Bench dip
Hands behind you on a bench, lowering your bodyweight. Heavy triceps work that needs its range kept honest.
The movement
Top
01 Top
Hands on the bench edge, legs long, arms straight.
02 Bottom
Bend the elbows straight back; shoulders stay away from the ears.
How to do it
Setup
- Sit on the edge of the bench with your hands gripping it beside your hips, fingers pointing forward.
- Walk your feet out and slide your hips just clear of the bench.
- Straighter legs make it harder, bent knees make it easier.
Execution
- Bend your elbows straight back, lowering your hips toward the floor.
- Stop when your upper arms are about parallel to the ground.
- Press back to straight arms, finishing tall over your hands.
Form cues
- Keep your hips brushing the bench the whole way down.
- Shoulders stay down away from your ears, chest open.
Common mistakes
- Sinking too deep, which strains the front of the shoulders.
- Shrugging at the top instead of finishing with a long neck and straight arms.
- Letting your elbows flare outward.
Worth knowing
- This puts your shoulder in a stretched position under load. Keep the range moderate, and pick extensions or push-up variations instead if the front of your shoulder complains.
General guidance, not medical advice. See how Setkit works.
Notes
The bench dip is the heaviest triceps exercise you can do with household furniture. A large share of your bodyweight goes through your arms alone, and putting your feet up on a second surface makes it harder still. Very few bodyweight movements load the triceps this directly.
The catch is the position. Having your hands behind your body puts your shoulders somewhere they tolerate in moderation and not in excess. Moderate depth, hips close to the bench and shoulders held down is productive. Sinking deep and drifting away from the bench is how this exercise got its reputation for hurting shoulders. Controlling the range is the whole deal.
Kept inside those limits, with a controlled tempo, upper arms to parallel and a full lockout, it fits neatly at the end of a pushing session or into a bodyweight circuit.