles and triceps are dips. It's also a great way to strengthen your shoulder girdle. The advantage of this exercise is its accessibility, because parallel bars are not a problem to find, they are one of the most common exercise machines. It is enough to visit the gym or go to the street area to do such push-ups. And some have bars installed right at home. For the exercise to be effective, it is necessary to study the technique of its implementation and follow it exactly.

What muscles are pumped?

To understand how effective dips will be, you need to know which muscles work when performing this exercise. First of all, the triceps are pumped, since these muscles bear the main load. After all, their main function is to flex and extend the arms. When doing push-ups on uneven bars, exactly these movements occur, but only with an additional load, which is your own weight. Thus, when doing dips on the parallel bars, the triceps will swing regardless of the position of the hands and the position of the elbows. But if you follow the right technique, you can achieve maximum results.

When doing push-ups on the uneven bars, the pectoral muscles work additionally. Depending on the technique of execution, they will swing more or less.

On a note! When doing dips on the uneven bars, the chest and triceps muscles act in pairs. It follows from this that when the load is transferred to one muscle group, the second one works less.

Since the chest muscles are stronger, as soon as you deviate from the correct technique of performing the exercise, they transfer the maximum load to themselves. This is a violation. After all, the main load during the classical performance should go to the triceps. The functions of the pectoralis major muscles are to bring the shoulders together in front of the body. Therefore, if you do not do this during push-ups, you will be able to use the triceps more. However, there are other variations of the exercise, during which you can pump your chest intensely.

When doing dips, a considerable load is placed on the shoulder joints and the front part of the deltoid muscles. The shoulder girdle supports the athlete's weight and also experiences additional stress during movements.

On a note! It is worth understanding that push-ups on uneven bars with the wrong technique can lead to injuries. You should refrain from using them if you have had bruises, dislocations, broken bones, ruptured tendons or joints in the past.

Common mistakes when doing dips

Despite the apparent simplicity of the exercise, many beginners make mistakes that not only reduce the effectiveness of push-ups, but can also lead to injury.

Breathing must be correct. Take a breath before lowering to protect your chest from possible injury.
Too much distance between the bars can also lead to joint injury.
High execution speed will not produce results. Lowering and lifting must last at least 2 seconds.
Failure to warm up your upper body can lead to sprains and sprains.
Sudden weight gain is another mistake. You can add weights only after you can easily do 3 sets of 15 repetitions with the current weight.

As you can see, dips are one of the most effective and accessible movements that work your arms and chest. It may not become your favorite, but it’s definitely worth including it in your training program.

Basic Rules

To benefit from dips and avoid injury, you must adhere to the following rules:

Before performing the exercise, you need to warm up, which will reduce the likelihood of injury;
the start of push-ups should be at the top point, since the muscle fibers at the bottom are stretched;
in addition to the correct technique, it is important to adhere to correct breathing, which also affects the effectiveness of the exercise;
the width of the beam must exceed the width of the shoulders, otherwise injury may occur;
Slow and smooth movements contribute to better muscle development.

On a note! For beginners, it is usually difficult to perform push-ups on parallel bars. Therefore, they often ask the question: what can replace this exercise in order to get an equivalent load? Athletes without experience can use the bench by doing bench presses on it. However, the load on the chest in this case will be less.

Push-up program for beginners for 120 seconds

The program of push-ups on uneven bars is very important in the exercises themselves. After all, only if you perform push-ups correctly will you see results.

You need to grab the bars without bending your arms too much. You should grab it so that your palms are directed towards your body. As you lower slowly, you must inhale. You don't want to go too deep, but you do need to get at least ninety degrees down in your hands. When extending our arms, we must rise and exhale air.

Execution technique

To quickly get the desired result from push-ups, you need to adhere to the correct technique. In the classic version, the exercise should look like this:

Grab the bars with your hands at a comfortable distance. Palms turned towards the body. The chin is pressed to the chest. The legs are crossed and the shoulders are pulled back.
Place the main weight on your hands and, inhaling through your nose, slowly lower your body down. The shoulder blades are brought together, the back is straight. The elbow joint forms a right angle.
Stay in this position for a couple of seconds.
Exhale through your mouth and slowly raise your body.

