Equipment-Free Dips to Build Your Triceps

With equipment-­free dips, you can effectively build your upper body. This is the perfect muscular movement for building your triceps and pecs, making it a key exercise in your FizzUp equipment-­free strength training program. It may seem a bit difficult at first, but the progress you’ll make by doing this exercise is simply shocking and the results are quickly visible. Muscular arms and toned pecs can now be yours! Here’s how to dips the right way:

Equipment-free dips: How to do them correctly

First of all, it’s important to remember that there are many different dip variations, all of which you can do without any special equipment. However, you’ll need one or two chairs depending on the variation you’re doing. With a bit of cleverness and imagination, you can even use a windowsill, sofa or the edge of your bathtub. For a better understanding of this exercise, let’s start by breaking down the simplest variation: seated dips. You’ll get it in no time!

• Starting position: With the chair behind you, press down on it with both hands shoulder-width apart. Keep your legs straight and engaged with your buttocks in the air and only your heels touching the floor.
• Step 1: Lower your buttocks while controlling the bend of your arms as they resist your body weight. Stop once your upper arms are somewhat parallel to the floor.
• Step 2: Raise your body by straightening your arms. Keep lifting your body weight until your arms are straight once again.

Tips from the FizzUp trainer

The effectiveness of this exercise depends greatly on whether you do it correctly. That’s why your FizzUp trainer has pointed out the common mistakes made while doing this exercise that you should avoid:

• A bad starting position: To be sure that you’re in the right position, don’t place your feet too far in front of you. Your arms should be perpendicular to the floor when you start, not stretched backwards. A good starting position allows you to build your triceps more efficiently and avoid rolling your shoulders.
• Over­extending your arms: Many people bend their arms too much in an effort to complete the entire movement. All you need to do is bend them so that your upper arms are parallel to the floor which will prevent you from hurting your shoulders.

Equipment-free dips work several different muscles

As a multi­-joint strength training exercise, the different dip variations work several muscle groups synergistically.

As such, the main muscles this exercise targets are the triceps and the lower pecs. If you do this exercise regularly, you’ll quickly build strength and muscle mass, just like with the equipment-­free rower.

You’ll also work other muscles that help you maintain a good posture and enable you to do the movement correctly, such as the delts, back muscles and traps. The abs are also worked in an isometric contraction (core strengthening) when doing certain variations of equipment-free dips.

Variations for motivating workouts

Equipment-free dips can be broken down into several variations. Each one offers a different level of difficulty which gives you a wide variety of exercises that you can use throughout the program.

• Feet­-elevated dips: The idea is the same as seated dips. The only difference is that your feet should be raised on either another chair or a stool. This version is a little more difficult because the force exerted on your arms is greater.
• Suspended dips: You still bend and straighten your arms, except your feet are in the air. Start upright between two supporting objects (ideally lateral bars but you can also use two tables). Put your weight on your hands, bend your knees slightly and bend and extend your arms. If you keep your chest straight, you’ll target your biceps and if you tilt your chest forward, you’ll work your pecs and delts.

Equipment-free dips with FizzUp

As you progress through the FizzUp equipment-­free strength training program, you’ll experiment with different dip variations and possibilities. You’ll quickly see results and considerably improve your functional strength (the strength that you use in your daily life to carry your suitcase or shopping bags). Like push­-ups, this strength training exercise will make you stronger and will help you reach your aesthetic goals. Over time, you’ll get more sculpted arms and the pecs of your dreams.

With FizzUp strength training workouts, you’ll get surprising results in just six weeks. You’ll feel more active, more muscular and will notice real improvement in your physical abilities.