subject: Chest Dips Tips And Help [print this page] Weighted chest dips are one of those exercises that most people don't even consider when they sit down to write down their chest workout. While dips are traditionally thought of as a triceps building exercise, the fact of the matter is that with a simple adjustment to your body position during the downward phase of this movement, you can isolate you pectoral muscles and seriously work your chest!
I personally think so highly of dips that I work them into each of my upper body workouts. It's an amazing chest exercise that really doesn't get the notoriety (as a chest exercise) that it deserves. If you really want to pack on some solid muscle in your upper body then you need to learn how to perform dips with correct form and make it a point to incorporate dips into your chest program.
While chest dips and dips in general have been traditionally thought of as a body weight exercise, you really won't be able to get the biggest chest building benefit from this movement until you start doing dips with heavy weights. However, in order to get the level of strength that you'll need in order to perform weighted dips correctly, it's a good idea to work your way through at least a couple of workouts of body weight dips in order to learn good weight lifting form and increase your level of strength so that you don't actually wind up injuring yourself once you pack on the weight.
In order to incorporate weights into this movement you're going to need a weight lifting belt that allows you to hang some form of weight between your legs. The most typical piece of equipment that see in the gyms these days is a simple weight lifting belt with two round metal rings in the front that you can run a chain through them and, then hang the weight on the chain. These belts can be purchased ready to use, or you can retro fit one of your own weight belts.
The biggest benefit of weighted dips lies in the fact that you can seriously stretch your pecs during the downward phase of this movement in a very controlled manner. This allows for more nutrient and blood flow through your upper body muscles, while increasing your range of motion and increasing your upper body flexibility. But you do have to be careful to not overextend the range of this exercise, as you can hurt your shoulders or tear your pectoral muscles if you don't use good form.
In order to stimulate the most muscle growth chest dips and and really stimulate some impressive chest growth, you've really got to learn how to perform weighted dips with decent form. Practice this exercise a few times before you even try to ad any weight. You may find that you need to build up a solid level of strength before you move on to weighted chest dips. If that's the case don't lose any sleep over it, just focus on completing your chest dips with decent form and your strength level will increase.
Here's how to complete dips in order to stimulate some serious pectoral growth:
1.) Place your hands on the parallel bars spaced out to shoulder width
2.) Lift your feet off of the stands by straightening your arms
3.) Slowly lower your body while simultaneously tilting your upper body forward (this is what takes the emphasis off of your triceps and places the bulk of the load on to your chest)
4.) Continue lowering your body until the bottom of your chest is even with your hands
5.) Extend your arms and push your body back to the starting position while focusing on leaning forward as much as possible.
If you want to build a more muscular chest, then you've got to add weighted dips to your upper body routine. Not only will they help you improve the overall flexibility level of your upper body, but you'll be able to stimulate your pectoral muscles to explode like they never have before!
