Mount the should-width dip bars and straighten your arms so that your legs are suspended off the ground.
Execution
Keeping your elbows tucked in and your body upright, slowly lower your body until your elbows form a 90-degree angle or you feel a slight stretch in your shoulders. Don’t forget to inhale.
Exhale as you push your body back up to the starting position.
Repeat for the recommended number of repetitions.
Comments and tips
Do not lock out your elbows at the top of the movement.
Keep your body upright and elbows tucked in. If you lean forward and flare out your elbows, you will place more emphasis on your lower pectoralis major, and the exercise will become a chest dip instead of a triceps dip.
Make the triceps dip more difficult by holding a dumbbell between your legs or wearing a weighted dip belt (weighted triceps dip).
Make it easier by using an assisted dip machine, or by bending your knees and getting someone to hold your legs.
In a study by the American Council on Exercise (ACE), the bench dip, which is very similar to the triceps dip, was found to be the third most effective triceps exercise after the triangle push-up (aka diamond push-up, which came first) and the dumbbell kickback (which came second). The bench dip was found to elicit equally great activity in both the lateral and long heads of the triceps.
