Dips on the pectoral muscles and triceps: what muscles work, technique

Classic push-ups on parallel bars are an exercise that helps to form a beautiful arm shape. Therefore, it is equally effective for men and women. Many athletes lose sight of it, and completely in vain. Even stars such as Arnold Schwarzenegger included it in their program to obtain beautiful relief. When combined with a close-grip bench press, you can achieve excellent results.

There is a difference between how the technique is performed to work the chest muscles and the triceps parallel bars. In the first case, the distance between the hands is greater.

Types of push-ups

An important step in shaping your body is preparing the body for the stress it will receive during training. To make the muscles more elastic and amenable to proper formation, a thorough warm-up .

To achieve the desired effect of body development, it is important to remember that you need to perform the movements correctly. This will help prevent muscle damage. Another important nuance, without which it is difficult to achieve a good result, is the athlete’s motivation.

Let's look at the types of exercises, as well as which muscle groups work when doing dips.

Without burden

You can achieve a good result with 8-15 repetitions of dips.
Depending on which muscle group needs to be loaded, there are two ways to do dips : with an emphasis on the pectoral muscles and on the triceps. To achieve one or another result, different techniques are used.

Bars are also great for strengthening the abdominal muscles – the abs. To do this, in the initial “handstand” position, you need to raise both legs parallel to the floor.

If you have reached a pain-free level of exercise (3-4 sets of 15 times), this indicates that you can increase the load using weights.

The world record for the number of push-ups in one minute is 199 repetitions. That's 3.31 repetitions per second.

With weights

Weighted push-ups maximize strength and muscle growth.
It is advisable to pump up muscle mass on the uneven bars with an additional increase in weight after you have achieved maximum amplitude in the technique (at least 25 repetitions without weights in one approach). The weight must be increased gradually after performing 7-10 repetitions of push-ups. You will get the maximum effect when performing weighted parallel bars exercises slowly, when the weights do not swing.

Placing additional weight affects the angle of the torso and the work of certain muscle groups.

When placing a weight in the area of the head, the tilt of the body is maintained, and the load is placed on the chest muscles. Placing additional weight on the belt or legs allows you to shift the center of gravity and increase the load on the triceps.

To increase weight, you can use dumbbells, kettlebells, plates or massive chains.

The following are usually used as fastenings:

Power belt. The dumbbell is tightly fixed to the stomach with a belt buckle. May cause discomfort in the abdominal muscles.
Belt with chain. The strap with an adjustable chain is comfortable, but has a strong pulling effect on the spine, which can lead to injury.
Wrestling belt. Not a very convenient option, but one of the most affordable. You can use the belt for sambo training.
Weighted vest. The safest, most practical and convenient way to secure cargo. You can buy it in specialized stores or make it yourself.
Massive chain with heavy links. This is the most inconvenient and difficult option. While in the position of straightened arms, the ends of the chain must lie on the floor so that when performing push-ups, the load is proportional and smooth.

How to pump up big triceps using sports nutrition

It is easier and more effective to pump up large triceps by following a diet based on protein foods and less carbohydrates and fats. Sports supplements are no less important, among which you should choose ones that are not only effective for muscle growth, but also safe for health.

Products for triceps

The mandatory food set must include:

Red meat, beef is best. This is a source of creatinine, without which it is impossible to develop muscle tissue, relieve fatigue, and restore. Deficiency of the substance increases the risk of injury.
White meat, the best option is turkey. It contains phosphorus, and in general it is a source of protein necessary for the growth of muscle fibers.
Cottage cheese with fat content up to 9%. It contains the amino acids and protein that a training person needs.
Eggs. They should be boiled, not fried. Eggs also contain protein and vitamin D, which ensures the elasticity of ligaments.
Pasta. These are the right carbohydrates necessary for building a beautiful body and maintaining endurance.
Tuna. Fish contains almost 100% protein, an essential element for muscle growth.
Buckwheat. Cereals contain amino acids that stimulate the development of muscle fibers. It contains almost no carbohydrates, but there are substances that strengthen blood vessels.

