Fundamentals
Dip
Support yourself on straight arms between two bars, lower under control and press back up. The dip is the base of the pressing skills on bars and a step towards the muscle-up.
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- editorial estimate
- Steps to it
- 4 steps
- Beginner → Intermediate
- Usually done on
- Parallel bars, Dip bars
Prepared by Calisthenics Balkan. Not yet reviewed by a qualified coach. 5 sources
The road at a glance
A short overview with links. Every step is explained in full under Progressions.
Helps to have first
This skill
Dip
Leads towards
01
What it is
In a dip you support your body on straight arms between two parallel bars, with your hands beside your hips. You lower yourself by bending the elbows and letting the shoulders move back (the shoulder extends), then press up by straightening the elbows. Dips are also done between two handles, on rings and with the hands on a bench behind you.
The main work is done by the triceps, the chest (the pectoralis major) and the front of the shoulder, while the muscles around the shoulder blade and the shoulder joint hold the shoulder steady. In a laboratory study of experienced men, the bar dip used more of these muscles than the bench dip, which leans mostly on the triceps.
The trunk leans forward in a dip. In the studies it was about 35 to 37 degrees from upright at the lowest point, which people chose themselves. A forward lean shares the depth between the shoulders and the elbows instead of asking everything of the shoulder, which is one reason the bar dip is described as less extreme for the shoulder than the bench dip.
A dip puts the shoulder into a deep, loaded position, so depth is a choice with a cost. Go as low as you can control with the shoulders steady, not as low as you can reach.
History and origin
The origin of the dip is not documented in the sources we read, so we do not name a first person or a year. What is documented is how it is used: the bar dip is a common way to assess muscular endurance and upper-body pressing strength, and dips have been used in rehabilitation and in swimming training. In calisthenics it is the second half of the muscle-up.
02
How it is done
- 1
Get into support
Take the bars with straight arms and the shoulders pushed down, away from your ears. The body is upright with a slight forward lean; bend the knees so the feet are off the floor behind you.
- 2
Set the shoulders
Keep the shoulder blades slightly back and down and do not let the shoulders round forward. The dip starts from this position, not from a shrug.
- 3
Lower
Bend the elbows and let the trunk lean forward a little. Lower under control, only as far as the shoulders stay back and steady. Stop before you feel a pull or a pinch at the front of the shoulder. The picture shows the elbows at a right angle; that is a drawing, not a rule from the research.
- 4
Press
Push the bars down until the arms are straight again. The shoulders do not shrug up towards the ears.
- 5
Reset and repeat
Start every repetition from a straight-arm support. Stop the set while the movement is still controlled: in one study the shoulder went past its normal range on a failed last repetition.
03
Progressions
These are common steps, not the only road. Coaches use different orders, and what suits you depends on your starting strength, your shoulders and the bars you have. Move on when a step feels controlled, not when you hit a number.
What to have first
Pressing strength
There is no number to reach before you start: the first steps are a support hold and a dip with the feet helping. If you can do some push-ups with a straight body, you have a base for the dip.
Shoulders that tolerate the end of the range
A dip loads the front of the shoulder at the end of its range. If you have had a shoulder injury or you feel pain reaching behind your back, ask a qualified person before you dip. One clinician source says a physical therapist should decide whether dips suit someone with a shoulder problem.
Control of the shoulder blades
Being able to hold the shoulders down and back in the support, without shrugging or rounding, matters more than the number of repetitions.
- 1
Step 1·Beginner
Straight-arm support
Hold yourself on the bars on straight arms with the shoulders pushed down and the feet off the floor (or with the toes on a box if you need help). This teaches the position every dip starts and ends in and builds the strength that holds you there.
Technical note: Do not sink into the shoulders: the arms stay straight and the shoulder blades stay down.
- 2
Step 2·Beginner
Dip with the feet on the floor
On low bars, where your feet reach the floor, your legs carry part of your weight, so you lower and press with less load. A resistance band or an assisted-dip machine are other ways to take some of the load off; the research names the standing, banded and machine-assisted bar dip as easier versions.
Technical note: Let the feet help as little as you can control and reduce the help gradually.
- 3
Step 3·Intermediate
Short-range dip
Lower only part of the way, then press up. Sources advise limiting the depth so the shoulder does not reach the end of its range, so a short range is a sensible step, not a failure. Add range only while the shoulders stay back and steady.
Technical note: At the lowest point the shoulders are still down and back, not rolled forward.
