Bench Dip
The bench dip is a bodyweight triceps exercise done with your hands on the edge of a bench behind you and your feet out in front. It works the triceps mainly, with a little help from the front of the shoulders, and suits high-rep work with no equipment beyond a bench.
Also called: Tricep Bench Dip, Chair Dip, Floor Dip, Feet-Up Bench Dip · Equipment: bodyweight · Pattern: push
Step by step
- Sit on the edge of a flat bench and place your hands on the edge beside your hips, shoulder-width apart, fingers pointing forward.
- Walk your feet out and slide your hips just off the front of the bench. Bent knees with feet flat is the easier version; straight legs on your heels is harder.
- Straighten your arms to hold your weight, with your shoulders pressed down away from your ears and your chest up.
- Bend your elbows and let your body sink straight down, keeping your hips close to the bench and your elbows pointing straight back.
- Descend until your upper arms are about parallel to the floor.
- Press through the heels of your hands to straighten your elbows and return to the start.
- After the last rep, walk your feet in and sit back onto the bench.
- Elbows point straight back
- Hips close to the bench
- Upper arms to parallel with the floor
- Shoulders down, chest up
- Press through the heels of your hands
In VALDA, these cues are one tap away on the exercise while you train.
What it trains
| Muscle | Role | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Triceps brachii: lateral head | Prime mover | C |
| Triceps brachii: medial head | Prime mover | C |
| Triceps brachii: long head | Secondary | C |
| Anterior deltoid | Secondary | D |
| Pectoralis major: sternocostal (mid) | Stabiliser | D |
Evidence grades: A = strong research base · B = good · C = limited · D = coaching consensus.
What goes wrong, and the fix
Sinking too deep
Fix: Descend until your upper arms are about parallel to the floor, then press.
Hips drifting away from the bench
Fix: Keep your hips close enough to brush the bench on every rep.
Elbows flaring out
Fix: Point your elbows straight back throughout the rep.
Shoulders shrugging towards the ears
Fix: Press your shoulders down away from your ears before each rep.
Pushing with the legs
Fix: Keep your feet relaxed and let your arms do the pressing.
What the research says
Muscle growthGeneral fitnessEnduranceFat loss & conditioning
- Rep ranges — Research finds muscle growth is similar across a wide range of loads, roughly 5 to 30 or more reps per set, when sets are taken close to failure. Lighter, higher-rep work favours local muscular endurance.
- Effort — Studies show growth rises as sets get closer to failure, with a flattening curve: true failure adds only a small extra benefit over finishing a rep or two short.
- Progression — A trial comparing methods found that adding reps and adding load gave similar muscle growth. Common ways to progress the bench dip are more reps, straighter legs, feet raised on a second bench, or a plate on the lap.
- Dip variations — An EMG study found peak triceps activity was smaller in the bench dip than in the bar or ring dip, and that the bench dip used a greater shoulder-extension range.
- Volume — Research links more weekly sets for a muscle to more growth, with diminishing returns.
Swap it mid-workout
With VALDA Pro, FLEX offers alternatives like these when you swap an exercise mid-workout.
Log the bench dip in VALDA, with these cues one tap away while you train and your history for it in one place.
General information about exercise technique, not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, your healthcare provider is the right person to ask.