The dip should
be a staple of any complete strength and muscle-building
routine. It's one of the best upper-body movements you
can do. But what do you do if you don't have dipping bars
in your gym? Are you doomed to miss out on all the incredible
benefits this exercise has to offer? Not anymore.
Just because
you don't have dipping bars in your gym doesn't mean you
can't do dips. In fact, the dipping set-up I'm going to
show you is much more versatile even than bars that are
built specifically for the exercise!
In order to
use this technique, all you will need is a power rack
and two Olympic bars. That's it. It's stupid simple to
set up and to do. I know the first time I did it, I kicked
myself for throwing away 40 bucks buying special dip handles
to go with my power rack.
First, set
the safety rails in the rack to approximately chest height.
Now set two Olympic bars on top of the safety rails about
18 inches apart and voila! You've got a dip station. It's
just that simple.
You can choose
to set the bars perfectly parallel or set them in a V-shape
(I prefer a V-shape as it feels more natural).
The nice part
is, you can be guaranteed that the bars are going to be
strong enough no matter how much you weigh or how much
additional weight you use!
But the functionality
of this set-up doesn't end with it just being a simple
dip station. You can take your dipping to a whole new
level with the following techniques:
1. Partial Dips
Instead of
setting the safety rails at chest level, set them at just
above waist level. When you are standing in between the
bars, you will notice that you only have a few inches
in the top range of motion in the exercise now.
The partial
top-range dip is excellent if you are just beginning with
dips and need to build up strength or if you are an advanced
trainer doing heavy partials with extra weight (either
on a hip belt or with a dumbell between your feet). Instead
of climbing up onto something or using an elaborate set-up
to do partials all you need to do is adjust the height
of the safety rails!
2. Negative dips
The negative
dip is very useful for building up strength in all levels
of trainer from beginner to advanced. If you are a beginner
and have trouble doing full reps with your bodyweight,
you can almost always at least lower yourself down under
control. If you are an advanced trainer, add some weight
to yourself and do heavy negatives!
Set the safety
rails somewhat lower than your waist so that your arms
are straight when you're in a standing position. Set your
hands on the bar then bend your knees, lifting your feet
off the ground. Lower yourself to the ground slowly until
you are either kneeling on the floor or until you have
lowered as far as you can safely go. Stand up, set your
hands on the bar and repeat the movement.
3. Incline and Decline Dips
These unique
variations are only possible using the Power Rack Dip
set-up. To do the incline and decline dip, set one safety
rail higher than the other then set the bars on top. The
one rail can range from being only a few inches higher
to as much as a foot or more. The higher the other bar,
the more challenging the exercise will be.
Set the bars
parallel to each other on the rails for this variation.
The collars on the higher ends of the Olympic bars should
be braced up against and hooked onto the safety rails
so that the bars don't slide as you're doing the exercise.
You can even put weight plates on the ends to ensure they
don't go anywhere.
To do incline
dips, set yourself so that you are facing the higher end
of the bars. In this variation, gravity will not only
be pushing you down but also pushing you backwards. This
places more tension on the triceps because you not only
have to push yourself up, you have to also constantly
push yourself forward to keep from falling backwards.
To do decline
dips, all you have to do is face the other way. Turn around
and face the lower ends of the bars. Now the stress on
the triceps is different because you must constantly lean
back to keep from falling forward. Leaning back during
the dip is a great way to increase tricep involvement--this
version forces you to do it.
4. Travelling Incline and Decline Dips
This is the
most challenging version of the dip. You must have very
good dipping strength in order to properly do this movement.
Start with
the incline dip. Set yourself up at the very low end of
the bars, facing the top. Lower yourself into the bottom
of the dip then push yourself explosively up and slightly
forward. You should end up slightly higher on the bars.
Repeat the movement, shifting yourself a little higher
with each explosive rep until you get to the very high
end of the bars.
Set yourself
back down on the ground, turn around and do the same thing
back down in decline dips. It will be a little easier
to move yourself forward because you won't be climbing
in altitude. Don't let that fool you, though. Remember,
you'll have to catch yourself each time you move forward!
