The Only Dip Progression Guide You'll Ever Need... Period

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If you’re looking for the best damn dip progression guide on the planet, then this is (by far) the most important page you’re ever going to read.

Because today, I’m going to be diving deep into my library of spartan worthy exercises to give you some of the most killer dip progressions known to man.

Now, to most people, the dip is considered something of an ‘accessory exercise’ or, worse still, a last resort when there’s nowhere to bench at the gym.

But let me tell you that when done correctly, dips are more than capable of adding huge slabs of lean, powerful muscle to your frame.

I’m not beating down pushups and benching, by the way. I’m just saying that dips tend to get a bad rep in comparison.

And I’d be willing to bet my grandmother’s walking stick that if you give the dip the attention it deserves and (more importantly) practice it consistently.

You’ll be massively surprised at how much strength, size, and physical prowess you’ll be able to achieve from this underrated and underused exercise.

I mean, just take a look at some of the calisthenics athletes from Bar Brothers and similar programs and you’ll see that dips play a major role in almost every upper body workout they do.

It’s clear to see from looking at these guys that dips are highly proficient in building a strong functional body that would put most gym bros to shame.

Oh, and by the way, if you want to build the size, strength, and function of calisthenics beasts…

…Torch a sh*t load of fat.

And reveal the oh-so-sexy physique that lies beneath…

…Then I’d recommend checking out the Bar Brothers 12-Week Transformation Program by hitting the video link below…

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Table of Contents

Why Dips?

So the reason I prefer dips over any other upper body pressing exercise is that there’s a lot more potential for growth.

I mean, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand that dips (and I’m talking about parallel bar dips here) have way more room for muscle development than it’s bodyweight counterpart, the pushup.

Why?

Well, first, dips are relatively easy to load. And you can literally add hundreds of pounds to your frame in the form of a dip belt…

..Weighted vest.

…Or even throwing a small child on your back and hammering out dips until your eyeballs bleed.

And second, they capable of building a lot of more relative strength.

Now, if you’re unfamiliar with relative strength. It’s basically how strong you are in comparison to your bodyweight.

Or put simply, your strength to weight ratio.

See, despite what you might think, bigger guys (or weightlifters) don’t necessarily have relative strength.

I mean, sure, they’ll probably be able to crush a man’s skull with one hand while eating a sandwich with the other.

But ask them to perform a set of dips, pullups, or a perfectly executed L-sit, and I’m willing to bet the most of them would come up short.

The Ultimate List Of Dip Progressions

So below is the complete list of dip progressions that I like to impliment into my workout regularly.

Some you’ll be familiar with and some you won’t.

But I guarantee that if you work on progressing through this extensive list of dip progressions. You’ll be well on your way to carving out the upper body you want a lot sooner than you think.

Bench Dip Progressions

So first up, and one you should be more than familiar with is the bench dip.

Now, this is ground zero when it comes to dips, so this is where you should start if you’ve got no prior training experience.

Ideally, you’ll want to start working with the bench dip with your hands placed on a sturdy surface like a chair or low-level bar. And your feet stretch out in front of you like this… (see image)

However, as you get stronger, you can take things one step further and place your feet on an elevated surface to add a little more stress to the triceps.

Quick tip…

When you perform bench dips, I recommend dipping to the point where your arms are parallel to the ground.

How far you can lower yourself will obviously vary from person to person. But in my experience, it tends to increase the risk of injury and rotator cuff issues the further down you dip.

And I wouldn’t recommend moving on to the next progression until you can perform a least 15 reps of bench dips for a least 3 sets.

Moving on…

Parallel Bar Dips

Parallel bar dips are what most people would consider the norm when it comes to dips.

And even though they’re much easier than the more advanced progressions I’ll be talking about later. They’re still a pretty big leap from regular bench dips.

So just proceed with caution with attempting this progression for the first time.

Now, there are two variations of the standard parallel bar dip.

There are chest dips…

…And there are tricep dips.

The difference between these two variations is all about how you position your body throughout the repetition.

For instance, chest dips require you to have a little more of a forward lean to the whole thing, with your shoulders being in front of your hands as you descend into the dip.

Ideally, the bars should also be a little wider to further activate the chest muscles and shift some of the load away from the triceps.

On the flip side, tricep dips should be performed from a more horizontal position with your hands slightly in front of your elbows throughout the rep.

You should aim to keep your elbows tucked and close to your body as possible to place more stress on all three heads of the tricep. So if you have the option, use a set of narrower bars to help you achieve this.

All in all, both variations have a little carryover to each other, but you should still try and impliment both to get the most bang for your buck.

Now similar to the bench dip. You only need to lower yourself so that your arms are parallel to the ground before pushing yourself back up to the top of the repetition.

Again, there’s a little wiggle room here as it’s going to depend on how much flexibility you have in your shoulders.

But to be on the safe side, start with parallel and make sure you can perform at least 10 reps before moving on to the next progression.

