Bench dip

Flat bench or sturdy ledge

Also called bench dips, bench triceps dip

Sit on a bench edge with hands beside the hips, slide forward, then lower and press back up with the legs out in front.

Movement

Main movers get full credit for a set, helpers half.

Upper body

Scores 1-5 averaged over sources. Tap a rating for the claims behind it. Claims are our summaries of the linked sources, fact-checked by AI.

Muscle growth higher is better2.5
Solid; a reasonable default. 2 sources.
- 2/5 Takes pecs and delts out well but is hard to progress once triceps get strong. C tier. Jeff Nippard, The Best & Worst TRICEPS Exercises (Ranked Using Science) @ 11:07videoExpert opinion2024checked by AI
- 3/5 Strong medial head activation in the same EMG study, but he prefers triangle push-ups as they stress the shoulder less. Jeremy Ethier, The Best Science-Based Tricep Workout | ARMS (Part 2/2) @ 4:32videoStudy2017checked by AI
Shoulder stress lower is better4.0
Elevated; a common source of shoulder irritation. 1 source.
- 4/5 Torso behind the hands makes early anterior scapular tilt more likely, so he dislikes it. Jeff Nippard, How To Do Dips For A Bigger Chest and Shoulders (Fix Mistakes!) @ 6:05videoExpert opinion2019checked by AI