With so many exercises to choose from when you work out, it can be difficult to create a workout plan with the most effective exercises that will give you the best results.
Today, we’re going to talk about an exercise that’s extremely effective for upper-body training.
However, it isn’t as widely used as it should be.
That exercise is dips.
Here are 6 reasons why you should incorporate dips into your workout plan!
1. It allows you to add extra weight
Dips are a challenging exercise that uses only your body weight. However, there will come a time when you need extra resistance. And that’s when you should add extra weight.
One of the great things about dips is that it’s quite easy to add extra weight. You can use a dumbbell between your legs, a weighted backpack, a weight vest, or a dedicated weight belt.
2. They’re better than push-ups
Push-ups are an excellent bodyweight exercise.
However, they don’t compare to dips.
With dips, you’re lifting your full body weight (plus any extra weight you add). With push-ups, you’re only lifting a portion of that.
It’s true that you can add weight to push-ups, but it’s not always practical. Furthermore, they don’t work on muscle stability, flexibility, and wrist strength as much.
3. It’s a compound exercise
Compound exercises are superior to isolation exercises in almost every way—for building strength, muscle, and burning more calories.
These exercises also allow you to work multiple muscles at the same time—in this case, your shoulder, chest, and tricep muscles.
4. Highly customizable
There are plenty of ways to do dips.
As we mentioned earlier, you can add extra weight.
You can also lean slightly forward to target your chest muscles more, or keep your back straighter with your hands closer together to target your triceps more.
You can also vary the equipment you use to make the exercise easier or harder. If you’re just starting out, you can use parallel bars. If you’re more experienced and want to challenge yourself, you can try CrossFit rings.
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5. Increase flexibility
In addition to building upper-body muscle mass and strength, dips are an excellent exercise for increasing your flexibility, especially in your shoulders and wrists.
6. Helps reduce injuries
Dips are also an excellent way to strengthen your joints—wrists, elbows, and shoulders.
Furthermore, it’s an exercise that engages many stabilizing muscles, which will result in a more developed upper body. With stronger joints and developed stabilizing muscles, you’ll be less susceptible to injuries when performing other exercises.
Conclusion
Regardless of your fitness goals, dips are an excellent addition to your workout plan.
Even if you’ve never done dips before, you can start by practicing on parallel bars to gain experience and gradually increase the weight.
If you’re already more advanced and want to take your dips to the next level, then CrossFit rings are for you! They’re a version of dips that require more balance, coordination, stability, and strength.
Happy training!
