Do Dips Help You to Get Big Arms?

Anytime triceps are integrated with rigorous resistance exercises, muscle mass is strengthened and amplified. Triceps dips represent such an exercise for those wanting to build bulky upper-arm muscles. No expensive equipment is necessary to perform the exercise, since all you need is a sturdy chair, bench or small platform. Triceps dips can be done at home anytime you feel the need to engage your triceps and upper body in an effective, compound exercise.

Triceps muscles are located on the backside of the arm between the elbow and shoulder. They allow the elbow to extend itself whenever you reach or push something away. It is a large, three-headed extensor muscle that looks like a horseshoe when well defined. When doing dips, the triceps can gain muscle mass, which will increase the overall size of the arm.

For this exercise, you need a bench that allows you to lift the full weight of your body using triceps muscles. To begin, sit on the edge of the bench and place your hands under your butt. Keep your legs extended in front of you and hold your abdominal muscles in while lifting your spine. Lower your body while bending your elbows slowly, moving past the edge of the stool. Extend your elbows, concentrating on straightening your arms and utilizing the triceps as you perform this motion. Try doing three sets of 10 triceps dips before resting and continuing with the workout.

Triceps dips can also be performed using parallel dip bars, which are found in most gyms. Dip bars are sturdy, metal racks that support your body while you extend your arms and raise yourself until your feet are not touching the ground. The objective when using triceps dip bars is to lower and elevate your body without allowing your feet to reach the ground. This places the strong, opposing force of gravity in direct competition with your triceps muscles. As you advance, you can attach ankle weights or hold a small dumbbell with your feet as you raise and lower your body.

You not only enhance upper-arm muscles with triceps dips, but your pectoralis major muscles also receive a beneficial workout. As your torso's main muscle, the pecs assist your triceps when lifting your body on a stool or parallel dip bars. These are also the most frequently injured muscles when performing triceps dips. Other muscles contributing to completing dips include the latissimus dorsi, or the muscles spanning your back. You also utilize the anterior deltoid, which is the muscle that raises and extends your upper arm as you elevate yourself during a triceps dip.