Dips
The dip is a bodyweight press on parallel bars where you lower your body by bending your elbows, then push back up. It trains your chest and triceps, with your front shoulders assisting. Lean forward to bias your chest or stay upright to bias your triceps. Use a band to make it easier or add weight to make it harder.
Muscles worked
The dips trains the chest and triceps, with shoulders helping.
Weekly sets for chest
Hard sets per week that Swole.fit plans for chest, counting every exercise that trains it. Start a cycle near the growth line and climb toward the recovery limit before a deload.
How to do the dips
- 01Grip the parallel bars and jump or press up until your arms are straight and your shoulders sit over your hands.
- 02Pull your shoulders down away from your ears and lean your torso slightly forward.
- 03Bend your elbows to lower yourself, letting them travel back rather than flare out to the sides.
- 04Descend until your upper arms are about parallel to the floor or you feel a comfortable chest stretch.
- 05Press through your palms to straighten your arms and return to the top position.
Coaching cues
- Shoulders down, chest proud
- Elbows track back, not out
- Lean forward for chest, upright for triceps
Common mistakes
- Sinking far below parallel with your shoulders rolling forward strains the front of the shoulder; stop around parallel unless deeper range feels comfortable.
- Shrugging your shoulders up to your ears at the bottom loses control; keep them pulled down throughout the rep.
- Bouncing out of the bottom uses momentum instead of muscle; lower under control and pause briefly before pressing.
How Swole.fit programs it
Log it once and the app plans the next session for you.
- Most sets land between 8 and 15 reps, the range the plan steers compound lifts toward for size.
- Week one starts around 2 to 3 reps in reserve. Each week you train a little closer to failure, ending around 0 to 1 in reserve before a deload week.
- Once the top of the range is easy, Swole.fit suggests a harder variation or added load.
- Sets for this exercise count toward your weekly volume for every muscle it trains: a full set for the primary muscles, half a set for the helpers.
The full method, with the maths, is in how mesocycles work.
Dips alternatives
Same muscles, different tool. Swap in one of these when the equipment is taken or your joints want a change.
Free programs that use it
Ready-made splits from the Swole.fit library. Pick one and the app runs the progression.
- Beach Emergency3 days a week, chest, shoulders, biceps
- Minimalist Gains3 days a week, chest, back, quadriceps, hamstrings
- Pump & Circumstance3 days a week, chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps
- Push Power3 days a week, chest, triceps
- Push Pull Legs3 days a week, chest, back, shoulders, quadriceps
- Upper Antagonist3 days a week, chest, back
Log it. Let the app plan the next one.
Track your dips free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.