Performing Dips

RadRx · #1 June 7th, 2004, 11:02 AM

Hey, guys:

I was doing dips on a couple of different machines the other day and I noticed that I was able to do more reps on one than the other. A rough measurement showed that the bars on this machine were between 2 and 3 inches wider than the second piece.

Has anyone else noticed a change in performance levels due to this type of construction?

Is there an optimum width?

Is there a point at which a different set of muscles (i.e. lower lats) is brought into the equation?

At another location I see the dip 'station' (doesn't really count as a machine since the user is the only moving part) has bars that taper to allow the user to find a width that best suits them. This is possibly the reason.

If I'm just being a dip, please let me know.

RadRx

glammaman2000 · #2 June 7th, 2004, 01:40 PM

bar width makes a big difference,depending on YOUR size.i'd use the one you are strongest on.this is hard to explain verbally;but if you let your hips&legs hang straight down(i.e.don't bend legs back or stick out chest)it will work your lats more.for the best chest&tricep work,however,stick your chest WAY foreward,like the prow on a ship.try to let your arms bend back from your sternum;don't hunch your shoulders foreward.it is one of the best chest&tri exercises around(try 6x25 with a 25lb DB!)

Mdlftr · #3 June 7th, 2004, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RadRx

Hey, guys:

If I'm just being a dip, please let me know.

RadRx

--Was that French Onion?!

[Seriously, you've noticed some definite factors. Have you noticed that any work on the even parallel bars e.g., forward roles, is different, depending on the bar width?
Glam-- good comments on hitting the pecs. There's a guy on the web (Tony Diglio) who built ENORMOUS pecs using only weighted dips and pushups---no bench press of any kind! He's living proof that this works!

Mdlftr

RadRx · #4 June 7th, 2004, 02:03 PM

MD, haven't had much opportunity to work out using parallel bars. Most gyms don't have them anymore. I would love to work out using some gymnastic techniques, but I'm working my way back down to college weight first.

Glam, 6x25 plus a weight? Now you're just showing off.

I'm guessing these need to go closer to the top of my routine.

Thanks again.

RadRx

glammaman2000 · #5 June 7th, 2004, 02:04 PM

i wanted to say that dips is THE BEST chest&tri exercise;but all the BP fans would disagree.(p.s.i used to work on Broadway,so i know a lot of performing dips)

glammaman2000 · #6 June 7th, 2004, 02:13 PM

6x25+25lbs?you betcha.YOU THINK THIS STUFF IS EASY?one of the drawbacks of some personal trainers is that they don't want to be honest about how hard you have to train to make gains.&the bigger you get;the harder it is to get bigger.showing off is what it's all about.&"nobody likes a show-off!...as much as i do!"

RadRx · #7 June 7th, 2004, 02:21 PM

I work out at Gold's in Venice. Sure it's inspiring, but it's going to take a lot of work for me to qualify as a show off in that place.

On the upside, the BP fans leave the dip area free and clear.

brent · #8 June 7th, 2004, 02:52 PM

RadRx, thank you for asking this question. I was thinking about asking it soon, but didn't know how to ask it without sounding stupid. I've noticed that it seems different at different widths, and I don't know what width is best?

Also, I didn't know that you couldn't like both the bench press, and dips. I'm a BP fan, so does that mean I'm banned from the dip section? I hope not!

#9 June 7th, 2004, 08:37 PM

I worked out in a new Gold's in Reston, VA for a couple years and they had the best dip station I'd seen. Simple bent tubing in a heavy base. No adjustments. Solid. Short, perhaps 4 or 5 feet long but tapered about 4 or 5 inches inward from front to back. You could enter wherever you felt comfortable or wherever was right for the muscle group you were trying to attack. Loved 'em.

wbhunk · #10 June 8th, 2004, 08:58 PM

LG is right....a good, simple dip station, where you can grip where you need to best work the muscles you want to use is great to have. My gym has the "suspended" station (the one where the counterweight is used to lessen the effect of your body weight), plus the Hammer Strength seated dip where only your arms go up and down -- and nothing beats the plain dip.

I usually throw dips in as a changeup exercise -- variety, stimulate a slightly-different group of fibers -- and with variations in where you grip, you can sub them in for everything from tricep through to shoulder exercises.