Be sure to drink plenty of water (2-3 liters per day). After all, muscles consist of almost 90% of it.

Supplements

A pre-workout nutrition supplement can be purchased at a pharmacy without a prescription or prepared:

tincture of eleutherococcus;
ginseng infusion;
green tea with honey and lemon wedge;
water infusion of a mixture of oolong, ginseng tea and pu-erh (1:1.5:1);
Schisandra, Rhodiola rosea.

These funds give vigor, increase endurance, and allow you to withstand serious loads without negative consequences.

It is also worth using supplements that directly affect muscle growth and definition:

creatinine monohydrate (5 g per day for six months);
Whey Protein;
energy-giving caffeine;
beta-alanine, which relieves fatigue;
citrulline malate, which eliminates muscle inflammation;
betaine, which balances hormones;
ornithine, which burns fat;
theanine, which improves blood circulation in tissues.

We recommend reading about exercises for losing weight on your arms. From the article you will learn about how to lose weight in your arms and shoulders, but not build them up, exercises without dumbbells at home, training in the gym. And here is more information about strength exercises at home.

Increasing the size and definition of your triceps is impossible without working on other muscles. And there is no single magic exercise that can affect it. It is necessary to use a set of workouts, eat right, and give up bad habits in order to achieve what you want.

What muscles work

When forming a set of exercises on the uneven bars, you need to understand which muscles swing when the torso works. Depending on which push-up technique you choose, muscles such as the anterior deltoids, pectoralis major, triceps brachii, and, to a lesser extent, the latissimus dorsi muscles are actively functioning. When performing static exercises, the rectus abdominis muscles develop.

Push-ups on the uneven bars develop flexibility in the shoulder girdle. And lifting and moving your own weight puts stress on the entire body as a whole.

Advantages and disadvantages

The advantage of the exercise is its availability anywhere without additional costs for equipment. And also, the exercise affects the deep muscles that support the spine, core muscles - buttocks, transverse abdominal muscle, lumbar extensors

These muscles perform work in a static position, that is, maintaining an even position of the body, this is an important safety condition. Thanks to statics, short fibers of these muscles work, which cannot be trained by dynamic contractions.

But there is a huge disadvantage for advanced athletes - working with your own weight when doing push-ups while lying down will be too simple. It is known that to increase muscle growth, a small number of repetitions “to failure” (up to 12 times) is necessary, and trained muscles can perform push-ups more than a few times. This will only lead to a decrease in volume and fatty tissue.

Therefore, triceps push-ups are more suitable for working on relief for both men and girls, but not for gaining mass.

Dips on parallel bars: technique of execution

In order to get the planned result, you need to have an understanding of how to properly practice on the uneven bars. Only consistent fixation of muscle position and precise push-up technique will help you acquire the desired shape. Let's look at two types of dip technique: chest and triceps.

For the chest

Massive male breasts have always been considered a symbol of courage, so special attention should be paid to the chest muscles.
The first push-up record was set by Australian Charles Linster in 1965. He holds the Guinness Book of World Records for doing 6,006 push-ups without stopping.

The technique is quite simple:

Take the starting position of the support on the apparatus, keeping the weight on level hands. Turn your elbows out to the sides, cross your legs and tilt your body forward 30 degrees.
As you inhale, smoothly lower your body down, while your elbows need to be spread to the sides within the limits of physiological comfort. The elbow should form a 90 degree angle. You should feel a stretch in your lower chest. Take a break.
As you exhale, with increased tension in your pectoral muscles and triceps, return to the top point. While continuing to contract your chest muscles, pause.
Dips for breast enlargement should be performed in the amount of 10-15 repetitions of 3-4 sets.

To develop the correct technique, we recommend watching the video:

Due to the high load on the muscles of the shoulder joint, dips are considered a rather traumatic exercise. If you have injuries to your shoulders, elbows or hands, you should refrain from exercise until they are completely restored.

