Lower and raise your body on a straight dip bar by bending and extending the elbows while keeping a forward lean to emphasize the chest muscles. The movement is a bodyweight pressing motion that primarily challenges the chest.
How to do the Straight Bar Dip#
- Grip the straight dip bar with a firm overhand hold and support your weight with your arms fully extended.
- Tilt your torso slightly forward to bias the chest over the triceps.
- Bend your elbows and lower your chest toward the bar until your elbows are roughly at 90 degrees or you feel a chest stretch.
- Drive through your hands and extend the elbows to press your body back up to the starting position.
- Control both descent and ascent and avoid kicking or swinging your legs for momentum.
Muscles worked#
- Primary: Chest (Pectoralis Major), Triceps (Triceps Brachii)
- Secondary: Front delts (Anterior Deltoid), Abs (Rectus Abdominis)
Common mistakes#
- Keeping the torso too upright, which shifts work to the triceps.
- Using momentum or swinging the legs to complete the rep.
- Not lowering far enough, limiting chest activation.
- Letting the shoulders collapse or round forward at the bottom.
- Flaring the elbows excessively out to the sides.
