Tricep Dip: Muscles Worked and How to Do It
TL;DR
Tricep dips primarily target your triceps, which straighten your elbows to push your body back up from the bottom position. Your chest and shoulders assist as secondary movers, stabilizing your torso and adding pressing power, especially if you lean forward slightly during the descent.
- Primary muscle:
- Triceps
- Secondary muscles:
- Chest, Shoulders
Muscles worked
The triceps do most of the work in a tricep dip. As you push your body back up, the triceps straighten your elbows against your bodyweight. Keeping your elbows tucked close to your torso, rather than flared out, shifts more of the load onto the triceps and off the shoulders.
Your chest and shoulders work as secondary movers. They help control the descent and add pressing power on the way up, particularly if you lean your torso forward, which shifts some emphasis toward the chest instead of the triceps.
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How to do it
- To get into the starting position, hold your body at arm's length with your arms nearly locked above the bars.
- Now, inhale and slowly lower yourself downward. Your torso should remain upright and your elbows should stay close to your body. This helps to better focus on tricep involvement. Lower yourself until there is a 90 degree angle formed between the upper arm and forearm.
- Then, exhale and push your torso back up using your triceps to bring your body back to the starting position.
- Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
Form tips
- Keep your elbows tucked close to your body instead of flaring them out to keep the emphasis on the triceps.
- Lower until your upper arm and forearm form roughly a 90 degree angle; going deeper adds shoulder strain without much extra triceps benefit.
- Keep your torso upright rather than leaning forward if you want to bias the triceps over the chest.
- Control the descent instead of dropping; a slow negative loads the triceps through a longer range.
- Warm up your shoulders thoroughly before adding weight with a dip belt.
Exercise details
| Equipment | Bodyweight |
|---|---|
| Level | Beginner |
| Mechanic | Compound |
Used by lifters following PPL, 5x5, upper/lower, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do tricep dips work the chest more than the triceps?
No. Tricep dips are triceps-dominant when you keep your torso upright and elbows tucked. Leaning your torso forward shifts more work to the chest, which is how the exercise gets its chest-dip variation, but the standard tricep dip keeps the triceps as the primary mover.
How many reps of tricep dips should I do?
It depends on your goal. For muscle size, the NSCA range is 6-12 reps at a challenging load; for muscular endurance, use 12 or more reps at an easier load. Add weight with a dip belt once bodyweight reps get easy, and check your working numbers with the 1RM calculator.
Are tricep dips bad for your shoulders?
They can be if you dip too deep or flare your elbows. Stop the descent around a 90 degree elbow bend and keep your elbows tucked to keep the stress on the triceps and chest rather than the shoulder joint.
More triceps exercises
Exercise instructions and photos come from the free-exercise-db library, public domain, the same library used inside the PR Streak app.
