Dip Basics

The classic bodyweight dip works a broad range of upper-body muscles. These include the triceps, the deltoids, the pectorals, the biceps, the lats, the trapezius, the forearms and several muscle groups in the neck. The form is a simple two-phase motion. The dip begins with your back and arms straight and your hands gripping the apparatus -- either at your sides or slightly behind you. Next, slowly lower yourself down by bending at the elbows. Keep your arms in tight against your torso. As you bend your elbows, rotate your shoulders backward so your arms stretch and bend behind you. Once you’ve lowered yourself down as far as possible, raise yourself back up until your arms and back are straight.

Body-Press Dip

The body-press dip requires a rigid rack or apparatus that features grip handles parallel to the floor and that affords you enough space to lower yourself from your waist to your chest without your lower body touching the floor. The key benefit of the body-press dip is variability. Line up your body so that it is perpendicular to the floor for a broad range of muscle engagement that primarily targets the triceps or lean forward to shift the focus from the triceps to the pectorals. Lean backward to shift focus to the lats.

Chair Dip

The chair dip uses a basic chair – most any chair will do – to support your body as you raise and lower yourself during each phase of the dip. The exact form depends on the configuration of the chair you use, but typically, you stand in front of the chair with the chair at your back. Place your arms at your sides, slightly behind you. Bend your lower body down so that your lower back is at the level of the chair’s seat and place your hands on the seat of the chair for support. Bend at the elbows to lower yourself but keep your feet planted on the floor in front of you. Lower yourself as far as possible, then raise yourself back to the original starting position.

Comparison

While the body-press dip offers a wide variety of dip styles that you can perform, the apparatus is limited to only allowing the performance of dips. You can’t sit it in, and it takes up a lot of room when not in use. A chair dip can be performed quickly and easily anywhere that you happen to have a chair handy. However, the chair dip limits the form of your dip and doesn’t provide a full range-of-motion for the exercise. Your feet are on the ground for the entire exercise, which reduces the amount of resistance that your body provides with the dip. The body-press dip gives you all of the resistance possible from your body weight.