The purpose of this visual is to show how great of an impact the amount of lean* has, when doing dips.
Making the MOVEMENT more/less EFFICIENT, as well as increasing the ENGAGEMENT of specific MUSCLE groups over others.
*Lean: Refers to the angle of the forearm in the bottom position.
Here is the breakdown of the 3 examples shown
🎯 To target your SHOULDERS…
⠀- Lean forward. (Forearm angle greater than 90°)
⠀- Keep a straight body line.
⠀- The more you close the angle (less than 90°), the more you’ll engage the front delts.
🎯 To target your CHEST…
- Keep forearms vertical (at 90°)
- Closed chest.
- Pike at hips.
👆🏽 This is the most efficient of the 3. Hence why it’s used in Weighted Dips.
🎯 To target TRICEPS…
- Lean back. (Forearm angle less than 90°)
- Keep torso vertical.
- Piking at the hips gives you a mechanical advantage. Keeping the body straight increases the load, it’s called Impossible Dip for a reason.
📝 Additional notes…
- Targeting one specific muscle group doesn’t exclude the involvement of the others.
- No, the rep shown in Triceps is not an Imposible Dip. Just an attempt at keeping torso straight and forearms leaned back. That move is a project I’ll work on later.
Hoping this post guides your practice family.
I appreciate you.
The practice goes on.
- The SM Team
