Most people go to the gym and spend lots of time doing flat nech with a barbell thinking that is the best way to build perfect pecs. Why do they do that?
Well it could be several reasons. Whenever you see a big guy with a big chest the common question asked is “what do you enc”.
Its also the first exercise most people see in the gym,, or see at their schools workout room.
If you could do just one chest exercise to carve out a perfect set of pecs, the exercise that should be chosen is chest dips.
Chest dips are a compound push exercise with a small range of motion that primarily works your chest but also engages your triceps, forearms, shoulders, and lower back. Work the chest for mass while at the same time, also widening the chest to give you that full look.
When done correctly chest dips can be a very intense and effective isolation exercise that help develop a complete full chest
Bottom line: Chest dips are a powerful compound exercise for building a muscular chest, while also working your entire upper body including your back, arms and shoulders.
The bench however does not work the chest with the same intensity as chest dips (or pec dec). Electromyogram (EMG) studies show the chest dip (and the pec dec) are far superior for engaging the chest muscles.
During a flat bench press the deltoids of your shoulders get equally worked and because they are smaller muscles will fatigue way before your chest even starts to get a proper workout. As a result you will end your workout before fully engaging and working the chest.
The flat bench is also one of the leading cause of shoulder injuries such as torn rotators cuff because of lack of flexibility in the shoulder joint.
The bench press kills shoulder flexibility. The massive strain on your shoulders from this exercise makes your rotator cuff muscles tighter and tighter over time and can eventually tare. The first sign of this is when you start to find it difficult to reach behind your back. I can vouch for this. I had a 550 pound bench, and over the years my shoulder flexibility suffered, resulting in shoulder surgeries on both shoulder (I no longer bench).
Proper Chest Dip Execution
Depending on your hand grip and how to position your body, dips can also work your shoulders and triceps, so if you are using dips to get that full and gnarly separated look to your chest, you need to know how to properly execute this exercise so you minimize the work on the shoulders and triceps and maximize the work on your chest.
Advantages Of Dips For Developing The Chest
Faster And Better Overall Development Of The Chest - When doing dips, you are moving your arms in a downward motion. This downward motion allows you to isolate the chest muscles far better than any other compound exercise for the chest. This isolation exercise allows you to minimize ethe shoulder and ensure that the shoulders to not get over engaged prior to the chest fatiguing.
Helps Widen the Chest - Chest dips give you wider chest development than the bench press. To get the most benefit perform the chest dip with a wide grip and the elbows flared to the sides. This allows the exercise to target the outer chest and gives them a 3d look from all sides.
Increases Shoulder Flexibility - At the bottom of the chest dip movement your shoulder muscles are both strengthened and stretched, giving you improved flexibility. Do be careful when doing this exercise though if you have weak or previously injured shoulders. If you already have inflexible and/or weak shoulders, you can still suffer shoulder injuries while doing dips. The key to staying injury free is to only go as low as you feel comfortable and add weight slowly. Over time, your shoulders will get stronger and you’ll be able to descend write the way down, thereby fully stretching those pecs.
To perform a Chest Dip correctly:
1) Place your hands on two parallel bars on either side of you. If you don’t have access to parallel bars, you can also use two tables, or the top of the back-rests of two chairs facing away from each other. Position your hands at least shoulder width, any closer and you start engaging the triceps, too far and you limit your range of motion. However, going a little past shoulder width does have its advantages: chest dips performed with a wide grip and the elbows flared to the sides, target the outer chest better than pushups, bench presses, or any other chest exercise.
2) Prop yourself up with your arms straight and your elbows locked out.
3) Bend your knees so your feet are behind you. This helps to balance your weight as you lean forward. Leaning forward is necessary to target the chest
4) As you lower your body, really lean forward into the movement. Lower your body in a slow and controlled fashion, without ever touching your feet or knees to the ground. Breath in while doing this.
5) As your upper arms reach parallel to the floor, allow your elbows to flare out wider. This will allow you to go deeper and develop a fuller and rounder chest.
6) Now go right to the bottom and allow your body weight to stretch the pec muscles. If done correctly and deeply enough you should really feel a real stretch across your pecs. At the bottom of the movement your shoulder muscles are both strengthened and stretched, giving you improved flexibility.
7) Now perform the positive part of the rep (pushing upward) but stop short of locking out at the top. Breathe out while doing this. At this position squeeze the blood into the pecs and hold it for a second or two, really visualize the blood rushing into your chest muscles and the pec muscles fully contracting. The last approx. 3 inches of the rep are all taken on the triceps. Don’t work in this range. Stop short and start the negative (lowering of your body) again. Including those last few inches would ensure that you fatigue the triceps and almost certainly mean that the set would prematurely end at failure of the triceps, not the chest.
Repeat steps 3-7, always making sure to maintain good posture and a forward-leaning position.
Bottom Line
Chest dips are a great compound exercise, that allows greater flexibility, greater pectoral stimulation engaging all muscle fibers across the chest like no other exercise. It is a great exercise for isolating the chest, allowing mass building across the entire chest.
Because dips engage your entire body, they result in a greater release of testosterone and growth hormone both during and after the workout. Increased levels of these hormones help to rincrease mass, decrease fat and have an overall better physique.
b]About the Author Jeff Behar
Jeff Behar, MS, MBA, is a well-known health, fitness, wellness author and anti aging, champion natural bodybuilder (2014 Masters Grand Prix Champion, 2015 California State Masters Champion), and a recognized health, fitness and nutrition expert with over 30 years of experience in the health, fitness, disease prevention, nutrition, and anti-aging fields.
As a recognized health, fitness and nutrition expert, Jeff Behar's has been featured on several radio shows, TV, and in several popular bodybuilding publications such as Flex, Ironman and in several highly regarded peer reviewed scientific journals. Jeff Behar is also the CEO and founder www.MuscleMagFitness.com and www.MyBesthealthPortal.com and a Medical Commentator on exercise for The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, the worlds largest medical academy for anti-aging and regenerative medicine, provides medical professionals with the latest Anti-Aging, regenerative, functional and metabolic medicine.
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