- 4
Step 4·IntermediateGoal
Full dip
From a straight-arm support, lower to a depth you can control (the picture shows about a right angle at the elbows) and press back to straight arms. Strict means no swinging and no kicking with the legs.
Technical note: Count only repetitions that start and end in a straight-arm support with the shoulders down.
04
Community
No one is publicly working on this movement. Add it to your profile and be the first.
Tips from the community
Tips are personal experience, not medical advice or a training plan.
There are no tips for this movement yet.
05
Common mistakes
Rounded, forward shoulders
Letting the shoulders roll forward as you lower weakens the shoulder blade's hold and loads the front of the joint. Keep them slightly back and down.
Chasing depth
Going deeper than the shoulder can control puts the load on the front of the joint at the end of its range, where the sources locate the risk.
Bars set very wide
The research notes that a wide grip may raise the risk. Use a width where the shoulders feel comfortable.
Adding weight or fatigue too early
The study authors say added load or many tired repetitions could raise the risk. Build control with bodyweight dips first.
Swinging and kicking
Swinging the legs to get up hides weakness and turns the dip into a different exercise.
Shrugging up
Letting the shoulders drift up to the ears, especially in the hardest part, takes the work away from the muscles that should do it.
06
Variations and related skills
Bench dip
Equipment
Hands on a bench behind you, feet on the floor: the easiest dip and sometimes a first step. The authors of the paper we read advise against it as a regular exercise, because it asks the shoulder for a very large extension.
Ring dip
Equipment
The same pattern on rings. The rings move, which asks more of the chest and the biceps; the main worry noted is falling.
Assisted dip
Load
A resistance band or an assisted-dip machine carries part of your weight.
Weighted dip
Load
The same dip with extra load on a belt or vest.
Straight-bar dip
Equipment
The same pattern on one straight bar instead of two bars at your sides. The only page we found on it (a brand's exercise page with no named author) starts from a straight-arm support with the hands about shoulder-width apart, bends the elbows back and away from the body, lowers under control until the chest reaches the bar and presses back to straight arms. It says the straight bar needs more forward lean of the upper body and a shorter range than parallel bars, and that this is the pushing part of the bar muscle-up, where many people get stuck. We found no research on the straight-bar dip, so the pictures above and the shoulder findings of the papers, which are about parallel bars, are not shown to apply to it. Go slowly and stop if the front of the shoulder hurts.5Straight Bar Dips (exercise page)DIE RINGE (calisthenics app and shop), no named author; five short steps, no research, no mistakes…
A pull-up that continues over the bar into a dip support.
The floor version of the pressing pattern, with the hands on the floor instead of on bars.
On Calisthenics Balkan
- Read about Fundamentals in LearnThe movement family this skill belongs to, and how it fits into calisthenics.
- Athletes with Dip on their profileSkill labels on profiles are set by the athletes themselves and are not verified.
- All movements in the AtlasCalisthenics movements, one at a time: what they are, how they are done and the steps that lead to them.
07
Sources
What this page relies on. Titles and publishers are written as published.
The small numbers in the text point to the entries below.
- 1Bench, Bar, and Ring Dips: Do Kinematics and Muscle Activity Differ?McKenzie, Crowley-McHattan, Meir, Whitting, Volschenk, Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022; 13 experienced men
- 2Fatigue Increases Muscle Activations but Does Not Change Maximal Joint Angles during the Bar DipMcKenzie, Crowley-McHattan, Meir, Whitting, Volschenk, Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022; 15 men
- 3Glenohumeral Extension on the Dip: Considerations for the Strength and Conditioning ProfessionalNick Mattis, SPT, Physical Therapy First (clinic blog, 2021); a summary of the first paper, weaker than the papers
- 4Follow-up Q and A: Dangerous DipsAmerican Council on Exercise (ACE), ACE Certified News, 2011; about dips in general, not parallel-bar dips specifically
- 5Straight Bar Dips (exercise page)DIE RINGE (calisthenics app and shop), no named author; five short steps, no research, no mistakes or safety section
A note on safety. This page describes the movement in general. It is not a training plan and not medical advice. The dip loads the front of the shoulder at the end of its range, and chest muscle (pectoralis major) injuries have been reported in case reports; the research is mostly small studies and case reports. Stop if you feel pain, a pulling feeling at the front of the shoulder, numbness or a pinching feeling, and ask a qualified coach or doctor. Do not dip to failure, and use a spotter or lower bars when you are tired.
Prepared by Calisthenics Balkan. Not yet reviewed by a qualified coach.
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