Push-ups should be done on wide bars.

For triceps

In a relaxed position of the arm, it is the triceps that is its outstanding part, so the beauty and power of the triceps brachii muscle plays a very important role for men. It is necessary to perform exercises with an emphasis on the triceps on narrow parallel bars.

Anatomy, functions and features of biceps training

The biceps is the biceps muscle located in the upper arm. It is traditionally considered an indicator of a person’s physical fitness, since it is clearly visible on the front of the shoulder and gives the arm an attractive outline.

The structure and role of the biceps

This muscle owes its name to its structural features: “bi” in Latin means “twice”. The biceps consists of two heads, or fascicles.

external (long) starts at the top of the shoulder blade and is located on the outer surface of the arm; this bundle visually emphasizes the outline of the muscle;
internal (short) originates from the coracoid process of the scapula, stretches to the inner part of the upper limb and affects the thickness of the biceps.

Both heads are connected by the biceps tendon to the elbow joint. Thanks to this structure, this muscle is involved in supination of the hand (with a straightened elbow, it ensures that the hand turns forward, and when the elbow is bent at a right angle, it turns it upward).

In addition to supination, the biceps has other functions: it flexes the forearm at the elbow joint and the shoulder at the shoulder joint. It is on such movements that training programs for the development of this zone are based.

Biceps work in pull-ups

When training on the horizontal bar, an athlete works two joints: the elbow and the shoulder. The biceps muscle will receive maximum load when focusing on flexion

If you focus on movement in the shoulder joint, the load will go to the lats

At the beginning of the movement, at the stage of bending the arm at the elbow joint, it is the biceps that does the main work. It bears most of the load until the angle at the elbows reaches 90 degrees.

Next, the latissimus dorsi muscle is actively involved in the movement, helping to bring the arms to the body. The biceps continues to work at this time, but its effort here is directed toward maintaining tension in the arm to prevent it from straightening.

At the time of bringing the chin to the level of the bar, the participation of the biceps muscle is no longer so significant: this option for completing the pull-up is the merit of the muscles of the upper back and deltoids.

If you want to pump up your biceps on the horizontal bar, then it is advisable to pull yourself up to a right angle at the elbows or a little more. By raising the body to the bar, the athlete activates other muscle groups.

Common mistakes when doing the exercise

Of course, at first glance it may seem that the exercises are quite simple, and it is simply impossible to make a mistake. However, dips can both benefit the body if the technique is used correctly, and cause harm if mistakes are made.

The most common errors are related to the position of the back and elbows or the inertia of the body.

But there are still other errors when working with a projectile:

Breathing technique. Before lowering your body down, you need to take a breath, otherwise you can injure your chest muscles.
Incorrect grip – wide or with a bent wrist. The most optimal is considered to be an average grip of hands at a distance of shoulder width.
High speed push-ups. Sudden intermittent movements can harm the muscles. The delay for each lowering and raising should be 2 seconds. You need to keep the tension at the lowest point.
Sudden weight gain. You need to add load gradually so as not to stress both the muscular and cardiovascular systems. The body must gradually, getting used to the load, strengthen its ability to build and strengthen muscle mass.
Poor warm-up. How well you perform push-ups on the uneven bars depends on how conscientiously the warm-up is done. Poor warm-up often causes injuries. The warm-up can include stretching, push-ups and rotational movements of the joints.

How can you replace dips?

In the absence of the opportunity to carry out exercises to strengthen the chest and triceps using the usual sports equipment, the question arises of what to replace push-ups on the uneven bars.

In order to answer this question, you need to remember what exactly the parallel bars pump, and replace the apparatus with several exercises to strengthen the triceps and chest:

regular and reverse push-ups from a bench;
French bench press lying and standing;
extension of arms with a dumbbell from behind the head and in a tilted position.

Bars are a great way to improve your fitness, health and mood. If you perform the exercises correctly and protect your body from unnecessary stress, you can achieve excellent results in a fairly short period of time.