Chair dips are one of the simplest ways to train the backs of your arms at home. You sit on the edge of a sturdy chair, slide your hips off, and lower and raise your body by bending and straightening your elbows. The main work goes to your triceps, with help from your shoulders and chest.
They are also one of the easiest exercises to do in a way that annoys your shoulders. The two things that matter most are a chair that cannot move and a range of motion that stops before your shoulders roll forward. Get those right and dips are a safe, effective arm exercise.
Step 1: pick the right chair
Before any form cues, check your equipment. A chair that slides or tips mid-rep is the most common way dips go wrong.
- Use a solid, four-legged chair without wheels. No office chairs, folding chairs or anything that rocks.
- Push the back of the chair against a wall so it cannot slide backwards.
- The seat should be roughly knee height and firm. A sturdy bench, a low step or the edge of a stable sofa frame also work.
- Do it on a non-slip floor, and wear shoes or go barefoot rather than socks on a smooth floor.
Give the chair a hard push with your hands before you start. If it moves at all, find another one.
Step 2: how to do a chair dip
- Sit on the front edge of the seat. Place your hands next to your hips, fingers pointing forward and curled over the edge.
- Set your feet. For the easiest version, bend your knees to about 90 degrees with feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart.
- Slide your hips forward off the seat so your weight is on your hands and feet. Your back should stay close to the chair, almost brushing it.
- Lower yourself by bending your elbows straight back behind you, not out to the sides. Go down slowly, for about two seconds.
- Stop when your upper arms are roughly parallel to the floor, or earlier if you feel any pinching at the front of your shoulders.
- Press back up through the heels of your hands until your arms are straight but not forcefully locked.
Keep your shoulders down away from your ears and your chest open throughout. Breathe in on the way down, out on the way up.
How deep should you go?
This is the question that decides whether dips feel good or painful. Going very deep, with your elbows far above your shoulders, puts the front of the shoulder joint in a stretched, loaded position that many people do not tolerate well. A depth where your upper arms reach about parallel to the floor gives your triceps plenty of work. If that already feels uncomfortable at the front of the shoulder, shorten the range further. There is no prize for extra depth.
Easier and harder versions
Move to the next version once you can do 3 sets of 12 controlled reps with good form.
- Bent-knee dips, short range. Feet close to the chair, knees bent, lowering only a few centimetres. A good starting point if your shoulders are stiff or you are new to pushing exercises.
- Bent-knee dips, full range. The standard version described above.
- Straight-leg dips. Walk your feet out until your legs are straight, resting on your heels. More of your weight goes through your arms.
- Slow-tempo dips. Take three to four seconds to lower, pause for one second at the bottom, then press up. This makes any version harder without changing the setup.
- Feet-elevated dips. Heels on a second sturdy chair or step at about the same height. Only for people who already handle straight-leg dips comfortably.
If your goal is upper-body pushing strength in general, dips work well next to push-ups. Can't do a full push-up yet? The push-up progression builds it step by step, and both exercises train the triceps.
Common mistakes
Elbows flaring out
Letting your elbows point out to the sides takes work away from the triceps and stresses the shoulder and elbow. Think "elbows back", as if you were trying to point them at the wall behind you.
Drifting away from the chair
If your hips move forward away from the seat as you lower, your shoulders get pulled forward into a worse position. Keep your back close to the chair all the way down.
Shrugging
Shoulders creeping up to your ears usually means you are too tired or going too deep. Reset, push your shoulders down and shorten the range.
Dropping into the bottom
Falling into the bottom and bouncing out puts the most stress on your shoulders right at the most vulnerable point. Lower under control and pause briefly before pushing up.
Using your legs too much
With bent knees, it is easy to push up with your legs rather than your arms. Keep most of the weight in your hands and use your feet just for balance. If you can't, the short-range version is the right one for now.
Sets, reps and where dips fit
A practical starting point:
- Beginners: 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps, bent-knee version, 60 to 90 seconds rest.
- Intermediate: 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps, straight-leg or slow-tempo version, 60 seconds rest.
- Advanced: 3 to 4 sets of 12 to 15 feet-elevated or slow-tempo reps.
Train dips two or three times a week on non-consecutive days. They slot naturally into an arm workout without weights, or after push-ups in a chest workout at home. Do a short warm-up first, with arm circles and a few easy push-ups, so your shoulders are ready.
An example upper-body mini-session:
- Incline or regular push-ups, 3 sets of 8 to 12
- Chair dips, 3 sets of 8 to 12
- Plank shoulder taps, 3 sets of 10 per side
- Superman holds, 3 sets of 20 seconds
In FIThim, chair dips are one of the 152 exercises, with real photos and a short animated demo, so you can compare your setup to the demonstration.
Who should be careful
Skip chair dips, or keep to the short-range version and check with a doctor or physiotherapist, if you have:
- current or past shoulder problems such as impingement, rotator cuff injury or dislocation
- elbow or wrist pain when you put weight on your hands
- a chair you cannot make fully stable
Stop immediately if you feel sharp or pinching pain at the front of your shoulder. A burning feeling in the backs of your arms near the end of a set is normal muscle fatigue; pain in the joint is not. Push-ups, diamond push-ups on an incline and pike push-ups from a shoulder workout without weights are alternatives for the triceps and shoulders.
FAQ
Do chair dips work the chest too?
A little, mostly the lower part of the chest, along with the front of the shoulders. But with your body upright and close to the chair, the triceps do most of the work. Push-ups are the better chest exercise.
Are chair dips bad for your shoulders?
Not for most people, as long as the chair is stable, you keep your back close to it and you do not go deeper than about upper arms parallel to the floor. They are a problem mainly when done very deep, fast, or by people with existing shoulder issues.
How many chair dips should I do a day?
You do not need to do them daily. Two or three sessions a week of 2 to 4 sets is enough to build triceps strength, and leaves time to recover between sessions.
Will chair dips get rid of arm fat?
Dips strengthen the triceps, but they cannot burn fat specifically from the back of your arms. Reducing body fat overall, through a modest calorie deficit and regular activity, is what changes how your arms look.