Tricep Dips

Tricep muscles are the muscles which are located on the back of the upper arm. It is one of the most difficult area to work out and tone, more so with women. Tricep dips help and are effective in toning these tricep muscles. It makes use of the person's own body weight for resistance.

It is easy to do this exercise, as it does not require any specific machine or weights, and you use body weight itself. There are other advantages of this exercise as well. This arm exercise involves other muscle groups and works the shoulders, abs, and back which help in balance. Given below is the procedure to do this exercise.

Often when we hear about some exercise, we wonder if the exercise can be done only at the gym. However. doing this exercise at home is very easy. It is important to understand that it is a compound exercise, which does not require any equipment, hence it is also rated as one of the top travel exercises. 

If you have shoulder problems, then you may not want to do this exercise and should avoid it completely. When you are doing this exercise, you will require a sturdy bench or chair, which is able to hold your body weight.

• Stand in front of the bench or chair, which you are going to use to do the exercise, with your back facing it.
• Place your hands on the bench, palms down and knuckles facing in front.

• Your hands should be placed a little less than shoulder width.
• Now bend your knees, so that your knees and legs are at a 90 degree angle to one another.
• Bend your elbows, as you slowly lower your body and exhale when you bend.

• Lower yourself a little more, but make sure your elbows do not point out from your body as you lower yourself.
• Slowly straighten your arms out; that will help in pushing your body back up. As you straighten your arms, inhale slowly.
• Repeat the exercise 10 to 12 times. Towards the end of the counts, you will realize it is difficult to perform the exercise, but you should not give up.

You will have to ensure, you perform sufficient number of repetitions, so that your muscles are worked enough, but there is no pain caused. It is recommended you do 2 to 3 sets of this exercise. However, it is important to take a break of a minute between two sets. Working the tricep muscles two to three times a week is the ideal number. It is important you give sufficient resting time in between when you work out.

This will help in giving them time, to heal themselves. There are different ways you can increase the intensity of the exercise. Intensity can be added by either walking the feet out or by propping the feet on a bench or chair. It can also be increased by doing weighted tricep dips. All you will need to do is place weights on a dip belt around your waist.

Some tips when you are doing tricep dips are to keep the shoulders down and away from the ears, so that they are protected from injury. Keeping the hips closer to the bench or chair, will help in keeping the focus on the triceps and not on the shoulders. If you find the move I have mentioned difficult, then you can move the feet closer. However, do not forget to warm up before starting the exercise.