## General Form Cues - Straight or slightly hollow body. No bending at the hips! - Lock out the arms and depress the shoulderblades ([what does that even mean?](https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/positioning)) at the top - Go as far down as you can - Elbows in ## Recommended Progression ### [**Parallel Bar Support Hold**](http://antranik.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/antranik-holding-support-hold-on-parallel-bars.jpg) - Work up to 3 sets of 1 minute holds for this progression - [_What if I don't have parallel bars?_](http://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/exercises/dip#wiki_what_if_i_don.27t_have_parallel_bars.3F) - If you can't hold yourself up at all, consider using bands or your feet to assist you until you gain the necessary strength. ### [**Negative Dips**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3Scqw1BbCc) - This exercise is only the descent. To get to the starting position you can jump or use a box or anything. - Lower yourself with control. Work up to 10 sec descents ### [**Parallel Bar Dips**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z8JmcrW-As) - See general form cues. ### **Weighted Dips** - See general form cues - You can do this progression in place of ring dips. - We recommend to add weight to parallel bar dips first instead of ring dips. ## Alternative Progression Paths: After you reach 3x8 Parallel Bar dips, you can choose one of these paths if you don't want to do weighted dips: ### Alternate Path 1: #### [**Ring Dips**](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Vymm8nH4wM) - **_Prerequisite:_** 3x8 PB Dips + 60sec RTO Support Hold (from [Warmup](https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/exercises/support)) - Starting from a support position with the rings turned out, perform a dip. It's okay if the rings turn in, just make sure you turn them out at the top. - [_What if I don't have rings?_](http://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/exercises/dip#wiki_what_if_i_don.27t_have_rings.3F) - [_What does rings turned out/RTO mean?_](https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/exercises/support) #### [**Rings RTO Dips**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGbtrkzIiOA&t=60s) - Keep the rings turned out during the _entire_ dip. You will need to lean your body or pike your hips to compensate for the ring turn ### Alternate Path 2: #### [**HeSPU**](https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/exercises/hspu) --- ## Equipment - ## What if I don't have parallel bars? - You can use two chairs to do dips on. Put some weight on the seats if you're afraid of them falling over. Another option is to find a counter top that makes a 90 degree angle, and do dips in that corner. You can also try to find two tables of the same height and do dips that way. Be creative! - If you have rings, this will be MUCH harder, but if you build up to a solid RTO support hold _first_, you might be able to safely work negative ring dips. However, it's highly recommended you find a way to do parallel bar dips before moving to ring dips for increased safety. - ## What if I don't have rings? - Beyond parallel bar dips, there's not a whole lot of dipping you can do, except for weighted dips (which are a great exercise). - If you don't have rings or weights, we recommend you utilize the **[handstand pushup progression](https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/exercises/HSPU) after mastering parallel bar dips.** ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Why no [bench dips?](http://i.imgur.com/PeZdiQ8.jpg) The movement pattern for bench dips is quite different due to different joint angles, which results in a very low carry over to real dips. Working on pushing strength in general with [the pushup progression](https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/exercises/pushup) to meet the prerequisites will accomplish the same.