Uneven Parallel Bar Dips & Tuck Dip Progressions

Now, before we move on, I just like to briefly touch on a few adaptions of standard parallel bar dips you can impliment to make to build more strength.

See, most people see the parallel bar dip as a one-trick pony with no real room for progression.

But there are, in fact, a few specific things you can do to take this exercise to the next level and beyond.

It’s all about using leverage to your advantage (or disadvantage in this case).

Uneven Dips

Now, as the name suggests, uneven dips are all about unevenly distributing your weight.

This is a great progression if you’re looking for a little unilateral training that individually challenges each side of the body.

To do it, set up as you normally would for a regular parallel bar dip (chest or tricep version, it doesn’t matter).

Then what you want to do is slowly shift your body weight to one side of the bar so that there is more load over one side of your body.

Perform a single dip while maintaining most of your weight over that particular side…

…Push yourself back up.

And then, distribute your weight onto the other side and perform another single dip.

Keep doing this until you’ve exhausted the muscle on each side.

It sounds simple, but this quick adjustment in leverage will require a lot more strength and stability than standard parallel bar dips.

Tuck Dips

Now, another thing you can attempt on the parallel bars is a simple tuck dip progression.

It’s kind of similar to a tuck planche pushup, only it’s not as demanding due to the angle you’ll be performing them.

To execute a tuck dip, all you need to is set up as you normally would on the parallel bars.

Only now, you’ll want to tuck your knees up towards your chest while simultaneously hinging at the hips.

If you do it right, it should look a little something like this… (see image)

Now, if you’re unfamiliar with this exercise, then it’ll be quite difficult at first.

But the great thing about this exercise is that there isn’t really any limit on how far you can progress.

For instance, as you get stronger, you’ll eventually be able to leverage your body into a full tuck planche.

Which is also a great stepping stone to performing even more advanced bodyweight movements like the straddle planche and even the full planche.

Straight Bar Dips

I have to admit that the first time I tried to perform straight bar dips, I was overly confident.

And while I could easily hammer out around 25 parallel bars dips at the time. I only managed to get around 3 badly performed reps of straight bar dips on my first attempt.

It was a wake-up call, to say the least.

Now, the reason straight bar dips are a lot harder to execute. Is that they stimulate new muscles that don’t really get worked with standard parallel bar dips.

Here’s why…

For starters, the core and shoulders play a much bigger role in the whole thing. And there’s a certain amount of technique involved that makes it deceptively challenging.

Anyway, instead of talking you through the exercise, I think it would be a lot more beneficial if you could see it for yourself.

So here’s a quick video demonstration from T-Nation so you can see what it looks like in action…

Progressing To Weighed Dips

Last up, you’ve got weighted dips.

This can be applied to pretty much any of the above progressions. But I generally tend to stick with the standard parallel bar dips as it’s not only easier to load more weight…

…But it’s a lot safer to add weight to than some of the other progression we’ve already discussed.

Now, there isn’t really any hard and fast rule on how to load this exercise. But personally, I like to use a dip belt and a weighted backpack to add the extra weight to my body.

The reason I do this is that I often superset weighted dips with weighted pullups.

And I find it easier to transition from pullups to dips by throwing on a weighted backpack, rather than removing the dip belt and adjusting the weight every time I transition between exercises.

Anyway…

The really important thing with weighted dips is not to let your ego get the better of you.

Yes, everybody wants to get bigger and stronger. But the important thing to remember is that you should still never sacrifice form in exchange for adding more weight.

Slow and controlled reps are what you need if you really want to excel with weighted dips. And I promise that if you follow this simple piece of advice. Your pushing strength is going to increase immensely.

Taking Your Dip Progression To The Next Level

So there you have it, a complete, no-nonsense guide to performing dips like the badass I know you are.

And I’m confident that if you apply the above dip progressions into your workout consistently. You’ll be well ahead of the pack when it comes to building the size and strength of a calisthenics beast.

However, dips are only the beginning when it comes to building the ultimate physique. And there are several (if not dozens) of ways you can utilize each of the progressions above to learn some of the most advanced calisthenics skills known to man.

Now since I don’t personally know you, I can’t really determine what your end result looks like.

But if your hell-bent on getting in the best shape of your life…

…Crushing your goals while destroying all of your workout plateaus.

…And building the finely tuned physique of a calisthenics god.

Then I’d highly recommend checking out the Bar Brothers Program.

Here a quick taste of what you’ll get if you join…

A complete 12-week calisthenics transformation program designed to turn you into an insanely jacked calisthenics warrior.
Advanced calisthenics progressions that’ll show you step-by-step how to perform incredible feats of strength, including the muscle-up, front lever, pistol squat, plus loads more.
A dedicated community of calisthenics maniacs (just like you) who’ll go above and beyond to give you expert tips, training advice, and motivation when you need it.

I could keep harping on about the program. But to be honest, I think it would be a lot more beneficial for you to just take a look for yourself and decide if it’s right for you.

So, before you hit the back button and leave my website forever. Go ahead and check out the program by hitting the video link below…

Click Here To Check Out The Official Bar Brothers Website…