Dips, for chest or Tris?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

I love doing them but i cant quite figure out if i should be doing them on
chest day or arms day. I mostly do them for arms but i also feel the
stretch in my chest. What about Chin ups? I currently do them on arms
day and do pull ups on back day. I know chin ups affect your arms
mostly but also work your back.

2

I use Dips for both chest and tris. If im working chest. I do them with the elbows flared out, slightly leaned forward. If im working the tri i keep the elbows tucked in and try to keep my legs straight, performing a straight up and down motion. I never do both, i may use chest dips for 3 weeks… then another 3 weeks ill do tricep dips. According to Poliquin tricep Dips are the #1 exersice for packing mass on the tris, and Chest dips being the forgotten chest builder.
As far as chins I do both pulls and chins on back day. Most of the time i pair up chest/back. I dont care for working out my back on another day, because my chest will usually still be sore… Or vise versa. But once in a while ill change, not doing chest and back on the same day.
I guess it depends on how you perform the chin, but i think they are a good back builder, with the back getting most of the work. My biceps rarely get sore (from anything)… and even if they did from a chin, they would recover faster than most muscles, being ready for some more work 4 days later.
But hey, doing chins on arms day isnt bad either… make sure you switch it up now and then. Just my 2 cents…

3

Its all about how you execute the motion in both movements. Dips for chest involves flaring your elbows out and emphasizing horizontal adduction (think of it like a decline bench press). Your center of mass should be behind your hands slightly with the knees slightly bent. For Tris the elbows should point back towards the wall and your COM should be directly over your hands with a straighter knee. Also turn your hands slightly inward when setting up. Hope this helps.

4

I’ll just add a little to what the other guys said. When doing chest dips, flex your abs/hips making a “V” with your body. Your ass should be pointed backwards. Use a narrow grip on the chins if you want to focus more on your biceps.

5

Here’s what Ian King said in a past article at T-mag: When doing dips on a dipping apparatus, is there a way I can
focus on either my triceps or my chest? I like to dip for tricep
development, but only my chest gets sore.

Ian- "Yes — do close-grip benches! Okay, not the answer you wanted! The following are options that can be used alone or in combination to increase the isolation of the triceps whilst dipping: 

   • Keep the elbows close to the body 

   • Use a narrow spaced dip rack as opposed to wide
   apart parallel bars 

   • Use a parallel dip rack as opposed to dip bars that flare
   outwards (or if you're using flared bars, have your back
   to the narrow end and face the flared end 

   • Keep the trunk vertical 

   • Keep the legs straight as opposed to bending at the
   knees 

   • Using a smaller circumference dip bar 

   • Take a palm out grip (this will mean the elbows go
   away from the body, but may give added emphasis to
   your triceps)

At the end of the day, dips aren’t really an isolation exercise
for the triceps. Doing them, and hoping to isolate them, is kind
of like trying to find a straight person in a float during the
Sydney Mardi Gras."