Bench Dip

What is the Bench Dip?

The bench dip is a bodyweight triceps compound done with the hands on a bench behind you and the feet out in front, lowering and pressing your body by bending the elbows. It needs only a bench, scales easily by moving the feet or adding weight to the lap, and loads the triceps hard as an accessible entry point to dips.

Muscles worked

Primary: Triceps

The triceps extends the elbows to press your body back up, the main mover when the torso stays close to the bench and upright.

Secondary: Chest, Shoulders

The front shoulders and chest assist through the bottom of the press as the body descends between the hands.

How to perform the Bench Dip

1. Sit on the edge of a bench, place the hands beside your hips gripping the edge, and slide the hips forward off the bench.
2. Extend the legs out and support your weight on the hands with the arms straight, hips hovering just in front of the bench.
3. Be cautious: as you descend, the shoulders travel into deep extension behind the torso, which stresses the anterior shoulder capsule.
4. Lower the hips straight down by bending the elbows, keeping them pointing straight back rather than flaring out.
5. Stop when the upper arms reach about parallel to the floor; going deeper sharply increases the shoulder-capsule risk.
6. Press back up by extending the elbows until the arms are straight, keeping the hips close to the bench.

Suggested working range: 8–15 reps. Default progression: double progression.

Mechanics

A bilateral bodyweight press with the hands fixed behind you on a bench: the elbows and shoulders both move under load, making it a compound. Keeping your back close to the bench and the elbows tracking straight back keeps the emphasis on elbow extension and the triceps.

Form cues

• •Place the hands on the bench edge behind you, fingers forward, and slide the hips off.
• •Lower by bending the elbows until the upper arms are about parallel to the floor.
• •Keep the elbows tracking straight back, not flaring out to the sides.
• •Press back up to a full lockout, staying close to the bench.

Common mistakes

• •Descending too deep so the shoulders drop far behind the torso and stress the anterior capsule.
• •Flaring the elbows out to the sides instead of keeping them pointing straight back.
• •Drifting the hips too far forward from the bench, which increases the shoulder strain.
• •Bouncing out of the bottom rather than pressing up under control.

Variations & alternatives

• •Parallel-bar dip, a harder full-bodyweight triceps compound.
• •Feet-elevated bench dip, feet on a second bench to increase the load.
• •Weighted bench dip, a plate on the lap once bodyweight is easy.
• •Diamond push-up, another bodyweight triceps option.

Tricep Pushdown

Triceps · Cable

Overhead Tricep Extension

Triceps · Dumbbell

Skull Crusher

Triceps · Barbell

Tricep Dip

Triceps · Bodyweight

Close-Grip Bench Press

Triceps · Barbell

Programming: sets, reps & when to use it

Program the bench dip in the library’s 8–15 rep range as an accessible bodyweight triceps builder or finisher. Make it harder by elevating the feet or resting a plate on your lap, and easier by keeping the feet in and knees bent. Keep the elbows tracking back; a couple of sets after pressing works well.

Frequently asked questions