Variations of the exercise

There are several ways to perform dips. By doing one or another variation of the exercise, it is possible to shift the emphasis to a specific muscle group. In order to comprehensively engage all the muscles involved in push-ups, it is recommended to alternate methods rather than focus on one.

Effective triceps workout

When doing push-ups on the uneven bars, your gaze should be directed forward or directed to the floor, and your neck should not deviate to the side, and your body should not sway.

The exercise should be done as follows:

Take the starting position. The body is at the top point, arms are straightened.
Slowly lower yourself, bending your elbows. Ideally, the shoulder and forearm should form a right angle.
Stay in this position for a couple of seconds and raise your body.

Do several repetitions.

Working out the pectoral muscles

If you change the position, you can move the main load from the triceps and use the pectoral muscles more. To do this, you need to tilt your body forward a little, and lower your body down deeper than in the previous version of the exercise. It is recommended to use wide bars so that your hands are placed at a distance greater than shoulder width.

In general, the dip-up technique for effectively working the pectoral muscles comes down to the following:

Take the starting position. Grasp the bars with your hands, press your chin to your chest, cross your legs, bend your knees. Tilt the body slightly forward.
Slowly lower yourself to the maximum possible depth, spreading your elbows at an angle of 45 degrees relative to your body.
Stay in this position for a while and slowly raise your body. At the same time, at the top point the arms should not be completely straightened, otherwise the main load will shift to the triceps.

Do the required number of repetitions.

Dips with weights

Beginners should not do push-ups on uneven bars with weights. This exercise can be performed only after practicing the classic circuit with your own weight.

Special vests, belts and other devices can be used as weighting material. The main goal is to make the load larger and thereby increase the effectiveness of the exercise.

The execution technique is no different from previous versions. Depending on which muscle groups need to be worked, the exercise is performed in the first or second way.

On a note! It is important to note that the lowest point is the most dangerous, so maximum care must be taken when lowering the body. You need to start with a light weight, increasing the load gradually.

Push-ups on the machine

In the gym, athletes can use a simulator, which is an excellent alternative to parallel bars equipped on the street. These push-ups differ from standard push-ups in that they have a counterweight. This version of the exercise is much easier to perform, so it is suitable for beginners. It is also where unprepared girls who want to strengthen their hands try to start.

In this case, the triceps and biceps are actively worked out. As for the pectoral muscles, the load on them is less. First of all, you will have to set the desired weight.

You need to do the exercise as follows:

Grab the handrails with your hands, cross your legs, and place the wheel on a special step. It is important that your elbows form a right angle.
Bend the body back and bring the shoulder blades closer to each other as far as possible. Raise your body. At the same time, the arms are straightened.
Stay for a moment and take the starting position.

Repeat the required number of times.

In essence, these are regular push-ups, only performed in reverse order. The exercise is made easier by a special step, which serves as a support for the legs.

What muscles does the exercise work?

Another important thing is the training program on the horizontal bar and uneven bars - which muscles work? First of all, these push-ups help pump up the triceps. To load your triceps, you need to do exercises that are not too wide. When you go down, you need to try to keep your elbows as close to your triceps as possible. When performing it, it is necessary that the torso and head are level and not tilted.

What muscles does the exercise work?

If you want to use more chest muscles, then you need to do push-ups on wide bars. You should not look for bars that are too wide, because the load can be reflected on the latissimus muscles, especially since you can easily stretch the shoulder joints and cause injury.

In general, dips - you already understand which muscles are involved. Now we need to talk about the number of push-ups and sets.

Advantages and disadvantages

Like any other physical exercise, dips have their advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage is high efficiency, and the disadvantage is the high likelihood of injury. This means that this exercise can only be done if there are no contraindications. If pain occurs during the process or your health worsens, you need to stop training.

The benefits of dips, which are a basic exercise for all types of bench press, are obvious:

effective training of certain muscle groups;
promotes broadening of the shoulders, drawing of the relief, increasing the volume of the delta;
helps develop athletic posture;
increases muscle mass.

Despite the obvious benefits, there are some disadvantages:

good physical fitness is required to perform dips;
There is a heavy load on the shoulder joint, which often leads to injury.

However, in the absence of contraindications and following the correct technique, the likelihood of injury can be minimized. As a result, the exercise will be extremely beneficial.