Korean dips
Perform challenging Korean dips to build incredible upper body strength and muscle.
Description
Korean dips is a bodyweight exercise that primarily targets the deltoids and to a lesser degree also targets the triceps and chest. The exercise requires you to lower your body behind the bar and then push back up.
How to Do Korean dips
- 1Setup
Stand facing away from parallel bars or a sturdy dipping station, then grip them with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
- 2Setup
Lift your feet off the ground, supporting your body weight with straight arms and maintaining a slight forward lean in your torso.
- 3
Initiate the movement by bending your elbows and lowering your torso behind the bars, allowing your shoulders to travel below your elbows while keeping them pointed backward.
- 4
Continue to descend until your chest is roughly in line with your hands and you feel a deep stretch in your shoulders and chest.
- 5
Drive through your palms and extend your elbows to push your body back up, bringing your torso in front of the bars.
- 6
Finish the movement by pressing your body fully upward, returning to the starting position with straight arms and engaged shoulders.
Tips
- Actively depress and retract your shoulder blades throughout the movement to stabilize your shoulders and engage your chest more effectively.
- Keep your elbows tucked relatively close to your body and pointing backward, which helps protect your shoulders and emphasizes the triceps and chest.
- Focus on a slow and controlled eccentric (lowering) phase to maximize muscle tension and improve strength gains, especially in the bottom range of motion.
- Aim for the deepest safe range of motion you can achieve, allowing your shoulders to get a good stretch and maximizing the benefits for chest and shoulder flexibility.
Common Mistakes
- ×Failing to lower your body sufficiently reduces the muscle activation in the chest and shoulders; ensure your shoulders drop below your elbows for a full stretch.
- ×Allowing your elbows to flare wide outwards places excessive strain on the shoulder joints; keep your elbows pointing backward and tucked in to protect your shoulders.
- ×Bouncing at the bottom or using leg drive reduces the work done by the target muscles; perform each repetition with deliberate control and muscle engagement.
Related Exercises
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Elevanted Push-Up
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Chest Dip
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Assisted Standing Triceps Dip
Build triceps strength with machine assistance that lets you focus on proper dip form at a manageable load.
Dumbbell Complex Push-up Row Clean and Press
The ultimate full-body dumbbell complex combining a push-up, row, clean, and overhead press in one flow.
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