The frame at my gym has a choice of two different handles for dips. The narrower ones are what I used to use. These are just less than shoulder width apart for me. So when I perform dips, my elbows are generally pulled well back - concentrating the work on my triceps.
The second set of handles are 4 inches/ 10cm outside the narrower handles, thus 4 inches beyond shoulder width. So by keeping my chin to my chest and elbows out, I was trying to increase the work on my chest. However this results in a very uncomfortable pressure around my sternum. I have tried it also with keeping my elbows in as much as possible, which isn't as bad.
Is 4 inches beyond shoulder width too wide to perform without damage? Should I stick with the narrower handles and just try keeping my head down and elbows out? Or are there any strengthen excerises, close handed press ups, to help with wide grip dips? Finally what forces are causing the sternum pain, so that I can try and avoid it.
If you’re doing dips for your chest, are you keeping a good round in your back? Just tucking your chin isn’t enough. Properly performed, this exercise will have your upper body looking almost like the top of a question mark. I rarely see anyone using good form for chest dips, almost most people get them right for triceps…
Wyzz Kydd - yes I had read King article before I posted, although I didn’t get the answers I wanted. Thanks though
Char-dawg - I doubt that I'm doing them correctly for the chest, as I've never seen them done like you described. I think I can visualise it and will try it tomorrow. However is there any pictures on T-mag or elsewhere that could give me an idea of it? I did search, but got the body straight dip pictures. I take it that having this curved position would remove the sternum pain?
Thanks for you time guys, any other help is greatly appreciated.
NO! DON"T DO WIDE GRIP DIPS@!!! whew, had to get that off my chest. i don’t know what i did to my sternum, maybe too much weight on dips, maybe arms to far, or going down to fast. make sure you get good form on ANY kind of dip you are doing. “I” have yet to see ANYONE do wide grip dips without feeling problems in their sternum, and that sucks! stay with in with definately good-(scratch that) GREAT form.
-or u get fu**ed up like me
No, unfortunately I don’t know of any site that has good pics of the right form. You might try Alessi’s site and the myodynamics site, as they both have some good shots of various exercises, but I don’t recall if chest dips were among them.
In any case, if you try to crank your body up and “forward” so that your traps are actually slightly higher than your head, you’ll have a good idea of the proper body position. Also, your feet will be hanging down directly under your head (legs are straight, not curled back behind you).
If you can find someone who writes Japanese, ask them to write you a "hiragana ‘u’ "(that’s pronounced “oo” as in “Oo, she’s a babe!”, not “yu”) and you’ll see what I mean.
Arms are not straight back at all, but rather very flared out; as close to 180 degrees as you can get them. I actually sometimes do this with an inside grip (i.e., knuckles facing the body) on the dip bars, although only occasionally. At minimum, you should take a thumbs-over grip and rotate your hands inward so that your first finger is resting on the bar itself. That’ll help keep those elbows out.
Whew! Hope this helps. But experiment a little. You’ll know when you get the form right, because the next day your chest will be sore as hell…
